Fanny Dunbar Corbusier

Fanny Dunbar Corbusier
Author: Fanny Dunbar Corbusier
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780806135311

Born in Baltimore in 1838, Fanny Dunbar grew up in Louisiana to a family who survived the hardships of the Civil War. An intelligent, sensitive woman, Fanny experienced a radical life change when she met William Henry Corbusier, a Yankee officer and army surgeon. Her memoir recounts their subsequent forty-eight year marriage. The events of Fanny’s life are sometimes amusing but more often dramatic. The Corbusiers moved frequently, but Fanny made moving an art form, often selling all the family possessions to avoid high shipping rates. She learned to cope with primitive living conditions and harsh climates. She raised five sons at posts with no schools. But Fanny took her job as a mother seriously, providing her sons with a broad education and a nurturing home. Corbusier’s long life and her husband’s thirty-nine-year career in the army (recounted in his memoir Soldier, Surgeon, Scholar) allow the reader to experience the period between the Civil War and World War I in totality, including her exceptional memories of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection. As the recollections of two people whose lives played out against a world panorama, Fanny and William’s memoirs together provide a rare opportunity to examine events of frontier military life from both male and female perspectives. "Mrs. Corbusier writes from the unique perspective of a surgeon’s wife, and we have a picture not only of an army wife, but of an army wife who saw many different aspects of frontier military life and frontier life in general."—Charles M. Robinson, author of General Crook and the Western Frontier and A Good Year to Die: The Story of the Great Sioux War "Of the memoirs penned by wives of nineteenth-century army officers, this is among the best and most detailed. The woman’s perspective of events that transpired in the Indian-fighting army is a much needed counterbalance to the male-dominated histories of these same events."—Darlis Miller, author of Mary Hallock Foote: Author-Illustrator of the American West Fanny Dunbar Corbusier was the career army wife of officer-surgeon William Henry Corbusier. Patricia Y. Stallard, retired federal civil servant and education specialist with the United States Navy Recruiting Command, is the author of Glittering Misery: Dependents of the Indian Fighting Army, published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

Frontier Women and Their Art

Frontier Women and Their Art
Author: Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 373
Release: 2018-06-01
Genre: Art
ISBN: 153810976X

While often less celebrated than their male counterparts, women have been vital contributors to the arts for centuries. Works by women of the frontier represent treasured accomplishments of American culture and still impress us today, centuries after their creation. The breadth of creative expression by women of this time period is as impressive as the women themselves. In Frontier Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia, Mary Ellen Snodgrass explores the rich history of women’s creative expression from the beginning of the Federalist era to the end of the 19th century. Focusing particularly on Western artistic style, the importance of cultural exchange, and the preservation of history, this book captures a wide variety of artistic accomplishment, such as: Folk music, frontier theatrics, and dancing Quilting, stitchery, and beadwork Sculpture and adobe construction Writing, translations, and storytelling Individual talents highlighted in this volume include basketry by Nellie Charlie, acting by Blanche Bates, costuming by Annie Oakley, diary entries from Emily French, translations by Sacajawea, flag designs by Nancy Kelsey, photography by Jennie Ross Cobb, and singing by Lotta Crabtree. Each entry includes a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, as well as further readings on the female artists and their respective crafts. This text also defines and provides examples of technical terms such as applique, libretto, grapevine, farce, coil pots, and quilling. With its informative entries and extensive examinations of artistic talent, Frontier Women and Their Art is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in learning about some of the most influential and talented women in the arts.

Soldier, Surgeon, Scholar

Soldier, Surgeon, Scholar
Author: William Henry Corbusier
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2003
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780806135496

"An ethnographer and ethnologist, Corbusier published studies of the languages and cultures of the Yavapai, the Sioux, and the Shoshoni. His memoir records his observations on American Indian dances and ceremonies and his medical treatment of prominent figures, such as Sarah Winnemucca, Red Cloud, and American Horse."--BOOK JACKET.

More Work Than Glory

More Work Than Glory
Author: John P. Langellier
Publisher: Helion and Company
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2023-10-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1804516031

Prior to the 1960s, the term “Buffalo Soldier” was a fairly obscure one. Then, a trickle of titles became a torrent of books, articles, novels, monuments, and expanding numbers of historic sites along with museums all of which have changed the picture. Even an occasional nod from television and movies helped transform these once relatively little-known Black U.S. Army troops into familiar figures, who have taken their place in a mythic past. Indeed, powerful imagemakers from William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody and his Congress of Rough Riders to Frederic Remington, the dean of frontier artists, helped lionize the Black troops whose exploits brought them to the American West, Cuba, the Philippines, Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii in the years between 1866 and 1916. Despite a significant shift in emphasis, numerous efforts treating this element of the vital, complex story of the post-Civil War U.S. Army frequently repeated earlier studies rather than added fresh perspectives. Also, the narrative typically ended with the so-called Indian Wars or Spanish American War. Many authors likewise dwelt on military operations rather than numerous other relevant contributions and activities of these men who played a role in the nation’s complex evolution during the half century after the American Civil War. Profusely illustrated with compelling images and detailed maps, along with an array of appendices, this latest addition to the Buffalo Soldier saga represents over five decades of research by military historian John P. Langellier. Further, More Work an Glory: Buffalo Soldiers in the United States Army, 1866–1916 combines the best features of prior scholarship while enhancing the scope with new or underused primary sources. The author views the subject through the broader perspectives of race. He sets the text against the backdrop of the transition of the U.S. Army from a frontier constabulary to an international power. In the process, he highlights the staggering assortment of non-military missions including assignments to national parks and forests; road building; exploration; pioneer military bicycling; duty along the explosive border between the United States and Mexico; employment as agents of law and order, along with a litany of other contributions that enhanced an impressive combat record against formidable Native Americans and others. Langellier frames the narrative within the context of continuity and change from Reconstruction in the 1860s through the early twentieth century. Above all, he focuses on the soldiers themselves to provide a human perspective as well as challenges prevalent misconceptions that often overshadow more fascinating facts.

Till Death Do Us Part

Till Death Do Us Part
Author: Salvatore G. Cilella
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2020-05-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0806166959

Major General Emory Upton (1839–1881) served in all three branches of the U.S. military during the American Civil War. Lauded as a war hero, he later earned acclaim for his influence on military reforms, which lasted well beyond his lifetime. An account of Upton’s life is not complete, however, without a look into his brief, yet passionate, marriage to Emily Norwood Martin (1846–1870). This edition of Emory and Emily’s letters unveils the private life of a brilliant Civil War personality. It also introduces readers to the devout young woman who earned the general’s fanatic devotion before her untimely death from tuberculosis. Until now, only a few of the couple’s intimate letters have been published. During the years he spent editing and publishing Emory Upton’s correspondence, Salvatore G. Cilella Jr. deliberately set aside the general’s voluminous letters to his wife. Unfortunately, as Cilella explains in his editorial notes, Emily’s letters to Emory did not survive, but he was able to draw on the rich trove of letters Emily wrote to her mother and father while on her honeymoon and during her stays in Key West, Nassau, and Atlanta. Together, both sets of letters form a poignant narrative of the general’s tender love for his new wife and her reciprocal affection as they attempted to create a normal life together despite her declining health. The life of an army wife could be grueling, and despite her declining health, Emily longed to perform the role expected of her. It was not meant to be. Unwittingly, she and Emory chose the worst places for her to recover—Key West and Nassau—where the high humidity and heat must have exacerbated her difficulty breathing. She died in Nassau, far away from her husband. Eleven years later, racked by a sinus tumor and likely still grieving from his lost love, Upton committed suicide at the age of forty-one. Till Death Do Us Part offers a powerful—and poignant—tale of two star-crossed lovers against the backdrop of post–Civil War America. In addition, the volume gives readers a fascinating glimpse into gender roles and marital relations in the nineteenth century.

Scouting with the Buffalo Soldiers

Scouting with the Buffalo Soldiers
Author: John P. Langellier
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
Total Pages: 467
Release: 2020-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1574418203

On a hot summer’s day in Montana, a daring frontier cavalry officer, Powhatan Henry Clarke, died at the height of his promising career. A member of the U.S. Military Academy’s Class of 1884, Clarke graduated dead last, and while short on academic application, he was long on charm and bravado. Clarke obtained a commission with the black troops of the Tenth Cavalry, earning his spurs with these “Buffalo Soldiers.” He evolved into a fearless field commander at the troop level, gaining glory and first-hand knowledge of what it took to campaign in the West. During his brief, action-packed career, Clarke saved a black trooper’s life while under Apache fire and was awarded the Medal of Honor. A chance meeting brought Clarke together with artist Frederic Remington, who brought national attention to Clarke when he illustrated the exploit for an 1886 Harper’s Weekly. The officer and artist became friends, and Clarke served as a model and consultant for future artwork by Remington. Remington’s many depictions of Clarke added greatly to the cavalryman’s luster. In turn, the artist gained fame and fortune in part from drawing on Clarke as his muse. The story of these two unlikely comrades tells much about the final stages of the Wild West and the United States’ emergence on the international scene. Along the way Geronimo, The Apache Kid, “Texas” John Slaughter, and others played their roles in Clarke’s brief, but compelling drama.