On the Plains With Custer and Hancock: The Journal of Isaac Coates, Army Surgeon
Coates volunteered as an army surgeon in order to see the West and was assigned to the Seventh Cavalry, which took part in Hancock's expedition against the Native Americans of Kansas and Nebraska in 1867. Coates recorded some of his experiences and impressions in a journal, including speeches by Hancock and Native leaders. Kennedy, a retired conflict-management consultant whose wife is Coates's granddaughter, has carefully edited the journal and provides a commentary that includes comparisons with other eyewitness accounts of the expedition. He also includes Coates's testimony at Custer's court-martial and a sketch of Coates's life both before and after the expedition. Because Coates's perspective differs from that of the reporters and military officers, this journal belongs in specialized collections; yet Kennedy has also supplied the necessary context, making the journal accessible to lay readers.?Stephen H. Peters, Northern Michigan Univ. Lib., MarquetteCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.