INFORMATION & SOURCE DOCUMENTS

The following are various source documents and information on the U.S. Army of the Indian Wars era (and infantry in particular) as well as more general subject pertaining to the period. This area is constantly changing so check back often!

The Army Act of 1866 - The key piece of legislation passed by Congress that specified the organization and strength of the U.S. Army after the Civil War. This was to be amended and changed several times during the Indian Wars era. Its primary value to us today is that it gives the standard organization of the infantry company and it is interesting to trace the evolution of the infantry company all the way up to 1891. This is available on a pdf file for download. Warning: this takes a little while to load.

The Army Act of 1875 - This set the strength and organization for the U.S. Army in 1875-76.

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