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First published in 1848 in the immediate aftermath of the war with Mexico. A positively glowing account of the operations of American troops at war, with an emphasis on the heroic deeds of their generals, whose biographies include brief accounts of their participation in the War of 1812 and various Indian wars. Profusely illustrated, the book also includes the text of the treaty ending the war and ceding what's now the southwestern United States to the victors. (And if a book can be judged by its cover, one of the finest military literary works of American history.)

My Life on the Plains. Or, Personal Experiences with Indians (1874) General George Armstrong Custer

Librivox audio book (free) here.

Elizabeth Bacon Custer (April 8, 1842 - April 4, 1933) was the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. After his death, she became an outspoken advocate for her husband's legacy through her books and lectures. After her husband’s column was wiped out at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876, many in the press, Army, and government criticized Custer for blundering into a massacre. President Ulysses S. Grant publicly blamed Custer for the disaster. Fearing that her husband was to be made a scapegoat by history, Libbie launched a one woman campaign to rehabilitate her husband's image. She began writing articles and making speaking engagements praising the glory of her martyred husband. Her three books, Boots and Saddles (1885), Tenting on the Plains (1887), and Following the Guidon (1890) were brilliant pieces of propaganda aimed at glorifying her dead husband’s memory. Her efforts were successful. The image of a steely Custer leading his men against overwhelming odds only to be wiped out while defending their position to the last man became as much a part of American lore as the Alamo. (Wikipedia)

Boots and Saddles; or, Life in Dakota with General Custer (1885)

Volume I:

Volume II:

Note: for completeness and online readability we recommend the Third (Webster) Edition below.

In 1875, ten years after the end of the Civil War, Sherman became one of the first Civil War generals to publish a memoir. His Memoirs of General William T. Sherman. By Himself, published by D. Appleton & Co., in two volumes, began with the year 1846 (when the Mexican War began) and ended with a chapter about the “military lessons of the [civil] war.”

Vol 1, First Edition (Appleton)

Vol 2, First Edition (British/Henry S. King & Company, London)

In 1886, after the publication of Grant’s memoirs, Sherman produced a "second edition, revised and corrected" of his memoirs with Appleton. The new edition added a second preface, a chapter about his life up to 1846, a chapter concerning the post-war period (ending with his 1884 retirement from the army), several appendices, portraits, improved maps, and an index. For the most part, Sherman refused to revise his original text on the ground that "I disclaim the character of historian, but assume to be a witness on the stand before the great tribunal of history" and "any witness who may disagree with me should publish his own version of [the] facts in the truthful narration of which he is interested." However, Sherman did add the appendices, in which he published the views of some others.

Vol 1, Second (revised) edition

Vol 2, Second (revised) edition

Subsequently, Sherman shifted to the publishing house of Charles L. Webster & Co., the publisher of Grant’s memoirs. The new publishing house brought out a "third edition, revised and corrected" in 1890. This difficult-to-find edition was substantively identical to the second.

Vol 1, Third (Webster) Edition

Vol 2, Third (Webster) Edition

After Sherman died in 1891, there were dueling new editions of his memoirs. His first publisher, Appleton, reissued the original (1875) edition with two new chapters about Sherman’s later years added by the journalist W. Fletcher Johnson.

Vol 2 (Appleton/"Fletcher Johnson" Edition)

Meanwhile, Charles L. Webster & Co. issued a "fourth edition, revised, corrected, and complete" with the text of Sherman’s second edition, a new chapter prepared under the auspices of the Sherman family bringing the general’s life from his retirement to his death and funeral, and an appreciation by politician James G. Blaine (who was related to Sherman's wife). Unfortunately, this edition omits Sherman’s prefaces to the 1875 and 1886 editions.

Vol 2, Fourth Edition (Webster/James G. Blaine)

In 1904 and 1913, Sherman’s youngest son (Philemon Tecumseh Sherman) republished the memoirs, ironically with Appleton (not Charles L. Webster & Co.). This was designated as a "second edition, revised and corrected". This edition contains Sherman’s two prefaces, his 1886 text, and the materials added in the 1891 Blaine edition. Thus, this virtually invisible edition of Sherman's memoirs is actually the most comprehensive version.

See also General William T Sherman: Additional Works and Correspondence