CARL W. ALBRECHT
Book Notes
The Papers of Henry Bouquet, Volume 5: September 1, 1760-October 31,
1761. Edited by Louis M. Waddell, John L. Tottenham, and
Donald H. Kent.
(Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
Commission, 1984. xxx
+ 875p.; illustrations, bibliography,
chronology, index.) Henry Bouquet, born
in Switzerland in 1719, passed his early
military training and experience in the
service of several European states. In
1756, he was recruited to serve as a
lieutenant colonel in the Royal American
Regiment, and was sent by the British
to the North American colonies following
the outbreak of war with France. He
served mainly on the western colonial
frontier, becoming involved in some of
the more important events of the day; he
continued with the British until his
death in 1765. During the period of this volume of his
papers, fourth in the
series, several events of historical
importance and interest took place: surren-
der of French Canada to the British Army
and subsequent surrender of Fort
Detroit and other western posts;
attempts to control illegal hunting and
settlement by eastern colonials of the
frontier area; various and many problems
with the western Indians; naturalist
John Bartram's tour of the upper Ohio
River area. Letters and other documents
(with translations of those in French)
give accounts of these events. The
annotations, chronology, and index make
this another very useful volume in a
very useful series.
Above and Beyond: A History of the
Medal of Honor from the Civil War to
Vietnam. Edited by Gordon Hardy. (Boston: Boston Publishing
Company,
1985. vi + 346p.; illustrations, maps,
register of recipients, bibliography,
index.) "America's history is
well-stocked with heroes ... 3,393 men-and
one woman-... have been awarded the
Medal of Honor for displaying
courage and sacrifice above and beyond
the call of duty." The Continental
Congress awarded the first United States
medals for individual gallantry in
military action during the Revolutionary
War. It was not until the Civil War,
however, that Congress established a
permanent system of recognition: first,
for the Navy in 1861, and then for the
Army in 1862. Since then, Congress has
awarded the Medal of Honor during every
major military conflict, and has
bestowed it nearly 200 times for
meritorious action of soldiers and sailors
during peacetime. This book is divided
into chapters, each relating to an
important period in the military history
of the United States down to the
Vietnam War. And, it concludes with a
very useful Register of Recipients.
The story of the Medal of Honor is
replete with fascinating accounts of
attention to duty, selfless heroism, and
derring-do; it begins with the Civil War.
The sole woman ever to receive the Medal
was Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, one
of the first woman physicians in the
United States. Although denied a
commission as an Army officer, she
served as field surgeon for the Union
Army. General George Armstrong Custer's
brother, Thomas, was the only
soldier to be awarded two Medals of
Honor during the Civil War, both for
capturing the battle flags of opposing
units during combat. Congress had