MODOC WAR: Its Military History and Topography

1-202830

Far and away the best book on the purely military aspects of the Modoc War, the book is invaluable for its maps (showing all major battles and most engagements) alone. Thompson is thoroughly familiar with the ground the war was fought over, and his archival research is adequate to the task.

On the downside the book is not easy to read, and Thompson makes no attempt to cover the non-military aspects of the war. There are the usual quota of errors -- for example, Thompson attributes the idea of the peace commission to the wrong man, he places the first meeting between Captain Jack and General Canby on the wrong day, and he attributes a comment to Boyle (a participant) that should have been attributed to Boyle's editor (a much later historian).