The book purports to identify the guns used in America from the beginning of European settlement through the westward advance of the frontier, with major emphasis on arms in the West after 1800. The first three chapters deal mainly with firearms in relation to Indian trade and trapping, and the last three are concerned with military arms, ammunition, and small cannon. There are 57 figures, most of them clear line cuts; a “finding list” which documents the specimens; and a glossary.
This is a multi-purpose book. For the historian it traces the gun trade from Dutch, French, and English origins in the East and Northeast. It is sufficiently technical to appeal to gun buffs and be useful also to museum people. Furthermore, it is an entertaining book. For instance, page 1 of chapter 1 recounts the humane use of a 17th-century gun to dispatch the victim of Indian torture. Such sensational appeal cannot be sustained throughout, but Dr. Russell writes interestingly of the weapons and chattily of the people who used them. Extensive notes and bibliography mark the comprehensive reading and observation that preceded the writing.