Caxton Press

Caxton Press is a small but prolific outfit out of Idaho whose mainstay is western-themed books. They are also the distributor for a number of other publishers, including University of Idaho Press.

The Indian conflicts that raged throughout the West are a heavy focus of their work. Back in 2007, I mentioned Gregory Michno's Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868. It's been well received since, and I finally hope to get around to reading and reviewing it by the end of this year.

Last May, Caxton published Rod Miller's Massacre At Bear River: First, Worst and Forgotten. Whether it improves upon Brigham Madsen's excellent, almost 25 year old study, Shoshoni Frontier & Bear River Massacre (often asserted to be the standard work on the subject) remains to be seen. In an earlier post, I lamented the paucity of Civil War period books about California and its volunteers, but the events at Bear River have received a fair amount of attention by writers, Miller being the most recent.

This month will see the publication of Battlefields of Nebraska by Thomas Phillips. From the look of it, it's a fairly comprehensive overview of the conflicts within Nebraska's borders between whites and Indians between 1825 and 1880. The Civil War years, especially 1864, receive significant attention. This one will also be reviewed.