Theodore Roosevelt called him "a brave peacock." Pompous, vainglorious, but extremely capable, General Nelson A. Miles served his country with distinction for forty-two years. During the Civil War he fought in almost every important battle of the Army of the Potomac, and by its end had been promoted to the rank of major general of volunteers. In 1869 Miles was transferred to the West, where he achieved his greatest fame fighting against the Sioux, Cheyennes, Apaches, and Nez Perces. These colorful memoirs, filled with historical figures and illustrated by Frederic Remington, were first published in 1897, near the end of his career. Volume 1 takes up Miles's early years in the East, his Civil War action, and his campaigns against the Indians on the plains, ending with chapters on the battle at the Little Bighorn and the surrender of Sitting Bull. Volume 2 shifts to the Northwest and Miles's role in the Indian wars there.