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The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West
A haunting image of an unnamed Native child and a recovered story of the American West
In 1868, celebrated Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner traveled to Fort Laramie to document the federal government’s treaty negotiations with the Lakota and other tribes of the northern Plains. Gardner, known for his iconic portrait of Abraham Lincoln and his visceral pictures of the Confederate dead at Antietam, posed six federal peace commissioners with a young Native girl wrapped in a blanket. The hand-labeled prints carefully name each of the men, but the girl is never identified. As The Girl in the Middle goes in search of her, it draws readers into the entangled lives of the photographer and his subjects.
Martha A. Sandweiss paints a riveting portrait of the turbulent age of Reconstruction and westward expansion. She follows Gardner from his birthplace in Scotland to the American frontier, as his dreams of a utopian future across the Atlantic fall to pieces. She recounts the lives of William S. Harney, a slave-owning Union general who earned the Lakota name “Woman Killer,” and Samuel F. Tappan, an abolitionist who led the investigation into the Sand Creek massacre. And she identifies Sophie Mousseau, the girl in Gardner’s photograph, whose life swerved in unexpected directions as American settlers pushed into Indian Country and the federal government confined Native peoples to reservations.
Spinning a spellbinding historical tale from a single enigmatic image, The Girl in the Middle reveals how the American nation grappled with what kind of country it would be as it expanded westward in the aftermath of the Civil War.
In 1868, celebrated Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner traveled to Fort Laramie to document the federal government’s treaty negotiations with the Lakota and other tribes of the northern Plains. Gardner, known for his iconic portrait of Abraham Lincoln and his visceral pictures of the Confederate dead at Antietam, posed six federal peace commissioners with a young Native girl wrapped in a blanket. The hand-labeled prints carefully name each of the men, but the girl is never identified. As The Girl in the Middle goes in search of her, it draws readers into the entangled lives of the photographer and his subjects.
Martha A. Sandweiss paints a riveting portrait of the turbulent age of Reconstruction and westward expansion. She follows Gardner from his birthplace in Scotland to the American frontier, as his dreams of a utopian future across the Atlantic fall to pieces. She recounts the lives of William S. Harney, a slave-owning Union general who earned the Lakota name “Woman Killer,” and Samuel F. Tappan, an abolitionist who led the investigation into the Sand Creek massacre. And she identifies Sophie Mousseau, the girl in Gardner’s photograph, whose life swerved in unexpected directions as American settlers pushed into Indian Country and the federal government confined Native peoples to reservations.
Spinning a spellbinding historical tale from a single enigmatic image, The Girl in the Middle reveals how the American nation grappled with what kind of country it would be as it expanded westward in the aftermath of the Civil War.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 15, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 5, 2025
Nonfiction book investigating the people involved in a semi-famous photo from the 19th century. The author discovered the identity of the unknown girl in the center of the photo surrounded by white generals and officials. In the book she traces the life stories of the photographer, Alexander Graham, who is more well known for his Civil War photography, and General Harney as well as Sophie, the Lakota girl. The book really brings that period of 19th century Westward Expansion to life.
The book would have benefited from maps and including some of Graham's other photographs. The only image included is the one the book discusses.
I did enjoy the history and the historical research/genealogical research of the book.
The book would have benefited from maps and including some of Graham's other photographs. The only image included is the one the book discusses.
I did enjoy the history and the historical research/genealogical research of the book.
July 3, 2025
" A magnificent must-read for aficionados of the West's colorful history "
When I came across this book's haunting cover, I knew I had to find out what was inside. I'm astounded by the wealth of research done by the author and what she uncovered, revealing who and what those six men were as well why they were gathered at that place and time. Sandweiss includes the photographer and even succeeds in identifying the lone Native American girl, whose name was not included in the photo's caption.
Be aware that every incident included in the text is documented in fifty-seven pages of "Notes."
Wow.
What an incredible quest! One accomplished through scrutinizing government records of official actions, census records, newspaper articles, wills, land records, and personal interviews with the progeny of those involved.
Within its pages you learn about everyone in that iconic photo and several not shown. It takes you back to the tumultuous times in the 19th Century when this country was facing at least as many challenges as it is today. Not only were they dealing with the aftermath of the Civil War, but issues with settlement of the west.
I don't mean this as a spoiler, but that group of people comprises a government Peace Commission charged with meeting with thousand of Native Americans of different tribes to establish a lasting peace. Who those men are and how they came to be there is what this book is all about.
At least some of the Peace Commissioners were actually pretty objective and fair (obviously not the military members), acknowledging the many gripes the Native Americans had as legitimate. The report even pointed out conflicting values by stating, "If the lands of the white man are taken, civilization justifies him in resisting the invader. Civilization does more than this: it brands him as a coward and slave if he submits to the wrong." Conversely, "If the savage resists, civilization, with the ten commandments in one hand and the sword in the other, demands his immediate extermination." While the commissioners didn't want Indians to disrupt the settlement of the West, the doubted "the purity and genuineness of that civilization which reaches its ends by falsehood and violence, and dispenses blessings that spring from violated rights." (p. 159)
I've done a lot of research into similar times in history while writing "The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon" saga with my Cheyenne coauthor, Pete Risingsun. I must say that what we dug up pales in comparison to this amazing work. Kudos to the author for her patience, perseverance, and outstanding writing skills in creating this fascinating glimpse of the history of the American West.
A longer review is on the blog on https://www.dead-horse-canyon.com
When I came across this book's haunting cover, I knew I had to find out what was inside. I'm astounded by the wealth of research done by the author and what she uncovered, revealing who and what those six men were as well why they were gathered at that place and time. Sandweiss includes the photographer and even succeeds in identifying the lone Native American girl, whose name was not included in the photo's caption.
Be aware that every incident included in the text is documented in fifty-seven pages of "Notes."
Wow.
What an incredible quest! One accomplished through scrutinizing government records of official actions, census records, newspaper articles, wills, land records, and personal interviews with the progeny of those involved.
Within its pages you learn about everyone in that iconic photo and several not shown. It takes you back to the tumultuous times in the 19th Century when this country was facing at least as many challenges as it is today. Not only were they dealing with the aftermath of the Civil War, but issues with settlement of the west.
I don't mean this as a spoiler, but that group of people comprises a government Peace Commission charged with meeting with thousand of Native Americans of different tribes to establish a lasting peace. Who those men are and how they came to be there is what this book is all about.
At least some of the Peace Commissioners were actually pretty objective and fair (obviously not the military members), acknowledging the many gripes the Native Americans had as legitimate. The report even pointed out conflicting values by stating, "If the lands of the white man are taken, civilization justifies him in resisting the invader. Civilization does more than this: it brands him as a coward and slave if he submits to the wrong." Conversely, "If the savage resists, civilization, with the ten commandments in one hand and the sword in the other, demands his immediate extermination." While the commissioners didn't want Indians to disrupt the settlement of the West, the doubted "the purity and genuineness of that civilization which reaches its ends by falsehood and violence, and dispenses blessings that spring from violated rights." (p. 159)
I've done a lot of research into similar times in history while writing "The Curse of Dead Horse Canyon" saga with my Cheyenne coauthor, Pete Risingsun. I must say that what we dug up pales in comparison to this amazing work. Kudos to the author for her patience, perseverance, and outstanding writing skills in creating this fascinating glimpse of the history of the American West.
A longer review is on the blog on https://www.dead-horse-canyon.com
July 4, 2025
Following all the threads that make up the tapestry of a single photo was a fascinating journey through the history that brought a region from one century into another. I was amazing how much of the human story was able to be pulled out through this one historical photograph. I really appreciate the work the author put into fleshing out all the details. I felt like I traveled both across the country and across centuries.
December 4, 2025
Real Rating: 4.5* of five
The Publisher Says: A haunting image of an unnamed Native child and a recovered story of the American West
In 1868, celebrated Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner traveled to Fort Laramie to document the federal government’s treaty negotiations with the Lakota and other tribes of the northern plains. Gardner, known for his iconic portrait of Abraham Lincoln and his visceral pictures of the Confederate dead at Antietam, posed six federal peace commissioners with a young Native girl wrapped in a blanket. The hand-labeled prints carefully name each of the men, but the girl is never identified. As The Girl in the Middle goes in search of her, it draws readers into the entangled lives of the photographer and his subjects.
Martha A. Sandweiss paints a riveting portrait of the turbulent age of Reconstruction and westward expansion. She follows Gardner from his birthplace in Scotland to the American frontier, as his dreams of a utopian future across the Atlantic fall to pieces. She recounts the lives of William S. Harney, a slave-owning Union general who earned the Lakota name “Woman Killer,” and Samuel F. Tappan, an abolitionist who led the investigation into the Sand Creek massacre. And she identifies Sophie Mousseau, the girl in Gardner’s photograph, whose life swerved in unexpected directions as American settlers pushed into Indian Country and the federal government confined Native peoples to reservations.
Spinning a spellbinding historical tale from a single enigmatic image, The Girl in the Middle reveals how the American nation grappled with what kind of country it would be as it expanded westward in the aftermath of the Civil War.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: One image, not typical of Alexander Gardner the Civil War photographer's work, sent Martha Sandweiss on an intense journey of genealogical and historical research. Author Sandweiss is an archive-divin' fool in this book. As you'd expect from this book coming out via Princeton University Press, the evidence is in the sixtyish pages of endnotes. Impressive recordkeeping, impressive intensity of trolling the census data, genealogy databases, newspaper morgues, Federal records of official actions...I'm very slightly overawed by the depth of Author Sandweiss' commitment to her search for one child's identity when, at the time, it's clear she was unimportant.
Yet she was there...why?
I could easily see the intrigue; I could not match the dogged pursuit of facts. In any lifetime. The revelation that there had ever been a Federal Peace Commission (made up of those white guys in the photo), tasked with meeting Native people from all groups, was news to me. That its mission was to determine the course that would bring about lasting and just peace shocked me...talk about honored in the breach not the observance! So the book expanded my knowledge about the injustice, the lies, and the chicanery that acquiring our empire necessitated.
Sophie Mousseau, the titular girl in the titular middle, serves as a lens for Author Sandweiss to bring the role of women, Native and settler, in the wars and peaces of that time and place into focus. It was all new information to me, so I enjoyed the whole experience...despite the expected violence against women, it was reported not detailed for titillation.
I'd rate the read a full five were it not for some...unusual...thoughts the author had about the nature of photography....
The Publisher Says: A haunting image of an unnamed Native child and a recovered story of the American West
In 1868, celebrated Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner traveled to Fort Laramie to document the federal government’s treaty negotiations with the Lakota and other tribes of the northern plains. Gardner, known for his iconic portrait of Abraham Lincoln and his visceral pictures of the Confederate dead at Antietam, posed six federal peace commissioners with a young Native girl wrapped in a blanket. The hand-labeled prints carefully name each of the men, but the girl is never identified. As The Girl in the Middle goes in search of her, it draws readers into the entangled lives of the photographer and his subjects.
Martha A. Sandweiss paints a riveting portrait of the turbulent age of Reconstruction and westward expansion. She follows Gardner from his birthplace in Scotland to the American frontier, as his dreams of a utopian future across the Atlantic fall to pieces. She recounts the lives of William S. Harney, a slave-owning Union general who earned the Lakota name “Woman Killer,” and Samuel F. Tappan, an abolitionist who led the investigation into the Sand Creek massacre. And she identifies Sophie Mousseau, the girl in Gardner’s photograph, whose life swerved in unexpected directions as American settlers pushed into Indian Country and the federal government confined Native peoples to reservations.
Spinning a spellbinding historical tale from a single enigmatic image, The Girl in the Middle reveals how the American nation grappled with what kind of country it would be as it expanded westward in the aftermath of the Civil War.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: One image, not typical of Alexander Gardner the Civil War photographer's work, sent Martha Sandweiss on an intense journey of genealogical and historical research. Author Sandweiss is an archive-divin' fool in this book. As you'd expect from this book coming out via Princeton University Press, the evidence is in the sixtyish pages of endnotes. Impressive recordkeeping, impressive intensity of trolling the census data, genealogy databases, newspaper morgues, Federal records of official actions...I'm very slightly overawed by the depth of Author Sandweiss' commitment to her search for one child's identity when, at the time, it's clear she was unimportant.
Yet she was there...why?
I could easily see the intrigue; I could not match the dogged pursuit of facts. In any lifetime. The revelation that there had ever been a Federal Peace Commission (made up of those white guys in the photo), tasked with meeting Native people from all groups, was news to me. That its mission was to determine the course that would bring about lasting and just peace shocked me...talk about honored in the breach not the observance! So the book expanded my knowledge about the injustice, the lies, and the chicanery that acquiring our empire necessitated.
Sophie Mousseau, the titular girl in the titular middle, serves as a lens for Author Sandweiss to bring the role of women, Native and settler, in the wars and peaces of that time and place into focus. It was all new information to me, so I enjoyed the whole experience...despite the expected violence against women, it was reported not detailed for titillation.
I'd rate the read a full five were it not for some...unusual...thoughts the author had about the nature of photography....
June 11, 2025
The Girl in the Middle: A Recovered History of the American West by Martha A. Sandweiss shines a light on the often overlooked stories of women in the American West. Instead of focusing on the usual tales of pioneers and cowboys, the book explores how women lived and contributed to shaping the border. Sandweiss shows how these women balanced their traditional roles while also facing the challenges and changes of the rapidly expanding West, offering a more complete and human view of that period in history.
August 2, 2025
Using a single photograph as a sort of historical big bang for the people photographed the author takes us backwards and forwards through their lives. This is an interesting and effective way of giving a sense of time and place providing context for the photo. General Harney, a wife beating, murdering, second rate military man and Alexander Gardner, the photographer get a lot of the word count, but I was most interested in some of the smaller stories unearthed like the hapless photographer that first showed up at Fort Laramie.
January 25, 2025
An amazing search to identify and put a voice to the young Native girl in this historical photo. We see these photos and appreciate them for their historical views, but what a difference it makes to learn the backstory of the photo, why it was taken and who the people are in the photo. Even more unusual as this was a Native child. After reading this book I am going to forever wish to know more about every historical photo I see. An amazing book
July 23, 2025
“There are different ways of knowing the past.” This book is an interesting and very readable description of the author’s investigation into a photograph capturing a moment in the troubled times between the US government and the native tribes of the Plains. I’m not well-versed in that history so I can’t comment on the accuracy of the book, but I enjoyed the author’s approach of using the photograph to tell an interesting story and details about each person in it.
October 9, 2025
I listen to this book on audio. It’s very well researched and documented fascinating history of what was done to Native Americans and two people in enslavement. Sophia, who is the girl in the middle was very interesting. Her life what could be reconstructed of it from census records fascinating what happened to people who were both Indian and Caucasian?
November 11, 2025
The narrative structure helps make this history deep-dive very accessible and readable. The structure also gives it clear time and geographical boundaries. It helped make me care about all the people in the photo. I learned a lot and want to learn more.
Sandweiss is an excellent historian and clear writer. I think she's a little weird about the philosophy of photography.
Sandweiss is an excellent historian and clear writer. I think she's a little weird about the philosophy of photography.
November 8, 2025
The author of this absorbing book manages to craft a rich, full, and sweeping new account of the West by filling in the story of how just one photograph was taken. This is expertly told and genuinely thoughtful recovered history at its subtle best.
August 8, 2025
Captivating account supported by tenacious scholarship.
December 4, 2025
Brutal treatment of Native Americans and enslaved people in 19th century America. Well done and well written but a book featuring a famed photographer with only a single photograph?!?
Read
December 10, 2025ALD new books shelf; no audiobook in Libby
Read
January 3, 2026This is a stellar work of historical scholarship. Sandweiss is an elegant writer, too. The subtitle of the book more accurately describes its contents than the main title, though.
November 23, 2025
3.5 stars. Great concept, mixed execution. The author starts with a single photograph taken at Fort Laramie in 1868 - six white men, with a young Native girl in the center. While the names of the men are listed underneath the picture, the girl is unidentified.
The book covers more than a century as Sandweiss shows how each man ended up being part of the not at all ironic "Indian Peace Commission," as well as a bit about what happened afterwards. The photographer was a Scottish radical social reformer turned American businessman who was probably responsible for many of the Civil War photos attributed to Matthew Brady. The military officer was a violent and dishonest horror who was actually charged with murder when he killed a young female slave. There are some interesting synchronicities, distant connections between several of the "Commissioners."
Other than some background on her parents, Sandweiss chooses to hold back the mystery Native girl's narrative until the book's last chapter. Even then, the author was able to find more details about the men in her life than the girl herself, so she remains at least partly a cipher. Most of the book offers the same old "white men behaving badly" shit, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that every picture contains multitudes.
The book covers more than a century as Sandweiss shows how each man ended up being part of the not at all ironic "Indian Peace Commission," as well as a bit about what happened afterwards. The photographer was a Scottish radical social reformer turned American businessman who was probably responsible for many of the Civil War photos attributed to Matthew Brady. The military officer was a violent and dishonest horror who was actually charged with murder when he killed a young female slave. There are some interesting synchronicities, distant connections between several of the "Commissioners."
Other than some background on her parents, Sandweiss chooses to hold back the mystery Native girl's narrative until the book's last chapter. Even then, the author was able to find more details about the men in her life than the girl herself, so she remains at least partly a cipher. Most of the book offers the same old "white men behaving badly" shit, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded that every picture contains multitudes.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews