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Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America
David Silverman argues against the notion that Indians prized flintlock muskets more for their pyrotechnics than for their efficiency as tools of war. Native peoples fully recognized the potential of firearms to assist them in their struggles against colonial forces, and mostly against one another, as arms races erupted across North America.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published October 10, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 13, 2024
This was a pretty good book, bit of a dry read, especially the first hundred pages or so, but this is a serious study about an important historical topic, and Silverman has researched the living hell right out of this. The Notes at the end of the book are so extensive that they would almost qualify as a separate book. I thought that I knew more than your average yokel about all matters indigenous, but Silverman was reeling off names of tribes I'm sure I have never seen previously in print. Who knew there were so many tribes and sub-tribes? Much of what he writes regarding conflicts and martial interactions was known to me, but I had no idea that Russians had traded with and battled west coast Indians. Fascinating.
The book is adequately illustrated with photos, sketches, and maps. I bemoaned the lack of a separate Bibliography. Of course source material is mentioned in the aforementioned Notes, but a bit of a nuisance to ferret it out.
I found some fault with the book. For a man who spent months, maybe years, studying the movement of firearms in early colonial times, Silverman actually doesn't seem to know a heck of a lot about them. For example, he states on p.28 that a musket ball on hitting human flesh would expand to the size of a "large fist". Even the ball from a Charleville musket, roughly 7/10 of an inch coming out of the muzzle, would have no chance of expanding that much, no matter what it hit. And on the very next page he talks about gunners loading their muskets with grape shot.... he undoubtedly means buckshot, as grapeshot was a cluster munition designed for cannon. But it is in the Epilogue that he turned me off. He goes off on a coverage of the '73 Wounded Knee debacle. Up until this time he had covered the historic trade in firearms between different subsets of traders, and all of a sudden he gets us mired in an armed protest (rebellion?), and I don't see the connection. Once again he is wrong on firearms, stating on p.290 that Indians were surrounded by agents equipped with "M50s capable of firing bullets two inches in diameter". The firearm designated M50 was actually a Reising SMG in .45 calibre. I suspect that Silverman is referring to the M2 heavy machine gun chambered in .50BMG. This bullet is a mere half inch in diameter, a quarter of the size Silverman claims.
But I think this last chapter was just thrown in for the sake of virtue signaling, as he mentions that the indigenous protestors were surrounded by white men who outgunned the protestors who were armed mostly with .22s and .410 shotguns. It's quite the narrative, but a quick check of footage on the 'net shows agents of all colours in attendance and, while the Indians certainly had a few substandard firearms in hand, there are also M1 carbines and M14s in evidence along with a number of older surplus military rifles, certainly enough to kill a lot of people. He also mentions the exploitation of Indians by white liquor peddlers. Seriously? If you don't want to drink, don't buy liquor: seems simple enough. Would the booze not have mattered if it was sold by another Indian? Also, there's a cure for poverty these days. We call it employment. No kidding, this Epilogue seemed like a non sequitur to a book that had been fairly decent up to this point.
The book is adequately illustrated with photos, sketches, and maps. I bemoaned the lack of a separate Bibliography. Of course source material is mentioned in the aforementioned Notes, but a bit of a nuisance to ferret it out.
I found some fault with the book. For a man who spent months, maybe years, studying the movement of firearms in early colonial times, Silverman actually doesn't seem to know a heck of a lot about them. For example, he states on p.28 that a musket ball on hitting human flesh would expand to the size of a "large fist". Even the ball from a Charleville musket, roughly 7/10 of an inch coming out of the muzzle, would have no chance of expanding that much, no matter what it hit. And on the very next page he talks about gunners loading their muskets with grape shot.... he undoubtedly means buckshot, as grapeshot was a cluster munition designed for cannon. But it is in the Epilogue that he turned me off. He goes off on a coverage of the '73 Wounded Knee debacle. Up until this time he had covered the historic trade in firearms between different subsets of traders, and all of a sudden he gets us mired in an armed protest (rebellion?), and I don't see the connection. Once again he is wrong on firearms, stating on p.290 that Indians were surrounded by agents equipped with "M50s capable of firing bullets two inches in diameter". The firearm designated M50 was actually a Reising SMG in .45 calibre. I suspect that Silverman is referring to the M2 heavy machine gun chambered in .50BMG. This bullet is a mere half inch in diameter, a quarter of the size Silverman claims.
But I think this last chapter was just thrown in for the sake of virtue signaling, as he mentions that the indigenous protestors were surrounded by white men who outgunned the protestors who were armed mostly with .22s and .410 shotguns. It's quite the narrative, but a quick check of footage on the 'net shows agents of all colours in attendance and, while the Indians certainly had a few substandard firearms in hand, there are also M1 carbines and M14s in evidence along with a number of older surplus military rifles, certainly enough to kill a lot of people. He also mentions the exploitation of Indians by white liquor peddlers. Seriously? If you don't want to drink, don't buy liquor: seems simple enough. Would the booze not have mattered if it was sold by another Indian? Also, there's a cure for poverty these days. We call it employment. No kidding, this Epilogue seemed like a non sequitur to a book that had been fairly decent up to this point.
January 13, 2023
This is an endlessly fascinating history of the spread of firearms among Native Americans from the beginning of contact with the Europeans up to the fall of the Blackfeet in the second half of the 19th century. Silverman does one better though and also gives us the story of how Native Americans actually used these firearms as ways to raid, conquer, and kill their rivals across North America, thus restoring agency to them, rather than them simply being "savages" utilizing a piece of technology they don't understand. In fact, firearms were so well adapted by NAs throughout these centuries that Europeans were astounded at a) their prowess with the guns and b) how quickly they adapted to things like hunting and religious ceremonies.
Silverman frames all this in mini-histories of what he calls "gun frontiers": Dutch New England, the American Southeast, western New England, Florida under the Spanish, the PNW coasts and Alaska, the Red and Arkansas river country, and the northern Plains. Equal time is devoted to all and much is made of trade networks, intra-tribal arms races and the pitiless European exploitation of peoples they couldn't beat in a fair fight by getting them addicted to alcohol and ravaging them with disease.
Silverman frames all this in mini-histories of what he calls "gun frontiers": Dutch New England, the American Southeast, western New England, Florida under the Spanish, the PNW coasts and Alaska, the Red and Arkansas river country, and the northern Plains. Equal time is devoted to all and much is made of trade networks, intra-tribal arms races and the pitiless European exploitation of peoples they couldn't beat in a fair fight by getting them addicted to alcohol and ravaging them with disease.
October 7, 2024
This is one of those books that I was constantly taking notes from and telling everyone random bits of. Including students in classes I am currently teaching. My US History class this semester is increasingly about guns in American history. My students are going to think I'm obsessed with guns. It is hard not to be though, after reading books like this.
The main takeaway here, which Silverman just has so much research to back up, is that the number of guns flooding into the interior of North America from about 1620 to 1880, mostly to Native American communities, was WAY more than you thought. Just so many guns. The most basic stereotype Silverman explodes here is our image of war with Native Americans - when its colonial we always think of colonists with guns and Indians with tomahawks, and when it is 19th century the white pioneers still have guns and the Indians have bows and arrows. Silverman makes clear that the Native fighters always had guns. You can go all the way back to King Philip's War. When you read the primary sources it is clear that both sides have guns, and that a lot of the fighting came from disputes over guns. Once you remember that everyone had guns, other historical episodes become more understandable. Why were the Iroquois so powerful? They had enough guns for every adult male by like 1650. Why did the Seminole Wars last so long? Because the Seminole were buying guns from the Spanish in Cuba and the British in the Bahamas.
There's all these little things that are fascinating too. Like how early the European gunsmiths started manufacturing guns specifically for the Native American market, with special designs and colors, and little trademarks.
It is kind of changing my whole conception of American gun culture. I used to think the US was different basically because of the 2nd amendment. But now I'm thinking a big part of what makes the US different is just the sheer number of guns that have always been here. I mean, Britain and France were not importing just thousands and thousands of guns every year throughout the 18th century, right?
The main takeaway here, which Silverman just has so much research to back up, is that the number of guns flooding into the interior of North America from about 1620 to 1880, mostly to Native American communities, was WAY more than you thought. Just so many guns. The most basic stereotype Silverman explodes here is our image of war with Native Americans - when its colonial we always think of colonists with guns and Indians with tomahawks, and when it is 19th century the white pioneers still have guns and the Indians have bows and arrows. Silverman makes clear that the Native fighters always had guns. You can go all the way back to King Philip's War. When you read the primary sources it is clear that both sides have guns, and that a lot of the fighting came from disputes over guns. Once you remember that everyone had guns, other historical episodes become more understandable. Why were the Iroquois so powerful? They had enough guns for every adult male by like 1650. Why did the Seminole Wars last so long? Because the Seminole were buying guns from the Spanish in Cuba and the British in the Bahamas.
There's all these little things that are fascinating too. Like how early the European gunsmiths started manufacturing guns specifically for the Native American market, with special designs and colors, and little trademarks.
It is kind of changing my whole conception of American gun culture. I used to think the US was different basically because of the 2nd amendment. But now I'm thinking a big part of what makes the US different is just the sheer number of guns that have always been here. I mean, Britain and France were not importing just thousands and thousands of guns every year throughout the 18th century, right?
December 12, 2017
A masterpiece of single issue, yet topic focused history. Silverman tells the story of the indigenous firearms trade of northern North America outside of the just the most famous examples. I found the sections on the Tlingit, Seminoles, and Blackfoot especially welcome to redress gaps in the mainstream narrative.
If you want a book that actually explains that thing you have noticed in Native American history-namely, how well armed everyone was without ironworking-this is for you. Also, if you just want to learn more about the logistics of war outside of settled bureaucratic nation-states as involves firearms (something as relevant today as ever) this is also a good study.
The only example I thought would have further added to the narrative but was not included was the Shawnee pre-1812, and British gun running in the Great Lakes and the most proportionally devastating single field battle in United States history, Wabash/St. Clair's Defeat.
If you want a book that actually explains that thing you have noticed in Native American history-namely, how well armed everyone was without ironworking-this is for you. Also, if you just want to learn more about the logistics of war outside of settled bureaucratic nation-states as involves firearms (something as relevant today as ever) this is also a good study.
The only example I thought would have further added to the narrative but was not included was the Shawnee pre-1812, and British gun running in the Great Lakes and the most proportionally devastating single field battle in United States history, Wabash/St. Clair's Defeat.
August 30, 2020
A history of guns and Native Americans from the 15th century to the 20th. Provides a rich detailed history by region of the United States. There were details in the book I never had heard of before but while guns were a benefit to the natives, it made them dependent on European colonists. Some participated in the slave trade by capturing members of other tribes and exchanging them for guns. Colonists fluctuated from giving Natives guns in exchange for goods such as beaver pelts or trying to get them back when they intended to deport Natives or exterminate them. The last part of the book ends with the Indian Rights movement on Alcatraz and in South Dakota. The dispute hampered George McGovern’s presidential bid as he was from Dakota. So interesting.
January 6, 2018
David J. Silverman makes the most of the enormous body of literature that has accumulated in the past thirty-five years generated by the ethnohistorical re-examination of America's frontier past, in conjunction with primary sources, to synthesize a compelling thesis. In this book he argues forcibly for considering firearms as central to what we generally think of as "the fur trade." In addition, he builds a convincing case that Native American appreciation of the transformational power of firearms (not unlike the changes wrought by the introduction of the horse to the Plains Indian culture) permitted tribal groups to gain enormous leverage as diplomats and warriors in the contest for hegemony over North America, and, in effect, helped them resist white encroachment (and ultimate extermination) for a longer period of time than might have been otherwise. While scholarly in its treatment, its style and content is accessible for the general reader.
November 8, 2021
Just from my perspective as a non-professional history hobbyist this is one of the best books on U.S American history I have ever read. Because the author uses the spread of gun power as his framework you get a a whole scope of time from the east coast to the west coast. My only complaint is I want more.
His explanation of King Phillip's War made more sense than the other books I have read on that subject and I look forward to going back to them with expansion in mind.
I admit I had to to take a break after reading the chapter on the South East and the eventually formation of the Creek tribal groups we know today. But at the risk of being inarticulate or patronizing I felt more connected the people the author writes about and feel they are depicted as fully formed humans with agency over their own choices even when those choices are limited by events outside their control.
His explanation of King Phillip's War made more sense than the other books I have read on that subject and I look forward to going back to them with expansion in mind.
I admit I had to to take a break after reading the chapter on the South East and the eventually formation of the Creek tribal groups we know today. But at the risk of being inarticulate or patronizing I felt more connected the people the author writes about and feel they are depicted as fully formed humans with agency over their own choices even when those choices are limited by events outside their control.
December 12, 2017
A book that not only upends a common belief that Indians were dependent on Europeans for weapons, but also provides an accessible summary of the larger political/ecological forces which all Native Americans had to confront from the Atlantic to Pacific Ocean.
August 9, 2018
Thundersticks is a well-researched and presented account of how firearms, introduced by European explorers, traders, and settlers, changed the native peoples of North America. Silverman has taken an in depth look at the history of colonization and the introduction of firearms and presents a compelling argument that contact with European and American colonists, and their weapons, rather than being a cause of death and loss of their way of life, actually allowed Native American groups to accumulate wealth and power. At least for a short time.
Silverman presents his narrative in the view of the "gun frontier", looking at how indigenous markets were opened to the gun trade, and how that opening affected the political, economic, and social dynamics of the native people and the Europeans/Americans they interacted with. The eight chapters look at different areas of North America and how the native people reacted, and usually thrived - albeit for a short time - with the introduction of the gun. From the Iroquis of the American Northeast, to the Seminoles of Florida, the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island, and the Blackfeet of the western plains, Silverman looks at how the gun frontier impacted the native people of the area. Usually, the introduction of the gun led to an increase in power, wealth, and status for one or more native peoples, who often were able to play colonial powers against each other to get better deals, increase their status, or keep themselves supplied with guns, powder, and shot even during times of war against the same colonial powers.
I found Silverman's thesis and presentation well-written and well-researched. He gives a view into early colonial America, and how the Europeans interacted with the native peoples that most mainline history books either gloss over or ignore. I learned a lot about the history of America, and how much that history was shaped not only by colonial greed and ambition, but also by the desire for power, wealth, and ultimately control of their own destinies by the native people. There were a few times where the writing was a bit slow, but for the most part I found the narrative engaging while also informative.
I recommend this book for people who are interested in history, and want to learn something new about a place and time they think they know something about. I learned a lot of new details about the history of my own country and how the gun frontier and gun culture, not only of the Europeans and Americans, but also of the native peoples, came to shape that history.
Silverman presents his narrative in the view of the "gun frontier", looking at how indigenous markets were opened to the gun trade, and how that opening affected the political, economic, and social dynamics of the native people and the Europeans/Americans they interacted with. The eight chapters look at different areas of North America and how the native people reacted, and usually thrived - albeit for a short time - with the introduction of the gun. From the Iroquis of the American Northeast, to the Seminoles of Florida, the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island, and the Blackfeet of the western plains, Silverman looks at how the gun frontier impacted the native people of the area. Usually, the introduction of the gun led to an increase in power, wealth, and status for one or more native peoples, who often were able to play colonial powers against each other to get better deals, increase their status, or keep themselves supplied with guns, powder, and shot even during times of war against the same colonial powers.
I found Silverman's thesis and presentation well-written and well-researched. He gives a view into early colonial America, and how the Europeans interacted with the native peoples that most mainline history books either gloss over or ignore. I learned a lot about the history of America, and how much that history was shaped not only by colonial greed and ambition, but also by the desire for power, wealth, and ultimately control of their own destinies by the native people. There were a few times where the writing was a bit slow, but for the most part I found the narrative engaging while also informative.
I recommend this book for people who are interested in history, and want to learn something new about a place and time they think they know something about. I learned a lot of new details about the history of my own country and how the gun frontier and gun culture, not only of the Europeans and Americans, but also of the native peoples, came to shape that history.
February 27, 2017
Absolutely excellent, but not a quick or light read. Primary sources were used to discuss history/extent/complications of gun trade & slavery of and between native groups through out colonial and later USA. So complex. I really do want to finish this book, but it takes a lot of thought and my library loan(with renewals) is running out. This book is so good that I think I will buy it. / I suspect this book started out as either a PhD dissertaion or possibly a book written by an assistant professor for advancement/tenure. It's fairly academic. I know current style manuals oppose footnotes, but it would be so much easier to get more out of this book without having to continually find the note at the end of the book and repeatedly get lost in the process of getting back to where I was.
September 29, 2019
When books are written about subjects which deal with firearms, most have been from the non-native american point of view. The fur trade, slave trade and other general prairie commerce have all treated the firearms as one of many trade goods. Colonialists and Americans traders were considered fur traders, or planters instead of gunrunners and slavers. Consideration has not been given to the consequences of what the acquisition of firearms did to the Native American culture. This book does an excellent job of this. There are some areas in the Native American history which are missing but overall it does an excellent job. Particularly enjoyed the last chapter about the Blackfoot culture but wished that the Lakota Souix would have had their own chapter.
December 29, 2018
Good start, lags as it gets to plains wars and ends abruptly.
September 29, 2025
Any guesses as to which class I’m taking this semester (bonus points if you can name the professor…)
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December 12, 2017This is an interesting book. I have read a lot of Native American history, but this put an entirely different spin on the clash of Native/European civilizations. I highly recommend it for those who like the genre.
November 30, 2016
A scholarly and moving examination of the role of firearms in the transformation of Native American culture in advance of white hegemony. Guns provided the last flowering of power, brutality and independence during the age between European landing and continental conquest. A great example of the power of historiography entering a story from a specialized direction. Moving, bloody and heartbreaking.
December 12, 2017
I have long respected Silverman's work for its emphasis on indigenous agency, and this one is no exception. I appreciated the geographic and chronological sweep of the book, along with the archival work and way he incorporated site visits. One quibble would be that he could have better highlighted the ways that colonial powers and the United States took advantage of tribal divisions and enmities along the gun frontier.
December 12, 2017
This work will be reviewed in my weekly feature, Plains Folk. Thundersticks is impressive both for its philosophy of history (recognizing agency of all parties) and for its attention to details (recognizing that a gun is not just a gun, it is a particular firearm with particular attributes). One of those specialized, crosscutting works that enlightens many situations across time and space.
December 12, 2017
This is a convincing history of destructive local arms races. An antidote to the “native helplessness” narrative suggested by the last stands of the mid-1800s, it documents how technology (guns, then guns & horses) were secured by clever leaders from multiple foreign sources to be used against neighbor tribes from the mid-1600s on. The moving technology front kept lifting some tribes into power, but always led to a bleeding of the native population as surely as did new diseases. In combination, the effects eventually left too few to resist the multiplying foreigners (once the foreigners finally left off their own intra-European wrangling).
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December 22, 2017970.00497 S5875 2016
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