The main purpose of this monograph is to examine the U.S. Army in the Antebellum Period as the cutting edge of American politics, between being the prime tool of Manifest Destiny, to being interjected into sectional conflicts in Kansas, Utah and the like with a partisan mission, to being whipsawed over whether or not to deal with filibustering expeditions launched with the intentention of further expanding American empire. This being the case, Ball notes that it should be no wonder that the regular Army's officer corps shattered when sectional conflict could no longer be contained. Call this a case study of what happens when you politicize your army. ( )