As conflict raged during the Civil War, soldiers were pulled from duty at many western forts to bolster federal troops in the east, leaving some hopelessly undermanned. Captain Levi Rinehart was one of many ordered to the “Far West” to make up a shortfall in personnel, in his case as a member of the Ohio Volunteer Cavalry in 1862. Although Rinehart was ultimately killed in action in 1865, the young Captain was a keen observer of daily life in these frontier regions. Rinehart made time to translate what he witnessed into small watercolor paintings despite immense hardship and privation. A limited number have survived the chaos into present day, each a window into those bygone days from a vital period in American history.