Francis Parkman (1823-1893) is one of the great nineteenth century United States historians along with William Prescott, John Lothrop Motley, George Bancroft, and Henry Adams. Parkman has been hailed as one of America's great historians and as a master of narrative history. He is most known for his The Oregon Trail and his seven volume work on the history of the French and English in North America. A Half Century of Conflict is the sixth volume of the series but was the last to be published in 1892.