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The Fetterman Massacre: Fort Phil Kearny and the Battle of the Hundred Slain
“One of the best studies that has been made of any sector of the Indian wars” from the #1 bestselling author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (Chicago Tribune). This dark, unflinching, and fascinating book is Dee Brown’s riveting account of events leading up to the Battle of the Hundred Slain—the devastating 1866 conflict that pitted Lakota, Arapaho, and Northern Cheyenne warriors, including Oglala chief Red Cloud, against the United States cavalry under the command of Captain William Fetterman. Providing a vivid backdrop to the battle, Brown offers a portrait of Wyoming’s Ft. Phil Kearney and the remarkable men who built and defended it. Based on a wealth of historical sources and sparked by Brown’s narrative genius, The Fetterman Massacre is an essential look at one of the frontier’s defining conflicts. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dee Brown including rare photos from the author’s personal collection.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Dee Brown
93 books422 followersAKA: Dee Alexander Brown
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience.
Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.
Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience.
Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.
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September 5, 2024
“[C]avalry and infantry were separated in the first fury of attack, the men on foot facing a thousand warriors so close it was possible to see the color of their war paint and the metal ornaments and brass studs of their shields. Feathered arrows streamed like flights of bright speeding birds, and the trapped soldiers felt the pains of sharp heads wrapped in sinew, driving deep into flesh, drawing warm blood to trickle along the grooves of shafts until it froze in the bitter air…”
- Dee Brown, Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga (which has since been republished as The Fetterman Massacre)
The American Indian Wars lasted for hundreds of years. They were relentless, they were brutal, and they were – at times – unbelievably shameful. Yet they were not high intensity conflicts. The United States – and before them, Great Britain – won through an ad hoc strategy of coerced treaties, forceful occupation, divide-and-conquer stratagems, and the destruction of food supplies. Much of the violence came from attacks on villages, often resulting in indiscriminate slaughter of noncombatants.
That said, there were some true battles, pitting Indian warriors against American soldiers.
One of the most celebrated of these occurred on December 21, 1866, when 81 U.S. soldiers from the 18th Infantry and 2nd Cavalry Regiment led by Captain William J. Fetterman were lured into an ambush in present-day northern Wyoming. The trap, set by Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians, resulted in the total annihilation of Fetterman’s command. Not a white man survived. It was the greatest disaster suffered by the western frontier army, at least until the destruction of five companies of George Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876.
Of course, when I say “celebrated,” I mean that relatively speaking. It is quite possible you have never heard of the fight at all. On the vast canvas of human violence, it is barely pinpoint. Even in the United States, if you visit the site of Custer’s demise, near Hardin, Montana, you will find it well-prowled by tourists. Travel a few miles down the road to Fetterman’s fatal ridge, and you will likely be alone.
If you have heard of the Fetterman Fight – and you better believe my immediate family has – it’s probably because of Fetterman’s infamous boast. Before setting out for disaster, Captain Fetterman is alleged to have said: “Give me eighty men and I can ride through the whole Sioux Nation.” That Fetterman died with just that many men is viewed as a beautiful bit of historical symmetry, the braggart hoisted on the petard of his own false superiority.
Fetterman’s braggadocio and the subsequent reception of his just deserts is the narrative thrust that Dee Brown utilizes in Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga. His book is the standard work on the Fetterman Fight, and has achieved the status of classic amongst students of the Indian Wars.
Unfortunately, it is poorly sourced, factually inaccurate, and promotes legends at the sake of reality. It is a title I felt compelled to read because of its reputation, and which left me confused as to how it is still taken seriously. For example, there is no evidence that Captain Fetterman ever made the pronouncement that is now his epigraph. The only citation Brown provides is to a secondary source, which itself cites to a secondary source, which itself…well, you get the picture.
***
If this seems harsh – well, maybe I should start with the positives. The worst part of Fort Phil Kearny is Brown’s handling of the Fetterman Fight. However, that section is actually pretty small. Instead, Brown covers the whole early history of Fort Phil Kearny, from its founding to the immediate aftermath of the Fetterman disaster.
As you learn within, Fort Phil Kearny was constructed to protect travelers along the Bozeman Trail, especially miners heading for gold deposits in Montana. The Bozeman ran through the Powder River Country, a resource-rich environment vitally important to the Indians. The land nominally belonged to the Crow pursuant to the Laramie Treaty of 1851. However, in the aftermath of the First Sioux War of 1855, the Lakota began moving north into the Powder River Country. There, they wrested control of it from the Crow, so that by 1859, the Crow were forced into the Bighorn Mountains. The U.S. Government attempted to secure a new treaty with the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne in order to protect the Bozeman Trail. The so-called Taylor Commission went to Fort Laramie, where, in typical fashion, they declared the treaty a success as soon as they got anyone to sign.
Those who did not sign, including Red Cloud, waited for the soldiers in the Powder River Country.
***
Colonel Henry Carrington of the 18th U.S. Infantry was ordered to lead an expedition up the Bozeman and to build a series of forts. Carrington constructed Fort Phil Kearny to his exacting specifications on a plateau on the eastern side of the Bighorns, a location ringed by hills and several miles from timber. Having been to the site four times – much to my wife’s eyerolling chagrin – I can tell you it’s a lonely, lonely patch of earth.
Brown is at his best in describing not only the minute details that went into erecting Fort Phil Kearny, but in conveying the extremely difficult position it found itself in. Almost immediately, the fort was under a constant state of low-intensity siege. Wagon trains were frequently attacked. Soldiers or civilians who wandered off tended to be found later, in a state of health far poorer than when last seen. The wood cutters felling trees for the outpost were constantly harassed. Carrington’s line of communications was long and frail. Resupply was difficult. Many of his troops were new recruits. He was promised two cavalry companies in order to properly patrol and protect the region. He received only one, and even then, fresh horses were in short supply.
***
According to Brown, this bad situation got a lot worse with the arrival of Captain Fetterman. With very little sourcing, Brown decides that Fetterman is the villain of the piece: an arrogant blowhard who disdained his commanding officer almost as much as the Indians. This is where Fort Phil Kearny fell apart for me.
The crux of the matter is who must shoulder the blame for blundering into the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho trap. On the fateful day, the Indians created a diversion by attacking wood cutters in the forest, drawing the soldiers from behind their walls. A handful of decoys then lured Captain Fetterman’s mixed column of infantry and cavalry over a hill known as Lodge Trail Ridge, which is out of site of the fort. Once over that ridge, the small force of U.S. troopers was overwhelmed by a cleverly sprung ambush.
Brown’s confident assertion is that Captain Fetterman disobeyed orders from Colonel Carrington not to pursue over the Lodge Trail Ridge. He bases this on his characterization of Fetterman, including that bit of bragging. With undue confidence, Brown’s narrative has Fetterman being given his eighty men, after which he immediately disobeys orders, crosses the Lodge Trail Ridge, and then commits suicide after viewing the tidal crest of his folly.
Having read the congressional testimony of the fight – for my yet unfinished Great American Novel – I am tempted to bore you all with the evidentiary gaps in Brown’s presentation. Suffice to say, much of it comes from Carrington’s own testimony, when his ass-saving efforts kicked into overdrive. Even then, Brown ignores contradictory statements, such as Carrington’s own admission that he watched Fetterman “moving wisely…with good promise of cutting off the Indians.”
***
There have been several really good books about this subject. This includes Shannon Smith’s Give Me Eighty Men, as well as Bob Drury and Tom Clavin’s The Heart of Everything That Is. Reading them, you start to recognize that if anyone disobeyed orders that December day, it was Lieutenant George Grummond, who had almost died on December 6 by – you guessed it – chasing after an Indian decoy and riding into an ambush. After that event, Fetterman, who had an impeccable Civil War record, told Carrington that the experience had given him newfound respect for Indian fighting, something that Brown does not attempt to square with his portrait of a rash and insubordinate officer. Grummond, on the other hand, showed no such contrition. Also, unlike Fetterman, Grummond had been removed from a Civil War campaign by General Robert Granger for disobeying orders.
Again, at the risk of getting into the weeds, Fetterman’s detachment comprised elements of the 2nd Cavalry and 18th Infantry. Grummond had charge of the cavalry. Though it seems an obvious point, horses move faster than men. Using the time-motion analysis of western historian J.W. Vaughn, all modern historians recognize that Grummond’s cavalry was far ahead of Fetterman’s foot-soldiers, and were the first to go over the fateful ridgeline. Alas, this eludes Brown, as does his knowledge of Grummond’s checkered background as a bigamist with a spotty military record and a habit of galloping into ambushes.
***
Brown’s failure to account for the cavalry being ahead of the infantry makes his narration of the battle rather useless. He has the cavalry and infantry “separated” during the Indians’ attack, with the infantry retreating and the cavalry covering them. But this only makes sense if the infantry was ahead of the cavalry, and men on foot were swifter than horses.
Later, Brown has Fetterman committing joint suicide with another brash officer, Lieutenant Frederick Brown. This is a perpetuation of an odd falsehood, meant to neatly close Fetterman’s fictional arc. Fetterman didn't shoot himself, nor was he shot by a brother officer. On July 25, 1867, Dr. Samuel Horton, assistant surgeon at Fort Phil Kearny, testified that he examined Fetterman’s corpse: “Colonel Fetterman[’]s body showed his thorax to have been cut crosswise with a knife, deep into the viscera; his throat and entire neck were cut to the cervical spine all around. I believe that mutilation caused his death.” Horton’s observations are corroborated by American Horse, who spent many years telling people how he killed Fetterman by knocking him down with his club and slitting his throat. He even donated the club to a white rancher, where it can apparently be found at the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, in Nebraska.
This might seem like an odd factoid to perseverate upon. My kids certainly think so, and have asked me to stop showing them the congressional record. Yet, this imaginative history still lingers. In bestselling author Michael Punke’s fictional recreation – Ridgeline – poor Fetterman is still getting his brains blown out, his minor place in history etched as a gruesome bit of black comedy.
***
Let’s go back to American Horse, the man who killed Fetterman in single combat. He is not mentioned at all in Fort Phil Kearny. This is pretty strange for the man who – to his credit – wrote Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Unlike that classic, the Indians have almost no presence here. We don’t get their side of the story. We don’t get to read their testimonies. They are a vague plot point flitting at the margins of their own tale.
***
One of the questionable facts about my existence is that I’ve been to the Fetterman battlefield four times. My excuse? Well, I’m obsessed with the American West. Also, it’s a lot closer than Prague or Vienna. Because of this, I have a level of knowledge about this skirmish that is as deep as it is unnecessary for daily life. Ultimately, Dee Brown botching the history of a minor military encounter is not a big deal, and probably not worth two-thousand words.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting, given Brown’s otherwise stellar reputation. The American Indian Wars were a tragedy. But they were also incredibly complex, a multifaceted collision of many different cultures at a point in time of technological progress and global population shifts. This story does not need shallow ironies or one-dimensional rogues to be interesting. It is quite dramatic enough on its own.
- Dee Brown, Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga (which has since been republished as The Fetterman Massacre)
The American Indian Wars lasted for hundreds of years. They were relentless, they were brutal, and they were – at times – unbelievably shameful. Yet they were not high intensity conflicts. The United States – and before them, Great Britain – won through an ad hoc strategy of coerced treaties, forceful occupation, divide-and-conquer stratagems, and the destruction of food supplies. Much of the violence came from attacks on villages, often resulting in indiscriminate slaughter of noncombatants.
That said, there were some true battles, pitting Indian warriors against American soldiers.
One of the most celebrated of these occurred on December 21, 1866, when 81 U.S. soldiers from the 18th Infantry and 2nd Cavalry Regiment led by Captain William J. Fetterman were lured into an ambush in present-day northern Wyoming. The trap, set by Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians, resulted in the total annihilation of Fetterman’s command. Not a white man survived. It was the greatest disaster suffered by the western frontier army, at least until the destruction of five companies of George Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876.
Of course, when I say “celebrated,” I mean that relatively speaking. It is quite possible you have never heard of the fight at all. On the vast canvas of human violence, it is barely pinpoint. Even in the United States, if you visit the site of Custer’s demise, near Hardin, Montana, you will find it well-prowled by tourists. Travel a few miles down the road to Fetterman’s fatal ridge, and you will likely be alone.
If you have heard of the Fetterman Fight – and you better believe my immediate family has – it’s probably because of Fetterman’s infamous boast. Before setting out for disaster, Captain Fetterman is alleged to have said: “Give me eighty men and I can ride through the whole Sioux Nation.” That Fetterman died with just that many men is viewed as a beautiful bit of historical symmetry, the braggart hoisted on the petard of his own false superiority.
Fetterman’s braggadocio and the subsequent reception of his just deserts is the narrative thrust that Dee Brown utilizes in Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga. His book is the standard work on the Fetterman Fight, and has achieved the status of classic amongst students of the Indian Wars.
Unfortunately, it is poorly sourced, factually inaccurate, and promotes legends at the sake of reality. It is a title I felt compelled to read because of its reputation, and which left me confused as to how it is still taken seriously. For example, there is no evidence that Captain Fetterman ever made the pronouncement that is now his epigraph. The only citation Brown provides is to a secondary source, which itself cites to a secondary source, which itself…well, you get the picture.
***
If this seems harsh – well, maybe I should start with the positives. The worst part of Fort Phil Kearny is Brown’s handling of the Fetterman Fight. However, that section is actually pretty small. Instead, Brown covers the whole early history of Fort Phil Kearny, from its founding to the immediate aftermath of the Fetterman disaster.
As you learn within, Fort Phil Kearny was constructed to protect travelers along the Bozeman Trail, especially miners heading for gold deposits in Montana. The Bozeman ran through the Powder River Country, a resource-rich environment vitally important to the Indians. The land nominally belonged to the Crow pursuant to the Laramie Treaty of 1851. However, in the aftermath of the First Sioux War of 1855, the Lakota began moving north into the Powder River Country. There, they wrested control of it from the Crow, so that by 1859, the Crow were forced into the Bighorn Mountains. The U.S. Government attempted to secure a new treaty with the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne in order to protect the Bozeman Trail. The so-called Taylor Commission went to Fort Laramie, where, in typical fashion, they declared the treaty a success as soon as they got anyone to sign.
Those who did not sign, including Red Cloud, waited for the soldiers in the Powder River Country.
***
Colonel Henry Carrington of the 18th U.S. Infantry was ordered to lead an expedition up the Bozeman and to build a series of forts. Carrington constructed Fort Phil Kearny to his exacting specifications on a plateau on the eastern side of the Bighorns, a location ringed by hills and several miles from timber. Having been to the site four times – much to my wife’s eyerolling chagrin – I can tell you it’s a lonely, lonely patch of earth.
Brown is at his best in describing not only the minute details that went into erecting Fort Phil Kearny, but in conveying the extremely difficult position it found itself in. Almost immediately, the fort was under a constant state of low-intensity siege. Wagon trains were frequently attacked. Soldiers or civilians who wandered off tended to be found later, in a state of health far poorer than when last seen. The wood cutters felling trees for the outpost were constantly harassed. Carrington’s line of communications was long and frail. Resupply was difficult. Many of his troops were new recruits. He was promised two cavalry companies in order to properly patrol and protect the region. He received only one, and even then, fresh horses were in short supply.
***
According to Brown, this bad situation got a lot worse with the arrival of Captain Fetterman. With very little sourcing, Brown decides that Fetterman is the villain of the piece: an arrogant blowhard who disdained his commanding officer almost as much as the Indians. This is where Fort Phil Kearny fell apart for me.
The crux of the matter is who must shoulder the blame for blundering into the Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho trap. On the fateful day, the Indians created a diversion by attacking wood cutters in the forest, drawing the soldiers from behind their walls. A handful of decoys then lured Captain Fetterman’s mixed column of infantry and cavalry over a hill known as Lodge Trail Ridge, which is out of site of the fort. Once over that ridge, the small force of U.S. troopers was overwhelmed by a cleverly sprung ambush.
Brown’s confident assertion is that Captain Fetterman disobeyed orders from Colonel Carrington not to pursue over the Lodge Trail Ridge. He bases this on his characterization of Fetterman, including that bit of bragging. With undue confidence, Brown’s narrative has Fetterman being given his eighty men, after which he immediately disobeys orders, crosses the Lodge Trail Ridge, and then commits suicide after viewing the tidal crest of his folly.
Having read the congressional testimony of the fight – for my yet unfinished Great American Novel – I am tempted to bore you all with the evidentiary gaps in Brown’s presentation. Suffice to say, much of it comes from Carrington’s own testimony, when his ass-saving efforts kicked into overdrive. Even then, Brown ignores contradictory statements, such as Carrington’s own admission that he watched Fetterman “moving wisely…with good promise of cutting off the Indians.”
***
There have been several really good books about this subject. This includes Shannon Smith’s Give Me Eighty Men, as well as Bob Drury and Tom Clavin’s The Heart of Everything That Is. Reading them, you start to recognize that if anyone disobeyed orders that December day, it was Lieutenant George Grummond, who had almost died on December 6 by – you guessed it – chasing after an Indian decoy and riding into an ambush. After that event, Fetterman, who had an impeccable Civil War record, told Carrington that the experience had given him newfound respect for Indian fighting, something that Brown does not attempt to square with his portrait of a rash and insubordinate officer. Grummond, on the other hand, showed no such contrition. Also, unlike Fetterman, Grummond had been removed from a Civil War campaign by General Robert Granger for disobeying orders.
Again, at the risk of getting into the weeds, Fetterman’s detachment comprised elements of the 2nd Cavalry and 18th Infantry. Grummond had charge of the cavalry. Though it seems an obvious point, horses move faster than men. Using the time-motion analysis of western historian J.W. Vaughn, all modern historians recognize that Grummond’s cavalry was far ahead of Fetterman’s foot-soldiers, and were the first to go over the fateful ridgeline. Alas, this eludes Brown, as does his knowledge of Grummond’s checkered background as a bigamist with a spotty military record and a habit of galloping into ambushes.
***
Brown’s failure to account for the cavalry being ahead of the infantry makes his narration of the battle rather useless. He has the cavalry and infantry “separated” during the Indians’ attack, with the infantry retreating and the cavalry covering them. But this only makes sense if the infantry was ahead of the cavalry, and men on foot were swifter than horses.
Later, Brown has Fetterman committing joint suicide with another brash officer, Lieutenant Frederick Brown. This is a perpetuation of an odd falsehood, meant to neatly close Fetterman’s fictional arc. Fetterman didn't shoot himself, nor was he shot by a brother officer. On July 25, 1867, Dr. Samuel Horton, assistant surgeon at Fort Phil Kearny, testified that he examined Fetterman’s corpse: “Colonel Fetterman[’]s body showed his thorax to have been cut crosswise with a knife, deep into the viscera; his throat and entire neck were cut to the cervical spine all around. I believe that mutilation caused his death.” Horton’s observations are corroborated by American Horse, who spent many years telling people how he killed Fetterman by knocking him down with his club and slitting his throat. He even donated the club to a white rancher, where it can apparently be found at the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, in Nebraska.
This might seem like an odd factoid to perseverate upon. My kids certainly think so, and have asked me to stop showing them the congressional record. Yet, this imaginative history still lingers. In bestselling author Michael Punke’s fictional recreation – Ridgeline – poor Fetterman is still getting his brains blown out, his minor place in history etched as a gruesome bit of black comedy.
***
Let’s go back to American Horse, the man who killed Fetterman in single combat. He is not mentioned at all in Fort Phil Kearny. This is pretty strange for the man who – to his credit – wrote Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Unlike that classic, the Indians have almost no presence here. We don’t get their side of the story. We don’t get to read their testimonies. They are a vague plot point flitting at the margins of their own tale.
***
One of the questionable facts about my existence is that I’ve been to the Fetterman battlefield four times. My excuse? Well, I’m obsessed with the American West. Also, it’s a lot closer than Prague or Vienna. Because of this, I have a level of knowledge about this skirmish that is as deep as it is unnecessary for daily life. Ultimately, Dee Brown botching the history of a minor military encounter is not a big deal, and probably not worth two-thousand words.
Nevertheless, it’s worth noting, given Brown’s otherwise stellar reputation. The American Indian Wars were a tragedy. But they were also incredibly complex, a multifaceted collision of many different cultures at a point in time of technological progress and global population shifts. This story does not need shallow ironies or one-dimensional rogues to be interesting. It is quite dramatic enough on its own.
December 30, 2015
A truly great read for anyone with the slightest interest in the subject - the second largest defeat (after Custer's) of the US Cavalry by the native Americans.
Dee Brown's book takes the reader from the very beginning of the long journey, slowly heading towards the site of what would eventually become Fort Phil Kearny.
The description of the building process and the hardships endured by both the men and the animals throughout the bitter winter make the reader feel they're genuinely there experiencing it with them.
The description of the incident which gives rise to the books title is well documented - particularly the state of the massacred men discovered by the relief column.
On a slightly different note the present day site is a particularly beautiful place. Not at all like it was on the 21st December 1866 - that's for sure.
It would be an emotional experience to sit there at the foot of the memorial to the deceased cavalry soldiers while reading pages from this book and looking out over the scene where it all unfolded.
When I visited in 2011 we were the only visitors over the hour we were there - which makes the feeling of the area so much more powerful.
This book is definitely a thoroughly recommended read!
Dee Brown's book takes the reader from the very beginning of the long journey, slowly heading towards the site of what would eventually become Fort Phil Kearny.
The description of the building process and the hardships endured by both the men and the animals throughout the bitter winter make the reader feel they're genuinely there experiencing it with them.
The description of the incident which gives rise to the books title is well documented - particularly the state of the massacred men discovered by the relief column.
On a slightly different note the present day site is a particularly beautiful place. Not at all like it was on the 21st December 1866 - that's for sure.
It would be an emotional experience to sit there at the foot of the memorial to the deceased cavalry soldiers while reading pages from this book and looking out over the scene where it all unfolded.
When I visited in 2011 we were the only visitors over the hour we were there - which makes the feeling of the area so much more powerful.
This book is definitely a thoroughly recommended read!
March 14, 2014
Fascinating description of the U.S. Army's 1866 construction of Ft. Phil Kearny and the subsequent massacre of a detachment that left no survivors. Based on Army records and firsthand accounts, the narrative builds to an ambush by two thousand Sioux of Captain William Fetterman and his 80 cavalry and infantry.
While hardened veterans of the Civil War, Fetterman and most of his officers had no experience fighting Sioux and Arapaho, but plenty of confidence in their own martial abilities. At the same time, Fetterman's commanding officer had no Civil War combat experience, thus was held in low-esteem by several subordinates, including Fetterman.
Events surrounding the ambush bookend this history, but much of the tale involves traveling across the prairie from Nebraska to the site of the fort in Wyoming Territory. Soldiers had been encouraged to bring their wives and these women kept diaries. Author Dee Brown expertly weaves their observations into the story, providing a valuable peek into the beauty and harshness of life on the frontier almost one-hundred and fifty years ago.
While hardened veterans of the Civil War, Fetterman and most of his officers had no experience fighting Sioux and Arapaho, but plenty of confidence in their own martial abilities. At the same time, Fetterman's commanding officer had no Civil War combat experience, thus was held in low-esteem by several subordinates, including Fetterman.
Events surrounding the ambush bookend this history, but much of the tale involves traveling across the prairie from Nebraska to the site of the fort in Wyoming Territory. Soldiers had been encouraged to bring their wives and these women kept diaries. Author Dee Brown expertly weaves their observations into the story, providing a valuable peek into the beauty and harshness of life on the frontier almost one-hundred and fifty years ago.
October 23, 2018
This is a splendid piece of up close history with notes taken from interviews and records with people concerned with the actual event. The whole affair leading up to the ghastly conclusion is well documented and presented in fine detail. At times the reader feels like he is actually there in the untamed western frontier.
The build up over the weeks to the climatic event that leads to a dreadful massacre is very well presented with documentary accounts of everyday life among the soldiers building a stockade fort in the untamed Indian territory.
If you like American history, then this is an absolute must.
The build up over the weeks to the climatic event that leads to a dreadful massacre is very well presented with documentary accounts of everyday life among the soldiers building a stockade fort in the untamed Indian territory.
If you like American history, then this is an absolute must.
May 8, 2016
A complex story
I have always had a love of the American West and the people, who faced the perils of it. One of my favor story is of the Fetterman Massacre in 1866. This story has always intrigued me because there were no survivors of the fight on the U.S. Army troops involved. Dee Brown presents a narrative of the events leading to the fight and the aftermath of it. Who is to blame for the massacre is anybody's guess. My money is still on Fetterman for his belief that Indians couldn't fight. Yes they could and he found out the hard way. Now that I have said my piece on who is to blame, let say that this is the best thing I have read since reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Dee Brown has wrote a masterful tale of the frontier army in this book it flows from the pages. I could not stop reading this book. The people in it I had heard of before, but this time I discovered how their families dealt with the frontier also. The events after the massacre are just as important as those from before the massacre. The government as usual starts looking for a scapegoat to lay the blame on and they try to use Colonel Carrington, but to tell how it all turns out would be a spoiler so I say just read the book.
I have always had a love of the American West and the people, who faced the perils of it. One of my favor story is of the Fetterman Massacre in 1866. This story has always intrigued me because there were no survivors of the fight on the U.S. Army troops involved. Dee Brown presents a narrative of the events leading to the fight and the aftermath of it. Who is to blame for the massacre is anybody's guess. My money is still on Fetterman for his belief that Indians couldn't fight. Yes they could and he found out the hard way. Now that I have said my piece on who is to blame, let say that this is the best thing I have read since reading Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Dee Brown has wrote a masterful tale of the frontier army in this book it flows from the pages. I could not stop reading this book. The people in it I had heard of before, but this time I discovered how their families dealt with the frontier also. The events after the massacre are just as important as those from before the massacre. The government as usual starts looking for a scapegoat to lay the blame on and they try to use Colonel Carrington, but to tell how it all turns out would be a spoiler so I say just read the book.
October 4, 2015
Dee Brown, who also authored "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," has turned her extensive research into a fast-paced narrative that details one of the Old West's most legendary tales. Originally titled, "Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga," the book does indeed center on Colonel Henry B. Carrington who built the fort from which Captain William J. Fetterman rode to his doom. The massacre itself fills only one chapter out of 11, but it is remarkably detailed and by no means is this a criticism. On the contrary, it puts Captain Fetterman's actions and the aftermath in clear perspective. We tend to think such events happen in a vacuum, but of course that is never the case.
If you are interested in Western history, I highly recommend this book.
If you are interested in Western history, I highly recommend this book.
August 26, 2012
Very engaging history of this event--one of the situations that indirectly led to Custer's aggressiveness 10 years later. Part of the problem was officers who had served in the Civil War but had no knowledge of the different type of fighting employed by the Indians. The officers of the massacred party were contemptuous,vastly over-confident and disobeyed a direct order NOT to pursue Indians beyond a certain point. Well written and provides an excellent view into life on the frontier at that time. Probably not for people who aren't interested with Western history
November 24, 2020
This is a interesting event in American history. Another case of white pride and arrogance being his demise. It is Little Big Horn on a smaller scale. The only down side is there was no survivors or eye witnesses. The slaughter took place outside of the line of site from the nearby fort.(dirty, rotten, stinking hills!)So the story of the Fetterman massacre is well documented except for the massacre itself. It's still a good book, but don't expect any details about the battle. No one (white man) lived to tell what happened.
October 13, 2010
This title is somewhat misleading. The book is really about the history of Ft. Phil Kearny, WY, where Fetterman left on his infamous ride through the Sioux nation with 80 men. It is the story of a place, the people who built and fought around it, and the second battle in American history from which there were no survivors from the losing side. Extremely well written. If you are interested in the West, in the Indian Wars, or the 19th Century Army, this book is for you. Recommended.
May 19, 2015
On June 25, 1876, five companies of cavalry under the command of G.A. Custer perished at the Little Bighorn, even though the rest of the 7th Cavalry survived. Ten years before, December 21, 1866, some 90 men under the command of Captain Fetterman were killed and mutilated near Fort Phil Kearney during Red Cloud' s War. Since none of the men survived, there was much speculation about why this tragedy happened. In this book, Dee Brown gives a straightforward version leading up to the massacre.
May 5, 2016
If Custer hadn't had the arrogant misfortune to lead over 200 men to their deaths ten years later, the Fetterman Massacre would have gone down in history as the biggest defeat the US army ever suffered at the hands of the Indians. And Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, did a good job of documenting it.
February 4, 2017
Outstanding Account
Very readable, this engaging story is told in a way that takes the reader back in time. The story of Red Cloud's War is told from the perspective of the soldiers and civilians that took up post at Fort Phil Kearny in what is now, northern Wyoming. My only regret is that the book does not give me much insight from the Native point of view.
Very readable, this engaging story is told in a way that takes the reader back in time. The story of Red Cloud's War is told from the perspective of the soldiers and civilians that took up post at Fort Phil Kearny in what is now, northern Wyoming. My only regret is that the book does not give me much insight from the Native point of view.
September 20, 2020
This is an interesting account of the Fetterman Massacre and the events leading up to it. It is not nearly as well written as the other Dee Brown books that I have read - it seems to have been done primarily based on the documentation of the Fort Commander, and is almost devoid of information from the Indian viewpoint. OK, but certainly not top-notch.
September 5, 2009
A relatively quick read, but I remember wondering how accurate the author's imagination of the battles could be -- nonetheless, despite a bit of unnecessary skepticism, the descriptions are compelling. Probably a bit too focused a topic for the general reader.
August 19, 2012
it was okay
June 29, 2013
Very good, well written and interesting. Bought this book at Ft. Phil Kearney, very cool to read about it after seeing where it happened.
July 25, 2016
I always like reading Dee Brown's books--you learn so much about the West. This was an event I had never heard about before, and was very interesting.
December 30, 2015
Great book. Very detailed.
April 30, 2023
”No disaster other than the usual incidents to border warfare occurred until gross disobedience of orders sacrificed nearly eighty of the choice men of my command … Life was the forfeit. In the grave I bury disobedience.”
Author Dee Brown remains one of the American west’s best historians, weaving a vivid and engrossing account of The Fetterman Massacre which saw a confederation of native American tribes lure, trap and destroy a detachment of US soldiery just past the walls of Fort Phil Kearny on December 21, 1866, in what is now modern Wyoming. The loss would (at the time) be the bloodiest defeat suffered by U.S. troops on the Great Plains (only later eclipsed by the massacre of George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn).
With much of the book focused on Colonel Henry B. Carrington, the controversial builder and commander of the fort, Brown traces the U.S. government’s increasingly aggressive efforts to secure the Bozeman trail, beginning at the building of the military outpost and ending at its dismantling. The narrative is rich and, once again, I’m hard pressed to imagine I would have lasted very long in the wilds, trucking through heavy snows, felling trees and wild game, let alone building fortifications on the frontier. Brown packs in both facts and personalities, without slackening the pace of this engaging narrative. And while the majority of the story is from the white man’s perspective, Brown (as much as he is able) tries to offer a balanced view, including tribal cultural features and perspectives. I, for one, particularly liked the chapter headings, subtitling each month with Native American seasonal descriptions.
The climax of the book is, of course, the battle, which Brown describes in cinematic detail. Despite the lack of survivors, Brown is able to recreate the engagement in frenetic and often gory details as the U.S. infantry and calvary are decoyed into a well-laid trap by Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors. It does not go well for the soldiers. The aftermath is also intensely portrayed, bodies brought by the dozens into the isolated outpost, grieving widows, and heroic dashes by outriders into the teeth of a blizzard to carry news of the bloody defeat and bring military relief to the by now panicked fort.
Perhaps the only bummer of the book is the author’s biography (with photos!). After thoroughly enjoying the tale, I found out that this new favorite writer of mine …. is dead. Sure he leaves behind quite a considerable bibliography, but as an author that was ‘brand-new-to-me’, I was very saddened to learn that Dee Brown is no longer at his keyboard.
Regardless, Dee Brown's The Fetterman Massacre is great history, told with verve and immensely enjoyable reading.
August 6, 2020
At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument in the Nebraska Panhandle, the most exciting thing for me was the surprising collection of Native American artifacts that the family which once owned the ranch on which the fossils were discovered, had been given by their Native American friends. And the most surprising of those items was the war club American Horse used to kill Captain Fetterman. I distinctly went "Wow!" when I read the label posted by the club.
Now, this volume tells a different story of Fetterman's end--that he and a partner took their lives rather than being killed by the Lakota and their allies. I Googled and learned that this is a discrepancy between Native and Military versions of the story. Prior to reading this book, I had only read about the massacre and Red Cloud's war from accounts by or sympathetic to the Native perspective.
Last summer I bought this volume from the gift shop at Fort Hartsuff in the Nebraska Sandhills and finally read it while on vacation in the Black Hills this summer. It is a detailed account of the establishment and short life of Fort Phil Kearny and the famous massacre which helped contribute to Red Cloud's victory in his war against the United States and the ultimate disestablishment of the fort. So, if you like histories of the West or of the military, you'll enjoy this volume.
Now, this volume tells a different story of Fetterman's end--that he and a partner took their lives rather than being killed by the Lakota and their allies. I Googled and learned that this is a discrepancy between Native and Military versions of the story. Prior to reading this book, I had only read about the massacre and Red Cloud's war from accounts by or sympathetic to the Native perspective.
Last summer I bought this volume from the gift shop at Fort Hartsuff in the Nebraska Sandhills and finally read it while on vacation in the Black Hills this summer. It is a detailed account of the establishment and short life of Fort Phil Kearny and the famous massacre which helped contribute to Red Cloud's victory in his war against the United States and the ultimate disestablishment of the fort. So, if you like histories of the West or of the military, you'll enjoy this volume.
October 30, 2021
This was a very detailed presentation of the events surrounding the massacre near Fort Philip Kearney in December 1866. Known as "The Fetterman Massacre", this event was not due to a single error by the Fort Commander, Col. Carrington, or by Captain Fetterman himself. Because of Dee Brown's thorough research, the Native American side of the story is told. From various viewpoints, it is clear that Red Cloud orchestrated this ambush, the military infantry and cavalry did everything they could to defend themselves. The sole remaining question is, Why did Red Cloud stop his attack? After erasing the Fetterman deployed units, he had sufficient remaining forces to annihilate the fort garrison as well. The most memorable statement of the defense offered by Captain Fetterman's soldiers came from Red Cloud after the Custer massacre. He stated the various tribes lost more warriors fighting Captain Fetterman than they did Col. Custer. An excellent read for anyone interested in military conflicts of the American West after the Civil War.
August 13, 2020
This book essentially starts as far in the beginning of the construction of Fort Phil Kearney as conceivably possible, which makes the build-up slow. For those waiting for Captain Fetterman to play a key role throughout the novel, expect to be disappointed. Instead you will dive into the life and trials of Colonel Carrington, the man in charge of the fort long before Fetterman shows up. As ridiculous as it is that the eponym of the disaster doesn't get introduced until the last quarter of the book, the growing tensions between the infantry at the fort and the neighboring Native American tribes are well documented by Brown, and this documentation proves to be a more reliable tale of how the Fetterman Massacre came about. Also, I definitely recommend reading until the very end (especially if you are currently unfamiliar with the massacre itself and its consequences). The end was interesting!
September 30, 2020
Well written, well documented book about the little known campaign in the year after the Civil War to hold open the Bozeman Trail through eastern Wyoming to Montana’s gold fields. The Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne fought to protect their prime hunting grounds from destruction from mining and settler wagon trains. The undermanned, outgunned, and poorly supplied Army troops fought for their lives in a beautiful, harsh land against foes who took no prisoners and tortured and mutilated their foes. Surprisingly, the protagonist isn’t Fetterman, but his commander, Henry Carrington. Carrington’s lifelong dream was to be a military commander in the field, but found his army faced a surprisingly united Indian confederacy on their home grounds. I was amazed that many soldiers brought their families on this dangerous campaign. The outcome of the Massacre was the United States agreed to abandon the Bozeman Trail and forts without concession— a stunning Indian victory.
August 24, 2019
A forgotten incident in the history of the American West.
An excellent account of what would become known as the Fetterman Massacre, that took place in December 1866. Dee Brown has written a very exciting and detailed account, including the events leading up to and following this disaster for the U.S. Army. What happened in North Dakota in 1866 was to be repeated again exactly ten years later, but on a larger scale at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The only downside for the book is that there are very few details from the Indian side, but this is most likely due to the Indian participants not being interviewed by contemporary historians in the years following the massacre. Nevertheless, the book should be a must for all those interested in the military history of the American West.
An excellent account of what would become known as the Fetterman Massacre, that took place in December 1866. Dee Brown has written a very exciting and detailed account, including the events leading up to and following this disaster for the U.S. Army. What happened in North Dakota in 1866 was to be repeated again exactly ten years later, but on a larger scale at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The only downside for the book is that there are very few details from the Indian side, but this is most likely due to the Indian participants not being interviewed by contemporary historians in the years following the massacre. Nevertheless, the book should be a must for all those interested in the military history of the American West.
May 6, 2021
So well written and based on good sources from the Army's official inquiry and the accounts of participants, even some from the Native Peoples. The perspectives of soldiers and civilians associated with the Army come out much more than the Native combatants, but one can clearly see the bureaucratic and military faults on that side. The conflict seemed inevitable once the occupying army was sent up the Bozeman Road while treaty negotiations were still ongoing at Ft. Laramie. The Army mistakes leading to Fetterman were not as serious as Custer's blunder. Still, it was the same U.S. military arrogance and oppression of the Tribes that lead to this disaster.
August 3, 2020
Fascinating account of the event but also a detailed description of the US Army’s push into Native American lands and the tragic consequences.
We all learned the “history” of the western expansion in school but this book delves into the fascinating details and the lead-up and aftermath of this tragic event. Leaves the reader wanting to know more particularly about the Native American perspective.
We all learned the “history” of the western expansion in school but this book delves into the fascinating details and the lead-up and aftermath of this tragic event. Leaves the reader wanting to know more particularly about the Native American perspective.
May 20, 2022
Military blunder
It's sad to hear about the loss of life and great suffering that had to happen because of the government's complete lack of knowledge of a situation out west. Over simplification of the idea of taming the tribes of Montana led to the loss of so many lives. Mismanagement of a project just snowballed and went even beyond the Fetterman massacre. This book is well researched and is never a dull read.
It's sad to hear about the loss of life and great suffering that had to happen because of the government's complete lack of knowledge of a situation out west. Over simplification of the idea of taming the tribes of Montana led to the loss of so many lives. Mismanagement of a project just snowballed and went even beyond the Fetterman massacre. This book is well researched and is never a dull read.
December 30, 2025
After Terry Johnston's disappointing historical recounting on the Fetterman Massacre in "Sioux Dawn", I was hoping this non-fiction account would give me a better understanding and out did. Some of the journal and correspondence potions drag on a bit, but overall this was very good. I look forward to other works by Dee Brown in the area of Native American history.
May 5, 2020
Excellent Historical Accoumt
The story is superbly written, extremely well researched and sagely documented.
It reads like the best adventure novels, but everything really happened.
The story is superbly written, extremely well researched and sagely documented.
It reads like the best adventure novels, but everything really happened.
July 2, 2020
What can be said? A well written historical story that was well researched made a quite enjoyable read. Mr. Brown brings out a great deal of informational history about both our American army and hostilities with the American Indians. It is a quite unfortunate history of our treatment of the Indians.
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