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American Carnage: Wounded Knee, 1890
As the year 1890 wound to a close, a band of more than three hundred Lakota Sioux Indians led by Chief Big Foot made their way toward South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation to join other Lakotas seeking peace. Fearing that Big Foot’s band was headed instead to join “hostile” Lakotas, U.S. troops surrounded the group on Wounded Knee Creek. Tensions mounted, and on the morning of December 29, as the Lakotas prepared to give up their arms, disaster struck. Accounts vary on what triggered the violence as Indians and soldiers unleashed thunderous gunfire at each other, but the consequences were some 200 innocent Lakota men, women, and children were slaughtered. American Carnage— the first comprehensive account of Wounded Knee to appear in more than fifty years—explores the complex events preceding the tragedy, the killings, and their troubled legacy. In this gripping tale, Jerome A. Greene—renowned specialist on the Indian wars—explores why the bloody engagement happened and demonstrates how it became a brutal massacre. Drawing on a wealth of sources, including previously unknown testimonies, Greene examines the events from both Native and non-Native perspectives, explaining the significance of treaties, white settlement, political disputes, and the Ghost Dance as influential factors in what eventually took place. He addresses controversial Was the action premeditated? Was the Seventh Cavalry motivated by revenge after its humiliating defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn? Should soldiers have received Medals of Honor? He also recounts the futile efforts of Lakota survivors and their descendants to gain recognition for their terrible losses. Epic in scope and poignant in its recounting of human suffering, American Carnage presents the reality—and denial—of our nation’s last frontier massacre. It will leave an indelible mark on our understanding of American history.
618 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 31, 2020
"It was a war of extermination now with the troopers. It was difficult to restrain…Tactics were almost abandoned. About the only tactic was to kill while it could be done whenever an Indian could be seen. Down into the creek and up over the bare hills [the Indians] were followed by artillery and musketry fire, and for several minutes, the engagement went on, until not a live Indian was in sight..."
- Correspondent for the Omaha Bee, December 30, 1890
Fate, it seems, decreed that the American Indian Wars would end on the banks of the Wounded Knee. The long and terrible struggle for the Continent began almost as soon as white explorers, trappers, traders, and settlers set foot on these shores. It was not one titanic, monolithic conflict, but a seemingly-endless series of insurgencies and slaughters that stretched from the 17th century to the doorstop of the 20th. All these wars were different; all were marked by tragedy, bloodshed, and shame. It is fitting, then, that it should all end in tragedy, bloodshed, and shame.
The massacre at Wounded Knee is not a simple story. It is not Sand Creek or the Marias River, with bloodthirsty soldiers plunging into an innocent village and committing butchery. To be sure, there is butchery aplenty. But it is much more complex than that. There are a lot of moving parts. The road to Wounded Knee is a very human drama, with many individuals making decisions both large and small, and those decisions intersecting and interlocking in the wider world, forming a web that eventually ensnared Chief Big Foot and some 370 members of his Miniconjou village.
Recently, I’ve read two very good accounts of the Wounded Knee Massacre (in Peter Cozzens’ The Earth is Weeping and Joe Jackson’s Black Elk: An American Visionary). Alternately fascinated and horrified by this frontier Gotterdammerung, I went looking for a comprehensive book solely on the topic.
Jerome Greene’s American Carnage is it. I can’t imagine a better, more careful, or more thorough account. Part of the secret to his success is that he is simultaneously writing for an audience that might not know anything about Wounded Knee, and for an audience that wants to know everything about Wounded Knee. In very meticulous fashion, he begins with an opening chapter that provides a broad overview of the history of white-Lakota relations. He builds from there, creating the context for the massacre in orderly steps.
In 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie gave the Lakota sizeable chunks of present-day Nebraska and South Dakota, and portions of present-day Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. This land included the Black Hills, which is sacred to the Lakota. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government soon suffered a bad case of buyer’s remorse. It began nibbling away at this largesse. In 1868, a second Treaty of Fort Laramie greatly tightened the borders of the Great Sioux Reservation. The Lakota still retained the Black Hills.
Enter Custer. In 1874, his expedition found gold. The Treaty of Fort Laramie clearly could not stand. The U.S. Government went to war; Custer died at the Little Big Horn; and the Lakota were forced to renegotiate (“sell or starve”). At that point, they lost the Black Hills.
The next indignity came in 1889, when the now-much-smaller Great Sioux Reservation was broken up into segments. The buffalo were gone. Lakota folkways had been demolished. The land beneath their feet kept slipping away. The Lakota were forced to tremble every time an avaricious settler saw something that caught his eye.
And then, the U.S. Congress, in all its infinite wisdom and humanity, unilaterally reduced Lakota beef rations.
Into a vacuum of defeat, despair, and starvation, came a millennial movement known as the Ghost Dance. Propounded by a Paiute prophet named Wovoka, the Ghost Dance promised the disappearance of whites, the return of the buffalo, and the homecoming of their departed ancestors. (The Xhosa of South Africa engaged in a similar movement, to ultimately tragic results). Though not specifically militant, the Ghost Dance soon made Indian agents, the military, and nearby settlers extremely nervous. It did not help when the dancers began donning “bulletproof” ghost shirts.
The Dance was outlawed. The military occupied the agencies. Sitting Bull was murdered. In this tense environment, with the Plains teetering on open warfare, Big Foot and his Miniconjou found themselves on the trail to Pine Ridge. The 7th Cavalry, Custer’s own regiment, corralled them first. On December 29, 1890, soldiers of the 7th began disarming the men. An Indian – accounts vary as to his name – refused to give up his rifle. A soldier was killed. Gunfire was exchanged. Due to considerably poor planning, the Indians had been ringed by soldiers; the soldiers were further ringed by Indian noncombatants who were watching the proceedings. Thus, in the first moments, a furious circular firing squad ensued. Soldiers likely killed soldiers; Lakota likely killed Lakota.
Surviving Indians broke away and headed back towards their village. This is when the annihilation began, aided by the Hotchkiss gun, a fast-firing piece of light artillery that could blanket an area with canister and shrapnel.
After the first moments of scarlet struggle between soldiers and warriors, Wounded Knee became an “indiscriminate slaughter.” Greene is former National Park historian, and he is usually reserved and conservative in his judgments. He goes only where the facts and evidence lead him. In a previous book of his – Washita – this style made things a bit plodding. Not here, though. American Carnage benefits from an unexpected power. Not the power of a fiercely-argued polemic, but of a mountain of research. When Jerry Greene is telling you something was a massacre, you can take that to the bank. (You probably shouldn’t, though. Banks usually just want money). He gives you two separate chapters on the battle itself. One is more of a straightforward narrative; the second uses Lakota accounts to provide a more visceral, experiential view.
In 380 pages of text, nine appendices, and endnotes loaded with information, Greene explores enduring questions such as whether the massacre was an act of revenge by the 7th Cavalry (probably not, the obvious reason being most troopers weren’t there), and why so many Medals of Honor were awarded (probably because the Medal of Honor was the only reward at the time, necessitating actions falling short of “above and beyond the call of duty”).
Greene is judicious in his judgments, and takes the time to properly frame all the characters and their motivations. (There are a lot of characters, and this could have used a dramatis personae). This saga abounds with bad men and good men, brave men and scared, the selfless and the self-promoting. This is not Star Wars. It is not good versus evil.
However, being judicious and fair is not an exculpatory act. There is nothing that can absolve the U.S. Government or the military for their roles in the deaths of upwards of 200 men, women, and children. I think Greene recognizes this. Wounded Knee was a war crime, and recognized as such by a surprising number of contemporaries. Moreover, the crime of Wounded Knee was just one of many suffered by American Indians over the course of a few hundred years. This land was not discovered, it was conquered. Those historical scars endure to this day.
It would be supremely glib of me to suggest that reading a book – even one as good as this – can somehow give us understanding of cultural wounds that still fester. At the very least, though, a book like this can be the beginning of understanding.
- Correspondent for the Omaha Bee, December 30, 1890
Fate, it seems, decreed that the American Indian Wars would end on the banks of the Wounded Knee. The long and terrible struggle for the Continent began almost as soon as white explorers, trappers, traders, and settlers set foot on these shores. It was not one titanic, monolithic conflict, but a seemingly-endless series of insurgencies and slaughters that stretched from the 17th century to the doorstop of the 20th. All these wars were different; all were marked by tragedy, bloodshed, and shame. It is fitting, then, that it should all end in tragedy, bloodshed, and shame.
The massacre at Wounded Knee is not a simple story. It is not Sand Creek or the Marias River, with bloodthirsty soldiers plunging into an innocent village and committing butchery. To be sure, there is butchery aplenty. But it is much more complex than that. There are a lot of moving parts. The road to Wounded Knee is a very human drama, with many individuals making decisions both large and small, and those decisions intersecting and interlocking in the wider world, forming a web that eventually ensnared Chief Big Foot and some 370 members of his Miniconjou village.
Recently, I’ve read two very good accounts of the Wounded Knee Massacre (in Peter Cozzens’ The Earth is Weeping and Joe Jackson’s Black Elk: An American Visionary). Alternately fascinated and horrified by this frontier Gotterdammerung, I went looking for a comprehensive book solely on the topic.
Jerome Greene’s American Carnage is it. I can’t imagine a better, more careful, or more thorough account. Part of the secret to his success is that he is simultaneously writing for an audience that might not know anything about Wounded Knee, and for an audience that wants to know everything about Wounded Knee. In very meticulous fashion, he begins with an opening chapter that provides a broad overview of the history of white-Lakota relations. He builds from there, creating the context for the massacre in orderly steps.
In 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie gave the Lakota sizeable chunks of present-day Nebraska and South Dakota, and portions of present-day Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. This land included the Black Hills, which is sacred to the Lakota. Unfortunately, the U.S. Government soon suffered a bad case of buyer’s remorse. It began nibbling away at this largesse. In 1868, a second Treaty of Fort Laramie greatly tightened the borders of the Great Sioux Reservation. The Lakota still retained the Black Hills.
Enter Custer. In 1874, his expedition found gold. The Treaty of Fort Laramie clearly could not stand. The U.S. Government went to war; Custer died at the Little Big Horn; and the Lakota were forced to renegotiate (“sell or starve”). At that point, they lost the Black Hills.
The next indignity came in 1889, when the now-much-smaller Great Sioux Reservation was broken up into segments. The buffalo were gone. Lakota folkways had been demolished. The land beneath their feet kept slipping away. The Lakota were forced to tremble every time an avaricious settler saw something that caught his eye.
And then, the U.S. Congress, in all its infinite wisdom and humanity, unilaterally reduced Lakota beef rations.
Into a vacuum of defeat, despair, and starvation, came a millennial movement known as the Ghost Dance. Propounded by a Paiute prophet named Wovoka, the Ghost Dance promised the disappearance of whites, the return of the buffalo, and the homecoming of their departed ancestors. (The Xhosa of South Africa engaged in a similar movement, to ultimately tragic results). Though not specifically militant, the Ghost Dance soon made Indian agents, the military, and nearby settlers extremely nervous. It did not help when the dancers began donning “bulletproof” ghost shirts.
The Dance was outlawed. The military occupied the agencies. Sitting Bull was murdered. In this tense environment, with the Plains teetering on open warfare, Big Foot and his Miniconjou found themselves on the trail to Pine Ridge. The 7th Cavalry, Custer’s own regiment, corralled them first. On December 29, 1890, soldiers of the 7th began disarming the men. An Indian – accounts vary as to his name – refused to give up his rifle. A soldier was killed. Gunfire was exchanged. Due to considerably poor planning, the Indians had been ringed by soldiers; the soldiers were further ringed by Indian noncombatants who were watching the proceedings. Thus, in the first moments, a furious circular firing squad ensued. Soldiers likely killed soldiers; Lakota likely killed Lakota.
Surviving Indians broke away and headed back towards their village. This is when the annihilation began, aided by the Hotchkiss gun, a fast-firing piece of light artillery that could blanket an area with canister and shrapnel.
Private William F. Bailey of Troop A watched as a Hotchkiss gun opened on a wagon filled with women and children trying to negotiate the far bank of the gulch to get away. “The shell on exploding on the wagon killed or wounded the whole load.” The blast tore the wagon, horses, and occupants to pieces in a bursting yellow pile of debris. Another witness said that “the sight was as if a pile of rags had been thrown into the air. All were killed except a small baby.”
After the first moments of scarlet struggle between soldiers and warriors, Wounded Knee became an “indiscriminate slaughter.” Greene is former National Park historian, and he is usually reserved and conservative in his judgments. He goes only where the facts and evidence lead him. In a previous book of his – Washita – this style made things a bit plodding. Not here, though. American Carnage benefits from an unexpected power. Not the power of a fiercely-argued polemic, but of a mountain of research. When Jerry Greene is telling you something was a massacre, you can take that to the bank. (You probably shouldn’t, though. Banks usually just want money). He gives you two separate chapters on the battle itself. One is more of a straightforward narrative; the second uses Lakota accounts to provide a more visceral, experiential view.
In 380 pages of text, nine appendices, and endnotes loaded with information, Greene explores enduring questions such as whether the massacre was an act of revenge by the 7th Cavalry (probably not, the obvious reason being most troopers weren’t there), and why so many Medals of Honor were awarded (probably because the Medal of Honor was the only reward at the time, necessitating actions falling short of “above and beyond the call of duty”).
Greene is judicious in his judgments, and takes the time to properly frame all the characters and their motivations. (There are a lot of characters, and this could have used a dramatis personae). This saga abounds with bad men and good men, brave men and scared, the selfless and the self-promoting. This is not Star Wars. It is not good versus evil.
However, being judicious and fair is not an exculpatory act. There is nothing that can absolve the U.S. Government or the military for their roles in the deaths of upwards of 200 men, women, and children. I think Greene recognizes this. Wounded Knee was a war crime, and recognized as such by a surprising number of contemporaries. Moreover, the crime of Wounded Knee was just one of many suffered by American Indians over the course of a few hundred years. This land was not discovered, it was conquered. Those historical scars endure to this day.
It would be supremely glib of me to suggest that reading a book – even one as good as this – can somehow give us understanding of cultural wounds that still fester. At the very least, though, a book like this can be the beginning of understanding.
June 10, 2015
This is the best book on Wounded Knee that I have ever read, and I've read most all of them.
This is an absolutely masterful work of historical research and reporting. Jerome A. Greene took on the highly controversial subject of the Wounded Knee tragedy, often a visceral historical topic that a century and a quarter later continues to evoke raw emotion. Deftly walking a line between government accounts depicting Wounded Knee as a battle and those Lakota accounts describing it as a brutal massacre, Greene is able to bring to the reader both perspectives, and treats both views with dignity and respect, something that, until now, seemed unattainable.
Moreover, Greene has presented perhaps the most historically accurate and thoroughly researched work to date on this American tragedy. Where Robert M. Utley's The Last Days Of The Sioux Nation and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee were landmark works in the 1960s and '70s, Greene's American Carnage is the definitive work that spectacularly melds the two points of view.
That Jerry Greene has presented what I now consider the definitive work on Wounded Knee, I am hesitant to point out two minor, even trivial, inaccuracies, and do so only to ensure historical purity. On page 288, Greene states, "Beyond Lieutenant Godfrey and the men who committed that desolately conspicuous deed [referring to the tragedy at White Horse Creek], no witnesses survived." Edward Settle Godfrey on 29 December 1890 of course was a captain, not a lieutenant, having risen to that rank on 9 December 1876, a full fourteen years before Wounded Knee. Greene accurately portrays Godfrey's rank in all other references, and this is certainly just an editorial oversight. Historians more often refer to Godfrey as a lieutenant because that was his rank at the Battle of Little Bighorn, an episode in his career that receives far greater historical attention than that of Wounded Knee.
The other error occurs on page 357, when Greene confuses James W. Forsyth with Edward S. Godfrey. Greene states "Forsyth, who had withstood the humiliation of his brief removal from command of the Seventh Cavalry after Wounded Knee, succeeded to the grade of brigadier general only as he verged on retirement in 1907." James W. Forsyth was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 9 November 1894 and served as the commanding general of the Department of California, before being promoted to Major General on 11 May 1897 and retiring two days later. He died on 24 October 1906. It was Edward S. Godfrey who was promoted to brigadier general in January 1907, the same year that he was required to retire by law at the age of 64.
Army at Wounded Knee
This is an absolutely masterful work of historical research and reporting. Jerome A. Greene took on the highly controversial subject of the Wounded Knee tragedy, often a visceral historical topic that a century and a quarter later continues to evoke raw emotion. Deftly walking a line between government accounts depicting Wounded Knee as a battle and those Lakota accounts describing it as a brutal massacre, Greene is able to bring to the reader both perspectives, and treats both views with dignity and respect, something that, until now, seemed unattainable.
Moreover, Greene has presented perhaps the most historically accurate and thoroughly researched work to date on this American tragedy. Where Robert M. Utley's The Last Days Of The Sioux Nation and Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee were landmark works in the 1960s and '70s, Greene's American Carnage is the definitive work that spectacularly melds the two points of view.
That Jerry Greene has presented what I now consider the definitive work on Wounded Knee, I am hesitant to point out two minor, even trivial, inaccuracies, and do so only to ensure historical purity. On page 288, Greene states, "Beyond Lieutenant Godfrey and the men who committed that desolately conspicuous deed [referring to the tragedy at White Horse Creek], no witnesses survived." Edward Settle Godfrey on 29 December 1890 of course was a captain, not a lieutenant, having risen to that rank on 9 December 1876, a full fourteen years before Wounded Knee. Greene accurately portrays Godfrey's rank in all other references, and this is certainly just an editorial oversight. Historians more often refer to Godfrey as a lieutenant because that was his rank at the Battle of Little Bighorn, an episode in his career that receives far greater historical attention than that of Wounded Knee.
The other error occurs on page 357, when Greene confuses James W. Forsyth with Edward S. Godfrey. Greene states "Forsyth, who had withstood the humiliation of his brief removal from command of the Seventh Cavalry after Wounded Knee, succeeded to the grade of brigadier general only as he verged on retirement in 1907." James W. Forsyth was promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 9 November 1894 and served as the commanding general of the Department of California, before being promoted to Major General on 11 May 1897 and retiring two days later. He died on 24 October 1906. It was Edward S. Godfrey who was promoted to brigadier general in January 1907, the same year that he was required to retire by law at the age of 64.
Army at Wounded Knee
August 1, 2014
Greene has written the most detailed and richly documented account of the last of the major massacres of Indians at the hands of the American military (the 7th Cavalry, no less). Living in South Dakota, it is hard not to be aware of what happened at Wounded Knee (or of what happened at the end of the Dakota War, for that matter). There is much to regret about the event, but Greene makes it clear that the massacre was not planned by the military. (Many of the massacres in the West were the work of civilians or poorly trained militia units.) It is the process by which a series of overreactions to specific events--e.g., the discovery of weapons among the Lakota and the struggle to seize them, the decision to open fire on women and children with the Hotchkiss battery, the friendly fire events within the greater conflict, and the choices of troop and Lakota (surrounded) dispositions at the beginning of the event--became a tragedy that drives the narrative. Greene's tone is calm and reasoned throughout, and his research citations are pretty impressive.
November 3, 2015
Magnificent book about the Wounded Knee Massacre. I read Rex Alan Smith's "Moon of Popping Trees" long ago and have lived in South Dakota all my life, so I was familiar with the subject matter. Greene's book provided me with much that I had not learned before.
In addition to its meticulous study of the events leading up to the massacre, and the event itself, there is a great deal of information about the immediate aftermath of Wounded Knee, such as the White Clay Creek Fight.
The book also includes a number of appendixes including a full list of Lakota casualties and survivors, military casualties, the medals of honor for the Pine Ridge Campaign and General Miles's message to his troops at the end of the Sioux campaign.
Perhaps the most striking observation made by the author: that although there were other noted massacres of Indian peoples in that era, those earlier conflicts were between the military and peoples resisting their placement on reservations. Wounded Knee occurred among people, already on a reservation, who were struggling with the conditions of that new, governmentally mandated lifestyle.
As Greene states, there is no evidence that the massacre was premeditated.
But those who study the event will forever wonder how things might have played out differently, if the U.S. government, its Indian agents and military leaders had demonstrated even a bit more sensitivity to the anguish of the Native people who gathered at Wounded Knee that day.
In addition to its meticulous study of the events leading up to the massacre, and the event itself, there is a great deal of information about the immediate aftermath of Wounded Knee, such as the White Clay Creek Fight.
The book also includes a number of appendixes including a full list of Lakota casualties and survivors, military casualties, the medals of honor for the Pine Ridge Campaign and General Miles's message to his troops at the end of the Sioux campaign.
Perhaps the most striking observation made by the author: that although there were other noted massacres of Indian peoples in that era, those earlier conflicts were between the military and peoples resisting their placement on reservations. Wounded Knee occurred among people, already on a reservation, who were struggling with the conditions of that new, governmentally mandated lifestyle.
As Greene states, there is no evidence that the massacre was premeditated.
But those who study the event will forever wonder how things might have played out differently, if the U.S. government, its Indian agents and military leaders had demonstrated even a bit more sensitivity to the anguish of the Native people who gathered at Wounded Knee that day.
December 10, 2015
This summer I won, from the South Dakota Festival of Books, a copy of Jerome A. Greene's comprehensive account of the nation's last frontier massacre, Wounded Knee. The hefty tome, which as the author describes as the first full account of Wounded Knee to appear in more than fifty years. Historian Greene does an incredible job providing the reader a pretty thorough history of the Native American tribes in the Midwest and the consistent conflict with the settlers moving west and the federal government that backed them. About half the book sets the stage for that tragic, horrific day in 1890 at Wounded Knee. The battle/massacre is described in depth, and the aftermath is provided to the reader, including the ongoing injustice by our government to the survivors of Wounded Knee. This is a book that the reader needs to take their time to fully grasp all the details and historic tales presented to them. Would be excellent to use in a classroom for a US History or Lit of the West class either in high school or college. Definitely not a book to try and get through in a week or so. I started this summer, read some in the fall and finished it this week in December. Tons of information to try and keep track of and follow. Overwhelming.
February 8, 2023
This is an excellent history of the Wounded Knee Massacre. The author gives a great overview of the struggle between the Plains tribes and the U S government. It is shown how the reservation system was set up through treaties. The Black Hills had been included in the great Souix Reservation.before the ink was dry on the treaties,they were already being broken. The promised annuities were rarely delivered as promised. With the discovery of gold in the Black Hills race was on to take reservation land. Various social movements were also gaining popularity to “civilize” the indigenous people by turning them into farmers. Treaties were forced upon them that surrendered most of their reservation. These treaties were supposed to be ratified by 3/4 of eligible adults. This was never done. The annuities promised again were not delivered.
The Ghost Dance Movement was born in response to the desperate conditions of starvation, broken treaties and the effects of destroying Indigenous culture. The white population never understood the reasons for the movement and over reacted in response.
The author does a great jobs of weaving all the threads of events into a coherent narrative. The result was the Wounded Knee Massacre. The loss of life of women and children was catastrophic. Natives were chased down and slaughtered. One of the most outrageous results were the 19 Medals oh Honor awarded after the fact. The author concludes with a analysis of the efforts of the survivors to get restitution for the events.
The Ghost Dance Movement was born in response to the desperate conditions of starvation, broken treaties and the effects of destroying Indigenous culture. The white population never understood the reasons for the movement and over reacted in response.
The author does a great jobs of weaving all the threads of events into a coherent narrative. The result was the Wounded Knee Massacre. The loss of life of women and children was catastrophic. Natives were chased down and slaughtered. One of the most outrageous results were the 19 Medals oh Honor awarded after the fact. The author concludes with a analysis of the efforts of the survivors to get restitution for the events.
August 29, 2019
American Carnage is a challenging book and ultimately rewarding. It is a meticulous history that provides both deep contexts for the Wounded Knee massacre and a detailed exploration of events. It is even-handed in sources, and unbiased and unflinching in its analysis. I struggled in part because of this, as the author is scrupulous in avoiding almost completely the telling of a story, and instead presents facts and reports from participants, witnesses and documents. This makes the reader work hard at times. Of course, by far the larger part of the struggle in reading this book is in trying to digest the tragedy and horror of Wounded Knee and the other incidents and murders described, and the whole backdrop of an uncaring government and a nation hostile towards Native Americans. I would recommend this book unreservedly to readers with a serious interest in this difficult part of the history of the US. You shouldn't, perhaps entirely appropriately, expect an easy read.
July 27, 2018
Well cited and although it almost reads as a text book it is by no means dense and includes many “human” anecdotes to help with the flow of the narrative. Also due to how scholarly it feels, you might get the impression that the author is almost siding with the U.S Army but I think this is incidental due to the need of using government reports. The author cites many interviews from Native Americans to especially dispute the idea that Wounded Knee was not a battle, but a massacre. This is closer to a five star rating than a four.
August 12, 2017
Many years ago I read,Dee Brown's,Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. That book made the best seller list.
Jerome A. Greene's,New book on Wounded Knee,is a much more detailed and starts long before 1890.
His book is very objective and in that is enlightening.
You ride with the U.S. Army as they move on the Pine Ridge and then you get the Sioux side of that time in our history.
I highly recommend American Carnage,Wounded Knee 1890
Jerome A. Greene's,New book on Wounded Knee,is a much more detailed and starts long before 1890.
His book is very objective and in that is enlightening.
You ride with the U.S. Army as they move on the Pine Ridge and then you get the Sioux side of that time in our history.
I highly recommend American Carnage,Wounded Knee 1890
November 13, 2019
Extremely well-written and well balanced point of view. It’s is a true work of historical art. I would recommend this to many. At times it can be slow and slightly overwhelming with information (I took 76 pages of notes) but it’s all good.
August 4, 2024
Very, very thorough. Very interesting and heartbreaking. Very glad I read it, very glad it exists. I would have benefitted from more maps. There is a lot of important geography involved and I didn't know much about South Dakota-area going into it.
July 15, 2021
So much detail and context and yet really easy to follow. I appreciate all of the exhaustive research Greene put into this book.
June 19, 2026
A heartbreaking story to read but this has been the most thorough book I've read on it. I was honored to go there and pay my respects and grief, and to let them know they are not forgotten.
August 4, 2016
Without a doubt, the definitive history of the events leading up, during and around the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. Jerome Greene is already a well respected historian of the Plains Indian Wars. I've read a number of his books but this one stands out. He does not take sides, he does an admirable job of presenting each perspective on this violent tragedy. He does not blame the Army though he does point out the military decisions that influenced events. He also plainly shows that the Lakota themselves bear some of the responsibility for what happened.
His details out the confusing events of the massacre better than I have ever seen written before. There have been significant gaps in the accounts of what actually happened. Many of the participants did not survive to leave an account. He manages to bring together all the loose strings of this narrative to create a good explanation of how this so suddenly escalated into the bloodshed that it did.
He also gives an account of the earlier death of Sitting Bull that I had never read before. Sometimes the Indians were just as brutal to each other as anything the Army could inflict. All of this violence and loss would leave indelible scars for generations to come.
His details out the confusing events of the massacre better than I have ever seen written before. There have been significant gaps in the accounts of what actually happened. Many of the participants did not survive to leave an account. He manages to bring together all the loose strings of this narrative to create a good explanation of how this so suddenly escalated into the bloodshed that it did.
He also gives an account of the earlier death of Sitting Bull that I had never read before. Sometimes the Indians were just as brutal to each other as anything the Army could inflict. All of this violence and loss would leave indelible scars for generations to come.
January 27, 2015
The author's exhaustive research and attention to detail inform every page of this excellent account of one of the darkest of all the dark episodes of America's history with her native peoples.
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April 8, 2016973.86 G8112 2014
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