Red Cloud's War: The Bozeman Trail, 1866-1868

by John McDermott

On a cold December day in 1866, Captain William J. Fetterman disobeyed orders and spurred his men across Lodge Trail Ridge in pursuit of a group of retreating Lakota Sioux, Arapahos, and Cheyennes. He saw a perfect opportunity to punish the tribes for harassing travelers on the Bozeman Trail and attacking wood trains sent out from nearby Fort Phil Kearny. In a sudden turn of events, his command was, within moments, annihilated. John D. McDermott’s masterful retelling of the Fetterman Disaster is just one episode of Red Cloud’s War , the most comprehensive history of the Bozeman Trail yet written. In vivid detail, McDermott recounts how the discovery of gold in Montana in 1863 led to the opening of the 250-mile route from Fort Laramie to the goldfields near Virginia City, and the fortification of this route with three military posts. The road crossed the Powder River Basin, the last, best hunting grounds of the Northern Plains tribes. Oglala chief Red Cloud and his allies mounted a campaign of armed resistance against the army and Montana-bound settlers. Among a host of small but bloody clashes were such major battles as the Fetterman Disaster, the Wagon Box Fight, and the Hayfield Fight, all of them famous in the annals of the Indian Wars. McDermott’s spellbinding narrative offers a cautionary tale of hubris and mis-calculation. The United States Army suffered one setback after another; what reputation for effectiveness it had gained during the Civil War dissipated in the skirmishing in faraway Big Horn country. In a thoughtful conclusion, McDermott reflects on the tribes’ victories and the consequences of the Treaty of 1868. By successfully defending their hunting grounds, the Northern Plains tribes delayed an ultimate reckoning that would come a decade later on the Little Bighorn, on the Red Forks of the Powder River, at Slim Buttes, at Wolf Mountain, and in a dozen other places where warrior and trooper met in the final clashes on the western plains.

Genres: History

704 pages, Hardcover

First published December 20, 2010

Reviews

[Nicholas Najjar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This two-volume book, which is roughly 700 pages long, was a daunting task for me. An Indian War that gets little attention in the classroom or on the silver screen. Maybe that is because the Indians won this war and humiliated the white man? Or perhaps it does not get as much attention because it is overshadowed by its successor: The Great Sioux War. During Red Cloud’s War, which occurred in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War, the Sioux harried, raided, and murdered the white man into submission. It was a masterful demonstration of guerrilla and attrition warfare. Strike hard and fast, kill as many as possible, drive off cattle and horses, and then disappear before the raiding Sioux party can be killed.

Equal parts informative, gruesome, and harrowing. This book is not for the lighthearted. Both in its historical content and scholarly detail. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic book. The author does not bluster or bloviate when discussing the causes of this war, who played a pivotal role, and why it unfolded like it did. That was a really nice feature of the book.

This book exemplifies what I look for in a non-fiction text. Historical analysis, anecdotes, great primary sources, critical but fair commentary, maps, illustrations, and photos. Everything that helps inform the reader was included here and the chapters were not too long either. Incredibly well-researched and thoughtfully structured, McDermott’s work is excellent.

Just another chapter in this nation’s bloody history. The United States’ failure in this war can attributed to a wildly insufficient amount of soldiers, who were poorly armed and in bad health, a complete underestimation of the Sioux and their war abilities, and a lack of strategy to win this conflict. In the roughly two years that this war was waged, the Army only won two battles and they were actually defensive engagements which precipitated when the Indians ambushed them. The Sioux cavalry at this time were one of the most formidable fighting forces on the face of the Earth and the Army were either woefully ignorant of this or so arrogant that they thought the Sioux could not match them in the field. Whatever the case may be, the Sioux exacted a deadly toll on the soldiers.

The Treaty of 1868 created a “prison without walls” for the Indians because they agreed to be placed within reservations. The treaty was not supported by some important Sioux figures like Crazy Horse, who was becoming a fierce war figure. Red Cloud did sign the treaty and the hostilities subsided for the most part until 1876. The forts along the Bozeman Trail were taken down and the road itself was closed.