The Powder River Fight 1- Yellow Ribbon

 

The Northern Cheyenne had found a good spot to hole up for the winter. They had put in good stores of food and piled firewood high.  Camped along the riverbank water was close at hand.  The severe weather added to their sense of security.  No one wanted to be out in that. 

All the same they knew General Crook was prowling and meant them no good.  Most thought the Army wouldn’t cope with the cold.  The leaders were cautious men. They sent out wolves (Scouts) to  give early warning of any Army approach.

The wolves were diligent and roamed far and wide.  No soldiers were spotted. They kept to their mission.  This alone tells us the Indians were taking the danger seriously.  Quite often Indians might get bored and go home.

In fact Crook was out there. The wolves hadn’t spotted him.  The West is and was a vastness.  

Crook’s column was well equipped and dressed for the weather. He had personally made sure his troops would be adequately fed and warm.  There was ammunition galore. 

Most of the soldiers were European immigrants. One third were Irish, Germans provided the second largest contingent. At one time or another most of Europe was represented in the ranks.   The officers were all Civil War veterans, mostly American born. All had held higher brevet rank.  Competition for a commission in the post ACW Army was fierce. All told there were just shy of 700 soldiers. Scouts, Packers and other civilians added another 60 so souls.

In an early set back some Sioux had run off the column’s cattle herd. It had constituted 2/3rds of the meat supply. If you wondered, 60 to 70 head. A drover was shot in the raid, fatally in the longer run. He took his place in one of the ambulances.

What followed was the first oddity of the venture. The next morning Captain Moore took a detachment out to recover the cattle.  Sensible. You didn't go chasing Indians at night. 

Moore advanced at a dawdle. A few miles out he announced that the cows of their own volition had simply gone home to the nearest fort. He ordered a return to the column.

Crook seemingly accepted this without demur. Raising the question who did they think had shot the drover and stolen his horse?

There was a night raid too, one lad was shot in the jaw. That sounds awful but in fact he was back in the ranks in a couple of days.

The column was being watched. Perhaps by Sioux.  In the hope of confusing the Indians Crook openly sent the infantry and the wagons back.  Everyone else had to travel light with only mules by way of supply.

Jumpy pickets produced a few false alarms. 

That apart the the soldiers contended only with the bitter cold and the monotony of the half rations diet. Coffee, Bacon and Army Bread.

All thought they were about to attack Crazy Horse’s village. He wasn’t there, although a pal of his was.  It didn’t matter.  Everyone had heard of Crazy Horse. it played better with the politicians and the public to attack his village rather than that of some unknown chief. 

Journo' Stanhorn of the Rocky Mountain News accompanied the Column. Echoing the troopers he called it the Crazy Horse Expedition of 1876.

With the rations nearly gone and the weather continuing diabolical no Indian village had been located. The men (and the officers!) had been eating the horses grain.  The situation was desperate.

Crook ordered the scouts out once more and a village was found. 

Crook had a plan and briefed his officers. Significantly he opted not to take operational command. He would remain in reserve with the supplies and an escort. Colonel Reynolds would command the attack.

 Although no one said it, Crook would provide a rallying point if things went wrong. 

Let us note here that the well connected Colonel Reynolds had a mixed Civil War record.  He was also, due to a medical condition, in extreme pain throughout the expedition. Despite the cold and hunger he disguised this very well indeed. 

Briefly then, the Army would divide its forces.  One group would take the high ground setting up a field of fire that would both supress resistors and prevent the non combatants from fleeing. 

Captain Egan’s troop would charge right through the village pistoling anything that moved. 

Bide with me here. While Egan was a brave and capable leader of the first order that was not why he was chosen.  Nor was it that the much wounded Egan stripped must have resembled a patchwork quilt and yet came back for more. 

No, it was simply that only Egan's fellows all had pistols.  An interesting point to remember.  I had thought cavalry equipment to be standard. Egan, Irish and up from the ranks, must have ensured his fellows each had a pistol.  Others hadn't.

A third group would secure the pony herd.  All would then converge on the village.

At that point captives would be secured and supplies seized. Crook intended to run part two of his operation on Indian rations and warm buffalo robes.  It was an audacious and readily achievable plan.  No officer dissented or proposed modifications.

It went badly wrong.

In the Court Martials that followed much was made of the axiom that dividing ones forces was dangerous.  In fact everyone had to divide their forces if they hoped to fight Indians.  Of course it remained a dangerous thing to do.

We will see what happened in Part 2.

Lurkio Highlanders 15mm-A Review

 

I have Highlanders galore.  Khurasan, Minifigs, Essex and God knows what else. Lurkio offered something slightly different.  Their Highlanders will pretty much suit the Williamite Wars. No apostles or Matchlocks. The Highlanders who had guns favoured Firelocks. The figures above are marketed as Lochiel's Skirmishers. 

My March on Alnwick Campaign requires Highlanders for both sides.  You may know that in 1688 many of the Lords of Clan Campbell withheld support from Argyle’s Rebellion.  All the same Argyle had some Campbell support. I thought I’d do a representative unit.  That has yet to be done. I intend using Lurkio figures for the unit.

This is a rare Highland unit, everyone has a firearm. Barry Hilton believes there was one such at Killiecrankie. Further, it adopted standard tactics. Accordingly the figures you see are 6 to a base rather than 5.  

The flag is by David at Not by Appointment. It is that of Gordon of Glenbuchet. David has some fine Clan flags.  Check the link in the side bar.

As you can see there is a lot of figure variety. Some might quibble about the armour on some figures.  In fact it is well attested.

Currently I'm working my way through the poems and songs of Ian Lom McDonald. There is a mine of information on Highland armament therein.  I will be reporting back in due course.  Ian Lom was an eye witness to many a fight and battle. 

How do they scale with other manufacturers?  Good with Essex, Matchlock and Irregular offerings for the period.

I was sufficiently impressed to order a whole clan unit from Lurkio. I'll show them here soon.

 

Rosebud Notes-Yellow Ribbon

 

The highest estimate of rounds fired by Crook’s Command at the Rosebud is 48,000.  The lowest I have seen is 15,000 rounds.  Either way it is a lot of lead.  Journo Finerty’s figure was 25,000 rounds.  That reflected the views of some of the officers who commanded that day. 

Whatever, it leads us to anticipate a bad butchers bill for the fellows on ponies in paint and feathers.

It proved not to be so.  The Cheyenne said they didn’t lose a single man.  Though some may have died later from wounds.  Post battle the Cheyenne were ready for more. They were, of course, still incensed by the Powder River Attack.

The Crow considered Rosebud a good day out.  Collectively they took 13 scalps. Presumably from stricken Sioux. Light losses for them too.  As ever the wounded might die subsequently. The Shoshone lost a lad minding the spare ponies to a Sioux raid.  He was 15.

Post battle the Crow decided to go home.  As did the Shoshone. For both fighting was what they lived for.  Now it was time to sing and dance about it.  Ominously, yet reasonably, they told Crook that they were going home because not to would get them all killed.

The Sioux immediately post action thought their own losses minimal.  There were more wounded than the 13 killed.  Mostly they thought they had done well and they also had lots of loot.  We know this because warriors interviewed in quieter times itemised the goodies. One fellow snagged a new hat, a rifle and a bag of coffee for his mother.  Across all cultures it is necessary and commendable to be a good son. 

Post action, the Sioux deliberated and decided they had won.

Crook’s regulars, infantry and cavalry, seem to have lost nine, or maybe 29 killed.  Again there were wounded.  The Indians had blazed away all day too. No shortage of ammunition there.  All in all light casualties all round. 

Tellingly, despite many witness written accounts, we cannot be certain of the true figures.

Crook held the field of battle.  He said that proved he had won.

Different perspectives then.  I find the Crow and Shoshone view compelling. They thought to continue would be the end of them.

The Rosebud was the biggest Plains War battle ever.  The Front ran for 3 miles. 

Low casualty rates aside, the Rosebud was an important battle. All involved fought hard and tirelessly for hours.

How many fought for the Home Team? Likely the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe warriors numbered between 750 and a 1000 men and youths.  It seemed like a lot more. The Indians attacked at various points during the day.  Then disappeared and attacked somewhere else.

Crook’s lads numbered 950 combined, cavalry and infantry. The armed Packers added about 100 men.  The Crow provided a solid 175 and the Shoshone 86 warriors.  Crook had the numerical edge.

Indian mobility meant that Army numbers couldn’t be brought to bear.  Royall’s entire command nearly ended up as dead as Custer's Command.  They faced about 500 warriors and the warriors weren’t messing. 

Luckily for those soldiers the Crow and Shoshone charged in and saved them. The soldiers then executed a fighting retreat that degenerated into a run for safety.  Intense fire from infantry “long Tom’s” enabled most to survive.

It was nearly a prequel to Little Big Horn.

Crook was a competent soldier and had perfected his Indian fighting tactics. Let’s summarise them:

Use Indians to find Indians.

Surprise attack the Indian Village, ideally at dawn.

Capture the pony herd.

Immobilised, the Indians must stand and fight while the elderly and women and children flee.

Capture the fleeing non-combatant Indians.

Burn the Village and shoot the ponies.

Kill the warriors or accept their surrender.

So much for the theory. What about the practice? What went wrong?  

First Crook was beaten to the attack. 

Second he was convinced that a major Indian village was nearby-it wasn't. In that belief he deployed and issued orders to enable the capture of the imaginary village. 

Thus he believed the warriors would fall back to defend it.  They didn't, because it wasn't there.  

Vital forces were detached to storm the phantom village taking them out of the fight.  They had to be recalled when things got tricky.  

Until near enough the last Crook thought he held the tactical initiative when in fact that lay entirely with the Indians. The Crow and Shoshone knew that all day long.

Post battle, and after withdrawing, Crook spent his time hunting and fishing. Sports very dear to his heart.  His men welcomed the supply of fresh meat.

Some scholars think the Rosebud experience had occasioned a collapse of his morale. It may have been so. Crook was used to winning his Indian fights and he had very nearly badly lost an important one.  At the very least he must have been seriously disquieted.

One of the Home Team opined that the warriors had fought in an entirely new way. Maintaining the fight when normally they would have gone home. Certainly, they had stopped Crook's expedition dead.

As the Army departed the Crow discovered a Sioux warrior blinded in the fight. They shot him dead and scalped him. Then they cut him into pieces and waving the body parts began to dance. Crook's column marched past in silence. The Crow capered and sang.

Out in the vastness of the West General George Armstrong Custer was searching for the same tribes Crook had just encountered.  He would find them encamped on the Little Big Horn River.  Custer would not be as fortunate as General Crook.

Crimean War 15mm- A Few More

 

I have begun the mopping up, painting wise, for the Crimean War.  Above, all from Irregular, French gunners, guns and gabions.

The British Guards final battalion of three. This one from Irregular.

Poking about in the unpainted box I realised I could do another British Brigade.  So I did.

HM 88th, latterly the Connaught Rangers.  All Minifigs save the two Irregular standard bearers.

HM 68th Durham Light Infantry all from Irregular.

HM 97th The Earl of Ulster's all Irregular figures.

I had the opportunity to ask Barry Hilton about the release of his Crimean War rules.  He hopes to release them at some point in the future. 

Next for the Crimean War I will finish painting the British and French artillery.  The Russian artillery are done so we might see them next.