Sitting Bull’s War by Paul L Hedren- A Book Review

 

Sitting Bull’s plan was simple. Don’t go anywhere near the Whites. If they aren’t where you are, they can do you no harm.  

Problematically, the Whites kept coming. Amazingly, in the vastness of the West, Sitting Bull’s people ran out of room. Then they had to stand and fight. Spectacularly they did so, at the Rosebud and the Little Big Horn.

Sitting Bull’s War is my latest acquisition from Paul L Hedren. Hedren gives us 423 pages of text, notes for each of the 16 chapters and a copious biography.   The are 14 pages of photographs.  This is highly readable quality scholarship throughout. I can only give you snapshots of a work of such size.

Hedren says “I consciously intend that the work in hand defy the standard tradition. This is a unique history of the Great Sioux War, carefully and deliberately told through the eyes of its victims, the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne of the northern plains…”

He wants to give us an insiders perspective and largely succeeds in doing so. Indian accounts are personal, selective, and detached. No one wanted to implicate himself for condign punishment. 

Also, the Indian tradition was to proclaim one’s own valour and skill in war.  After the defeat this became personally problematic. They had been crushed and their world was literally gone with the Buffalo. All that courage and killing and only ruination resulted and, what of the dead? Indian losses per capita were huge. 

All the same, Hedren has gathered the accounts and reconstructed the sequences. The result is clear eyed and we see the individuals and share their experiences of victory and defeat.

There is detail galore of the kind that delights the enquiring reader. A key source of arms and ammunition were the Metis of Canada. At first the Sioux fought them. That proved very unprofitable. The Metis could have a fight. They followed the old trading routes their forebears had traversed before New France fell.

As an alternative to fighting friendship developed between Lakota and Metis. We might recall that it was in Canada that Sitting Bull sought refuge. 

A Hudson’s Bay Company Trader recalled “Sitting Bull did not care to arouse the Metis against him”. The two peoples did brisk trade. Metis prices were high but the quality was good. American officials became concerned.  Well armed Indians were a constant fear.

It is often said that the Victors captured significant arms and ammunition at the Little Big Horn. They did indeed. Hedren reminds us that the ammunition didn’t fit the Indian rifles. Also, the Indians thought the single-shot breech-loading Springfield carbine inferior to their own Henry or Winchesters. Not because the Springfields jammed, they didn't.

Additionally huge amounts of ammunition were expended at the Rosebud Fight and then more in the killing of Custer and Companies. Post Little Big Horn the Lakota and allies were much worse off for ammo than pre Rosebud.

Red Cloud's earlier successful resistance is considered in detail. He won and everyone knew it. He was not to know the strategic situation had changed. What Red Cloud defended was no longer key to USA expansion.

The dynamic of the Tribes and Indian Agency is dealt with in detail. It was often a complex interaction. Many Indians liked to summer on the Plains and didn't see why they shouldn't. When was an Indian a Hostile? No one could be sure. Yet many Indians never were. It made no difference in the long run.

Betimes, the population of the reservation was a political barometer. Indian Agents were a key USA intelligence resource. How many and where?

The Blue Coats never stopped coming. Infantry with their longer ranged weapons were particularly hard to deal with. US infantry could and did chase the Indians across the Plains. Hedren tells us about it.

When it came to horsemen the Indians thought the Crow and Shoshone more dangerous than the Cavalry.

All of the famous are found herein, sometimes with visual detail. For instance, Crazy Horse rides a white spotted pony. You might want to replicate that.

The Indians never had enough modern weapons. 

When Crazy Horse, Little Big Man and He Dog’s people surrendered they had 117 firearms for 217 men and 186 boys.  Mind you they had a total of 2,200 ponies, US Mules and cavalry horses. Mobility was good but eating was essential. Hunger broke the Plains People.

Combat detail abounds  as you might expect in a work on this subject. The Army does what it does, by the book. The Indians display tactical brilliance or defiant idiocy depending on who, where and when.

It is not possible to do this book justice in a one page review. There is so much useful information in it.  Buy a copy if you are interested in the Pony Wars, Plains Peoples or Old West. You will not regret it. 

Let me take the opportunity to commend Rosebud and Powder River by the same author. I have them both. Books to revisit.  

As I conclude Hedren's Great Sioux War-Order of Battles wends its way here. Each engagement is detailed with deployments and tactics used. I think it will see much use.

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.