Also known as The Fetterman Massacre, this book, originally written in 1910, largely deals with the infamous battle in 1866 in which 81 US soldiers were killed by Indians in what was the worst defeat of the Army by Indians until the Custer Massacre of 1876.
This book, one of only two by first hand witnesses to the battle, is written by the wife of one of the three officers killed in the battle. Several years after the battle she marred the former commanding officer of the Fort following the death of his first wife, who wrote the other eye witness book. I am reading that book currently and will review it soon. The most well known book about this battle is that by Dee Brown, one of the foremost historians of the Old West. He also wrote Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, the classic account of the Indians of the Old West.
As to the book under review , this is an excellent book which gives a wonderful insight into army life in 1866 in general and life in a frontier fort in particular. Written, as is so often the case with people educated in the 19th century, with wordy and flowery descriptions, it nevertheless gives a vivid picture of the events leading to the battle, the anxieties experienced by those in the Fort as they listened to the sounds of battle only a few miles away and of course the desperate aftermath.
The whole story of this battle, so little known today compared with the Custer Massacre, is fascinating in many respects. Dee Brown's book gives perhaps the best overview and highlights the logistical issues inherent in moving a force of soldiers hundreds of miles into Indian territory and building a fort while being actively engaged in combat on an almost daily basis. This book and the other eye witness account give the human side of the story but also include a great deal of interesting information on the US Army of the era. Overall, a highly recommended read for those interested in the battle or the Old West in general or the US Army after the Civil War.
Tony Adams......... sorry dude, but you are a pathetic human being. Your rant above is worthless.
ReplyDeleteYou have no clue what the hell you are talking about. You made so many factual errors in your projectile vomiting. To claim Dee Brown was a "foremost historian of the Old West" is quite comical. Dee Brown was a Communist Pig. His version of the Communist Manifesto, titled Bury My Heart @ Wounded Knee, is also rampant with so many factual errors, lies & falsehoods, that nobody EVER references this rag of a book.
You obviously were educated in a Cesspool, commonly known as the public school system.
GARY MAC.. you are a really sad individual. I don't need readers like you. Please find somewhere else for your nonsense.
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