Greed has always been a catalyst for expansion, and this was certainly the case for American development westward. The unearthing of gold in 1863 nearby Bannack, Montana invigorated white pioneers to find a cost-effective way to the new found treasure. While some settlers went to Salt Lake City and then north to Montana, forerunner John Bozeman and John Jacobs established the Bozeman Trail from Fort Laramie north through the Powder River then westward over what is now Bozeman Pass. The trajectory passed through the hunting grounds of the Lakota Sioux (In all actuality the Cheyenne had been the first tribe in this region, trailed by groups of Lakota). As more of the northern plains became full by white settlement, this area became the last unblemished hunting ground of the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho and some of the Lakota.[1] Clearly there would be another “conflict of interest.” American soldiers were sent in to secure the region. In 1865, Major General Grenville Dodge ordered the Powder River Expedition in opposition to the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, and soldiers totaling of 2,675 men charged by Patrick E. Connor moved into the Powder River country. The excursion was unsuccessful in conquering the Indians in any pivotal encounters, though it demolished an Arapaho village at the Battle of the Tongue River. The mission was also a disappointment in most esteem as Indian conflict to white settlers wayfaring the Bozeman Trail became more resolute than ever.[2] Dialogues between Red Cloud, a war leader and a chief of the Oglala Lakota, and other Indian influentials and the United States' agents began in June 1866. On June 13, nevertheless, with the worst conceivable timing, Colonel Henry B. Carrington leading the 18th Infantry reached at Laramie with two battalions of the regiment and construction provisions. This show of force was a bit too much for the native coalition, and many backed out. Talks would only be sustained with a condensed amount of Indian leaders. Carrington eventually left Fort Laramie for the Powder River Country on June 17, 1866; with him were 700 combatants, 300 citizens, 226 wagons full of provisions, a 35-man regimental band, and 1,000 head of cattle for food.[3] He was not going anywhere. And so aggressions would climb. Carrington selected not to hire Indian guides. Indian lookouts would have delivered to him vital intelligence on his adversaries and a travelling search-and-destroy attack force.[4] Carrington's rivals, the roving hunting civilizations of Red Cloud’s Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, had advantages in freedom of movement, horsemanship, familiarity of the land, insurgent strategies, and the ability of directing their forces to attain a numerical advantage.[5] Scholars have projected that Red Cloud's soldiers totaled up to 4,000 men, but these statistics perchance have been ballooned.[6] Natives had scarce firearms and little ammunition; only 6 of the 81 warriors who were later slain in the Fetterman Fight (an encounter that led to an Indian triumph in the war and the departure of the United States from the Powder River) had gunfire injuries, and two of those may have shot by themselves.[7] This would be the start of an almost “cat and mouse” game played by natives against the United States Military. On July 16 1866, a collection of Cheyenne visited Carrington at Fort Reno, declared their want for amity, but held that Red Cloud was close with 500 soldiers. Red Cloud's troopers penetrated the picket lines near the fort and stampeded 175 horses and mules. About 200 soldiers chased the Indians in a sprawling 15 mile battle, struggling fruitlessly to recuperate the animals and suffering two men slain and three injured. Returning to the fort they discovered the bodies of six noncombatant traders murdered by the Indians.[8] But all whites had reasons to fear for their lives. Civilian wagon trains were also pounced on and nearly all civilian stream of traffic on the Bozeman Trail stopped. Carrington could only be restocked with foodstuff and ammunition by heavily protected wagon trains. In the weeks and months that trailed, the Indians frequently lay siege the wagon trains that ventured out of Fort Kearny to cut construction lumber in a forest six miles away. For protection, the wood trains were bulky, comprising of two parallel lines of 24 to 40 wagons defended by equestrian soldiers on either side. In the occurrence of an attack, the wagons were swiftly drawn into a corral for security.[9] Much man power was needed and this proved to be too much a burden for the United States. Pockets of skirmishes would spring up over the next few months. Fifteen Indian assaults near Fort Kearny between July 16 and September 27 1866 resulted in the demise of 6 soldiers and 28 civilians and the forfeiture of numerous horses, mules, and cattle. Carrington's hay cutting machine was also demolished.[10] Notwithstanding several military victories, the United States government gradually pursued a nonviolent rather than a military answer to Red Cloud's War. The achievement of the transcontinental railroad took precedence, and the Army did not have the capital to protect both the railroad and the Bozeman Trail from Indian assaults. The military presence in the Powder River Country was both costly and fruitless, with approximations that 20,000 soldiers might be required to pacify the Indians. Eventually Indian authority over the Powder River country lasted only a decade until the Great Sioux War of 1876. The fight would eventually lead from the battlefield to the courtroom. After 1868, Red Cloud subsisted on the reservation. Seeing that the amounts of new settlers and machinery of the United States would overpower the Sioux, Red Cloud adjusted to fighting the United States Indian Bureau for just handling for his people. He was a vital leader of the Lakota through the years of change from their plains ethos to the comparative quarantine of the reservation system. He outlasted all the main Lakota leaders of the Indian war; he lived until 1909. Red Cloud’s War was different than most of the Indian Wars as the Lakota were somewhat successful (at least for the time being). The guerillas style tactics of raiding the only lifeline the whites had with the Bozeman trail kept the Americans fighting with one hand tied behind their back. The great cost of the Civil War still loomed over the heads of the Union, and the country was truly spread thin. Red Cloud sums up the mentality of the United States conflict with his people well: Whose voice was first sounded on this land? The voice of the red people who had but bows, and arrows...What has been done in my country I did not want, did not ask for it; white people going through my country... When the white man comes in my country he leaves a trail of blood behind him… [1] Brown [2]Brown, Dee. The Fetterman Massacre. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1962 p 15. [3] McCaig [4] Miller21 [5] Miller21-30 [6] Brown 171 [7] Grinnell 209 [8] Brown 77-79 [9] Brown 93-101 [10] Miller 20
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Ryan LancasterThe internet is a scary place. You don't know who to trust when it comes to information sometimes, especially when it involves history. Well weary traveler, look no further. Professor Lancaster has got you covered. After receiving my masters in American history, I wanted to put that rather expensive piece of paper to use and create a curriculum of my choosing to inform the unwashed masses of their history. Also, I want to be an internet celebrity. Archives
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