In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Blue Water Creek and the First Sioux War, 1854–1856
  • Richmond L. Clow
Blue Water Creek and the First Sioux War, 1854–1856. By R. Eli Paul. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. ISBN 0-8061-359-X. Maps. Photographs. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xii, 260. $34.95.

After nearly a decade of skirmishes and partially successful diplomatic efforts, American officials signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 with most [End Page 838] of the northern and central plains tribes. United States leaders hoped against all odds that peace would be preserved on the central Great Plains overland trails crossing Nebraska. One fact shattered their dreams: the United States and the Lakota, the two greatest military powers in the region, would clash for supremacy of the western Nebraska plains.

In late summer of 1854, the elements for the forthcoming war came together. A Mormon immigrant abandoned a lame cow, which was taken by an Indian. A brash military officer from nearby Fort Laramie was determined to obtain compensation and arrest the Lakota responsible for taking the animal. After a brief tense meeting with the Sicangu (or Brulé Sioux) leader Little Thunder, the "first Sioux war" began with miscalculated cannon fire. The Lakota destroyed Lieutenant John L. Grattan's command.

The Department of War initiated plans for a punitive military campaign and the field command went to Col. William S. Harney, who would lead the expedition against the Lakota culprits. At this historical juncture, R. Eli Paul successfully narrates details of the 1855 battle at Blue Water Creek (or Ash Hollow) in western Nebraska. Consulting a vast array of contemporary sources, later reminiscences, and previously published scholarly accounts, Paul found ample sources to draw upon in reconstructing the battle.

After months of preparation and miserable days of marching, Harney's command reached western Nebraska and prepared for the fateful battle nearly one year after Grattan's death. In early September 1855, Harney's command attacked Little Thunder's Blue Water encampment, routing the Lakota and inflicting both a decisive defeat and postbattle punishment on them. With an even hand, tempered prose, and information gleaned from many manuscript sources, Paul recreates this important Lakota and American battle, describing Harney's successful tactics, and objectively portrays the participants' motives and goals, shortcomings, and strengths. He adds a human touch in the appendix called "Participant Accounts of the First Sioux War," where eyewitnesses reports are analyzed.

In every campaign, scholars analyze tactics to determine why the outcome was a success or failure. This makes every campaign history an ongoing event to determine if past strategies become part of future military decisions. From this tactical perspective, Paul proclaims "The longer term significance of the First Sioux War was that, no matter the commander . . . the destruction of Indian villages continued to prove an effective military tactic" (p. 164) and this remained a military objective. This was an opportunity lost because Paul takes a narrow view of village destruction. Had he examined the larger picture, Harney's destruction of the Sicangu village was not a new strategy, but one epic in the larger story of ongoing confrontations where both tribal and nontribal combatants from before and after Jamestown systematically destroyed tribal villages. Another needed task is placing Blue Water in a national context; notably, did the eastern press and public oppose Harney's village destruction? These queries aside, The First Sioux War is an enjoyable read of a book whose author accomplished his [End Page 839] goal, writing this story from known sources while uncovering untapped Lakota accounts.

Richmond L. Clow
University of Montana
Missoula, Montana
...

pdf

Share