The expedition's mission seemed simple: punish the bands of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho that had attacked white emigrants and commercial traffic moving west along the Oregon Trail. But the army's western command failed to appreciate either the resolve of their enemies or the difficulties of the terrain. Cole's men, ill-provisioned from the outset, began to die of scurvy two months into the campaign and contemplated mutiny.
Bennett's previously unpublished journal and other primary sources clarify and correct previous accounts of the expedition.
Fifteen detailed maps reflect the author's intimate knowledge of the topography along the expedition's route. Wagner's documentary account reveals in stark detail the difficulties inherent in the army's attempt to pacify the American West.
Share This Book: