Circle of Fire: The Indian War of 1865 [Paperback]

Circle of Fire: The Indian War of 1865 is one of those rare works that both fill a historical void and are destined to become classics in their fields. In author John D. McDermott, the full story of the vicious Plains warfare that occurred in the waning days and immediate aftermath of the Civil War has finally found its chronicler. Exhaustively researched and gracefully written, Circle of Fire is must reading for students of the American West and the frontier army.  Peter Cozzens, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State, and editor of the series Eyewitness to the Indian Wars, among other works.Long overlooked by historians, the Indian War of 1865 set an ominous tone in relations between the federal government and the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho Indians. Author John D. McDermott weaves flawless scholarship, skillful interpretation, and well-crafted prose to relate this story in its proper entirety and context, giving it enhanced meaning in western history and contributing a broader perspective to surrounding events. Circle of Fire will become the standard treatment of the subject. It is Indian Wars history at its best.  Jerome A. Greene, Historian, National Park Service, and author of Morning Star Down: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876The year 1865 was bloody on the Plains as various Indian tribes, including the Southern Cheyenne and the Southern Sioux, joined with their northern relatives to wage war on the white man. They sought revenge for the 1864 massacre at Sand Creek, when John Chivington and his Colorado volunteers nearly wiped out a village of Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho. The violence in eastern Colorado spread westward to Fort Laramie and Fort Caspar in southeastern and central Wyoming, and then moved north to the lands along the Wyoming-Montana border.John D. McDermott is an independent historian, interpretive planner, and heritage tourism consultant. Among his seven previously published bool³’