The Powder River Expedition Journals Of Colonel Richard Irving Dodge [Paperback]

Lt. Col. Richard Irving Dodges journals, written with utter candor for his eyes only, are the fullest firsthand account we possess of Gen. George Crooks Powder River Expedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, which culminated in Col. Ranald S. Mackenzies resounding destruction of Dull Knifes forces on November 25, 1876. Editor Wayne R. Kime, with his customary flair, has transcribed the journals from Dodges pocket-size notebooks and has provided a pertinent introduction and well-crafted, thoroughly illuminating annotations.

Dodges journals will clearly prove useful to specialists in U.S. -Indian relations and the Great Sioux War, but they will also appeal to a variety of readers because of Dodges lively style and his range of subject matter. With vigorous intelligence, he describes such topics as General Crook as a military leader and strategist, the merits of infantry versus cavalry against the Plains Indians, the effects of subzero weather in Wyoming on a large army far from its sources of supply, and of course, the elusiveness of military glory.