Customer Reviews:
Offers a spiritual center.......2000-04-14
In November 1864 in Colorado Territory a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho was savagely assaulted by the Colorado Volunteers under the leadership of the Reverend Colonel Chivington. Ortiz calls to mind this event in prose, and then offers on the facing page poetry of hope and renewal. That is how this remarkable book begins. Throughout the book, the author (one of the best American poets writing today) pairs poems on one page with historical vignettes, personal notes, and political comments on the facing page. The book moves through alcohol treatment in VA hospitals, American mythology that undergirds a sense of mission, episodes in Indian-white relations, and many other such topics. In this work Ortiz builds toward a vision of America that is political committed, spiritually centered, and humanizing. He expresses this vision in full knowledge and acceptance of the awful truths of patterns of mistreatment and oppression. Unlike so much of the patriotism that is rooted in a "my country right or wrong" attitude, Ortiz writes as an Acoma Pueblo Indian and US citizen who loves this country deeply for what it can be.
I came to this book a number of years ago full of anger and cynicism developing as a result of learning the history that had been suppressed from the school curriculum. I had always been deeply patriotic, but was finding the truth might shatter that. Ortiz offered more evidence of the lies, but placed these facts in a framework of a dream "of love and compassion and knowledge" (96). No book has done more for the development of my sense of myself as a white American. From my point of view this book is simply the best book in print (and it was out of print for several years).
Book Description
The Compelling, Tragic Story of a Great Cheyenne Chief
As white settlers poured into the west during the nineteenth century, many famous Indian chiefs fought to stop them, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo. But one great Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle, understood that the whites could not be stopped. To save his people, he worked unceasingly to establish peace and avoid bloodshed. Yet despite his heroic efforts, the Cheyennes were repeatedly betrayed and would become the victims of two notorious massacres, the second of which cost Black Kettle his life. In this first biography of black Kettle, historian Thom Hatch at last gives us the full story of this illustrious Native American leader, offering an unforgettable portrait of a chief who sought peace but found war.
Praise For Thom Hatch
The Blue, the Gray, and the Red
"Clear and even-handed. . . . This popular history recounts grim, bloody, lesser-known events of the Civil War. . . . The slaughter of Black Kettle's Cheyennes at Sand Creek . . . forms a devastating chapter."
-Publishers Weekly
The Custer Companion
"Highly recommended . . . a reliable and impartial guide to the subject and literature."
-Library Journal
Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn
"A work that is readable by itself, meticulously researched and clearly written."
-The Tulsa World
Customer Reviews:
Heart-rending of conquest.......2006-02-10
Thom Hatch hits the mark on Cheyenne Indian Chief Black Kettle's efforts to uphold peaceful relations throughout manifest destiny. Despite broken treaty after broken treaty by the government and gluttonous bone-headed army generals with personal vendettas and lack of respect for the Indians, it is a wonder that Black Kettle maintained his philosophy on peace for so many years.
It is disheartening that the vision of peace is what eventually killed him along with many of his people.
If surviving the brutal and senseless butchery of Sand Creek Massacre by egotistical Colonel Chivington wasn't enough punishment, Black Kettle was to soon afterwards undergo additional tests of endurance from the thoughtless and misguided behavior of the U. S. military and government.
A very persuasive, gripping and touching account of one man's dream of peace.
A Sad Commentary On Our Nineteenth Century Westward Expansion.......2005-08-30
This work explores the efforts of a great Cheyenne chief who, despite his betrayal by the white man, continued his search for peace, only to lose his life in the process. It reveals how Black Kettle stood in stark contrast to Chivington, Sherman, Sheridan, Custer and others, who enthusiastically effected our government's policy of destroying the culture of the Plains Indians and killing, with little or no excuse, innocent tribal menbers. Make no mistake, there were elements within the tribes who were no better. However, one cannot read this well-written account without coming away with a sense of revulsion toward those members of the white power structure and our military who made so little effort to understand a people who were different and to treat them with the respect they deserved. Read this book if you want to know more than one will find within the usual histories written by the victors.
One American's Most Shameful Episodes.......2005-02-08
The title should read, "Black Kettle, the Cheyenne Chief who Sought Life and Found Only Death". This is a difficult book to read because the story is not only true but shameful. As someone from Colorado, I was horrified to learn many of our streets and city areas are named after men who were often theives, liars, opportunists and some even condoned the murder of the Native Americans. One tries to frame the story in the context of the time and the ignorance and the misunderstandings of the of white America, yet in 2005 the site of the Sand Creek massacre is a minor footnote that most Coloradians are unaware and The Black Hills still have not been returned to the Souix, so has our sense of justice towards Native Americans really changed? The book does a excellent, informative telling of the story of a very shameful part of Colorado and American history.This is the story of an exceptional man who rightly always believed in peace but wrongly believed in the U.S. government. We should be reminded of this past and never forget the genocide that was carried out in the country in the name of westward expansion. Black Kettle should be remembered as man who was as great in statue as any American hero.
A Great Biography About An Important Man.......2004-10-17
It has been 140 years since that dark dawn rose over the eastern plains of Colorado bathing the land in blood and gore at Sand Creek. Countless books have been written about the subject, and its story has been recounted in film. Today, there are those who believe it was a massacre, others it was a battle that turned into a massacre, but to all academic historians Chivington's attack upon a sleeping village of Cheyenne and Arapaho was nothing but a massacre turned into a blood bath of unspeakable horror.
A new book by Thom Hatch is now available entitled, "Black Kettle: The Cheyenne Chief Who Sought Peace But Found War" The book is the first ever written biography about the Cheyenne leader. And, Sand Creek is at the center of Black Kettle's life.
Black Kettle is more than a story of one man's life. The story Hatch shares is rich in Plains Indian culture focusing on the Cheyenne people along with their form of government, laws, religion, courtship, and military society. The narrative follows the Cheyenne relationships with other tribes that were both productive and destructive. Hatch also describes life for the Cheyenne after the white man enters the scene. Hatch's passages about the warrior societies are filled with pageantry, color, and ritual.
Much of what Hatch discusses in this portion of the book has been written before, but Black Kettle finally becomes a human being instead of just a symbol of the wrongs committed against the Indians. After Black Kettle witnessed the peace gathering between his people and the Kiowas, Hatch explains its effect upon the Cheyenne leader.
"Perhaps this event made enough of an impression upon Black Kettle that it served as a lesson in shaping his future role as a man who believed that peace with any enemy - even the white man - was attainable if both parties were honorable and sincere with their promise to become friends."
The centerpiece of any story around Black Kettle has to be the Sand Creek Massacre and Hatch does not disappoint the reader. There can be no honest telling of Sand Creek that doesn't move the reader, and the story of Black Kettle at Sand Creek is powerful. Black Kettle leads as many of his people as he can to safety to the Sand Pits except for his wife, Medicine Woman Later, who is shot down near the creek in a hail of bullets.
At twilight, Black Kettle returns to find his wife as the soldiers commit the atrocities around him. Finding Medicine Woman Later still alive, Black Kettle carries her on his back for miles until he catches-up with the survivors, who by now are moving northeast away from the killing field. Putting his wife on a horse, Black Kettle leads his people to the Dog Soldier camps.
So ends the Sand Creek Massacre, but far more of the life of Black Kettle follows. A true leader is one that stands up for what he believes, never wavers, and makes decisions based solely on the betterment of his people, not for how it might make his life better. Black Kettle was such a leader. Black Kettle continued to sue for peace from the white man, even after Sand Creek, even though many of his people chastised him for it, even though the intimidation of the Dog Soldiers tried to stop him. Black Kettle knew his people would be doomed if they continued to fight the people moving into their lands. He believed peace was the only choice the Cheyenne had to save what they could of their way of life.
Tom Hatch brings us the complete life of Black Kettle -- his analysis of the man's life and the events surrounding it is fresh, bold, and provides new challenges for future researches.
Customer Reviews:
A terrible deed in 1864........2006-05-16
Very little is known about this massacre, except that over one hundred Indians of Black Kettle's Cheyenne tribe were killed as they were co-existing in eastern Colorado. Some Indians were indeed renegades but not from this tribe. Early in the morning, a troop of mostly volunteer soldiers from the Colorado militia raided Black Kettle's village and killed braves, women, and children. They then mutiliated the corpses. Hoig describes the situation that led to the massacre very effectively.
Hoig has written many other good histories of the southern Plains Indians. These Indians were victims of the territorial expansion of the United States. Many settlers wished them dead rather than supporting their upkeep on reservations. This shows the sade tale of broken promises.
Sand Creek Massacre.......2002-11-29
I rated this book 4 stars for the incredible amount of information regarding the time period revolving around the massacre. Any fan of western history or native american history should read this book. The only thing about the book that I did not like was that it appeared that the author continuoulsy gave reasons of provocation on Colonel Chivington's actions against Black Kettle and his people who were trying to live in harmony with the settlers and the army. Im not saying the author is a Chivington apologist by any means and did a great job with the facts, but maybe my own contempt and feelings toward Chivington and Anthony got in the way. There are many contributing factors to what happened but the bottom line is Chivington hated the Indians and wanted them dead. I recommend the book....especially if you live or plan to travel the eastern Colorado area.
Blood Stained Sands.......2002-05-02
The Sand Creek Massacre was one of the most heinous acts to ever be committed against the American Indian culture. This is an atrocity that has been quietly tucked away in the back of the American consciousness and I feel that Stan Hoig has done it justice by bringing it to light in this wonderfully revealing book. Mr. Hoig pulls no punches in his expose (as the government and military pulled no punches in their attempts to annihilate an entire race of people) and I must applaud him for his efforts. Parts of this book will bring your eyes to tear, others will redden your face with anger, and others will numb your mind with horror at the brutal acts of murder and mutilation that were committed in the name of greed and hatred. This is a book that should be required reading for all Americans so that they may understand just whose blood this country was built upon. Never have I read a historical account so compelling. White Antelope, my brother, I hope that the truth of this book helps you to rest in peace!!
Why ?.......2000-06-24
I have been a student of Native American history for more years than I care to remember, and each time I finish reading a book on the subject I ask myself the same question.Why ? This book unfortunately reflects all others on the subject, for the white mans GREED. Of course with hindsight, we all agree it should not have happend, certainly Sand Creek should not have happened, hindsight or no, Hoig has written a really moving epitaph to the Cheyenne Nation, and whilst history may be written by the victors,there will always be people searching, and often finding the truth, sure the Indian may not have been perfect, but nor were the white europeans who were prepared to annihilate whole cultures in their greed for land, gold etc. A well written book which any student of Native American culture should not be without.
the beauty and sadness of hoig's sand creek.......2000-01-07
Stan hoig's story of the Sand Creek Massacre is well documented and the biblography shows a direct connection to Historians Dee Brown & Elliot West whose accounts are almost identical This is the tragedy of colorado's fear and bigotry rising up against Native Americans and resulting (as one of Chington's Officers said,"they killed the only peaceful Indians on the Plains"...l50 indians mostly women and children The double tragedy continues to this day where Colorado has no marker near the site and the local landowners tear down the county street signs that would take you there and land designated as a reservation in an 1861 "Treaty" now has 'no trespassing' signs and stories of history fans being run off by gunshot.
Book Description
On November 27, 1868, the U.S. Seventh Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer attacked a Southern Cheyenne village along the Washita River in present-day western Oklahoma. The subsequent U.S. victory signaled the end of the Cheyennes' traditional way of life and resulted in the death of Black Kettle, their most prominent peace chief. Long considered a watershed event, the Washita received formal national recognition in 1996 when the site became a unit of the National Park System. Now, in a remarkably balanced history, Jerome A. Greene draws on newly available material from both Indian and U.S. Army sources to retell in unprecedented depth the story of what happened on the snowy banks of the Washita River at dawn that November day.
Tracing the history of the Southern Cheyennes from the seventeenth century, Greene describes the horrific losses Black Kettle's people suffered at Sand Creek, Colorado, four years earlier. Terrified of another attack, Black Kettle sought to maintain a fragile peace, but to no avail. On orders from General Phil Sheridan, the U.S. Army made a retaliatory strike against the Indians for purported raids, deliberately attacking the Cheyennes in the deep of winter when the Indians were most vulnerable.
Synthesizing primary and secondary sources, Greene describes the event's causes, conduct, and consequences even as he addresses the multiple controversies surrounding the conflict, including questions of whether the engagement was a battle or a massacre and whether Custer purposely abandoned his men during the fighting. As Greene explains, the engagement brought both praise and condemnation for Custer and carried long-range implications for his stunning defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn eight years later.
Volume 5 in the Campaigns & Commanders series
Customer Reviews:
Controversial Subject: Custer and the Cheyenne .......2005-03-26
Washita is one of the more controversial battles of the Plains Wars in that there are several aspects that make it unique. What is not unique is the standard approach of attacking native americans in the dead of winter when they were much less mobile and prone to surprise if the attacking force could survive the elements. What makes the battle exceptionally controversial is that Black Kettle of Sand Creek fame and known as a peace chief once again bears the brunt of an attack, which in this case he does not survive. He also was making peace overtures at the time that several young men from many villages and perhaps his own were still making raids. The other ring of controversy is the loss of Major Elliott and his platoon that impulsively chased after escaping villagers too far from support and was annihilated by Indians from neighboring villages. Custer eventually abandoned the field under pressure to save his command but this seemed to aggravate a split in his command since Elliott could not be found. The split was particularly with Captain Benteen who was highly critical and later has a contributory part in Custer's demise at the Little Big Horn, which has more than a touch of irony. Well written and researched by Green, maps are very good and for example demonstrates how young Lt. Godfrey almost made the same mistake as Elliott but was restrained by wiser counsel. Excellent over all view of the Cheyenne with a background on their history as well as a good review of the military situation in Kansas. Good balance although more dicussion on Sand Creek may have been appropriate a new book cast a different opinion on that battle and perhaps recognizing that may have made that section of the book more interesting. This is a good book to buy and keep on the shelf and take with you if you ever get a chance to go in the field and visit the site yourself.
"Washita" Proves Jerry Greene Is One Of Our Best Historians .......2005-02-21
Plains Indian War historian, Jerome A. Greene, has produced another important book to add to his growing body of work. "Washita" proves that Greene is one of our best historians researching and writing today, period. Unlike so many published authors that write from secondary sources, Greene relies principally upon primary sources to tell the story of Lt. Col. George Custer, the 7th Cavalry, and Black Kettle at the Battle of the Washita.
"Washita" begins in Colorado with Greene reciting the story of the Sand Creek Massacre, November 29, 1864, along with its causes and aftermath. We learn how Black Kettle escaped only to die almost four years to the day, November 27, 1868 under similar circumstances at the Washita.
Greene writes with firm yet smooth determination in recounting a complicated story of Indian/White depredations, by both groups, beside the old roads, ranches, and rivers of the American West. There is nothing politically correct in Greene's story - it is a brutally honest and most unprejudiced book written about this dark period of the Indian Wars.
By the time Custer and 11 companies of the 7th Cavalry leave Camp Supply, heading towards the Washita River, on November 23, 1868 Greene has laid out all the reasons why in a succinct but clear interpretation. I love the way Greene writes his stories - he doesn't waste any time. Greene would make a great screenwriter - he draws a clear picture in our mind through his words, the picture is sharp, focused; the plot and the characters, with the different pieces, all come together allowing the viewer (reader) to follow the storyline completely without question.
Greene's story about the Battle of the Washita is told in two parts - the first part is from the army's perspective while part two is told from Indian accounts. If I may use film as an analogy again, "Washita" is somewhat like Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film, "Rashomon" which tells the story of a murder from four eyewitness accounts with each account being somewhat different from each other. One might think that Greene relating the story of the battle this way would make it confusing, however, that is the farthest from the truth.
Greene provides evidence confirming the number of soldier's killed and even the count for Indian dead. He also provides conclusive evidence as to who in Custer's command killed many of the non-combatants - it was mostly the Osage scouts; even after Custer ordered his troops to prevent, "the killing of any but the fighting strength of the village..." before the battle began.
Greene delivers a detailed analysis of the demise of Major Elliott and 17 of his men against Cheyennes, Kiowas, Arapahos, and Kiowa-Apaches - warriors that entered the battle from the downriver villages. Elliott and his troops were cut-off from the main village and the rest of the 7th -- surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned they reluctantly let go of the horses, lay down in the tall grass in a circle facing outward and gave it their best shot to the last man.
If you are prone to not review endnotes of a book, I highly recommend that you do read those that Greene provides. You will find pertinent information -- all most interesting about the battle. You don't want to miss any of the action! It is in the endnotes where you will learn that Custer had his soldiers retrieve two ponies from the village herd, before all the horses were killed, for each Indian woman prisoner to use on their trip back north.
From the opening of the battle when Custer orders the soldier's dogs killed to ensure silence, to the vexation of the warriors watching hundreds of ponies killed, Greene's account of the Battle of the Washita is told better than all others preceding him. I think it will be a long time before someone else can even possibly come close.
Jerome Greene has just completed the definitive account of the administrative history of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. It is currently in review at the National Park Service and will be published soon.
The Washita--Pulled From the Little Big Horn's Shadow.......2004-09-09
... An excellent book with all the quality, both in terms of literary style and source documentation, that readers have come to expect from Jerry Greene. It goes without saying that this work replaces Stan Hoig's WASHITA that has stood for nearly thirty years as the best volume on this engagement.
Often, when students of the Indian Wars discuss the Washita, it is in terms of viewing it as a "test case" for what Custer was probably trying to achieve at the Little Big Horn eight years later. While that approach has strong merits, it tends to lessen the importance of this battle. This book does allude to Custer and the Little Big Horn but mainly treats the Washita in the full context of the situation on the southern plains from 1867-1869, therefore helping us see this as the historical event that it was in its own right.
Excellent photos included, especially was intrigued by an image that I have not encounterd before, that of Sgt. Major Walter Kennedy (killed at the Washita) when he was a Confederate army officer from Virginia. Despite what old Hollywood movies like to portray, there were actually very few cases of Confederate officers becoming either enlisted men or non-coms in the US Regular Army after the Civil War. For someone interested in the fascinatiing personalities of the 7th Cavalry, there is much here: the tensions between Custer and Benteen, the controversial death of Major Elliott, the death of Captain Lewis Hamilton, (grandson of Alexander Hamilton), the wounding of Barnitz, etc. Greene also engages in a detailed examination of whether the Washita should be termed a "massacre" or a "battle." Much food for thought here, even though many readers (like myself) may respecfully disagree with some of what he says.
From the standpoint of visiting the battlefield, this book contains an ten page appendix that provides very detailed descriptions of what took place at each spot on a numbered map that appears earlier in the book. This map key, as well as this entire book, is indispensible for anyone planning to visit the battlefield, in person and/or through books.
Average customer rating:
- Sorry, revisionists!
- Whitewashing Sand Creek
- A Johnny Cochran Style Defense
- Poor Scholarship
- Ignorance is bliss
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Blood at Sand Creek: The Massacre Revisited
Robert Scott
Manufacturer: Caxton Press
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Sand Creek Massacre
ASIN: 0870043617 |
Book Description
The dust around the site of the Sand Creek Massacre settled long ago. The blood spilled there no longer stains the ground. But the echoes of rifle shots, the death cries of the slain, and the words of accusation and slander reverberate yet-150 years after the battle.
What really happened at Sand Creek, Colorado? Were the Native American inhabitants of the village hapless victims or aggressive fighters? How did the War Between the States influence hostilities between people groups on the plains? Was Civil War hero Colonel John Chivington a ruthless murderer of innocent women and children, or a political scapegoat? Blood at Sand Creek reaches conclusions that will surprise some.
Using rare documents, sworn affidavits, and military records, historian Bob Scott reexamines the fateful battle. Under his masterful pen, the drama and intrigue of the Sand Creek Massacre unfolds. Its powerful leading characters live again in these pages, inviting you to find truth amid the tragedy in the Blood at Sand Creek.
Customer Reviews:
Sorry, revisionists!.......2006-04-23
This is an extremely well written, well documented book. It is not surprising to me that revisionists and those who are politically correct will object to it. However, the facts are clear (and are clearly illustrated in Scott's book).
John Chivinton's demise was the result of political opponents who wanted to discredit the man who almost certainly would have become the Republican governor of Colorado unless they found a way to ruin him. They did. It is significant to note that the people of Colorado (and the entire West, for that matter!) held Chivington in highest esteem until his death, more than 3 decades later. He was honored at the Colorado State Fair 10 years after Sand Creek and at the Wyoming State Fair 25 years later!
The history of confrontation between whites and Native Americans is not pretty. However, it is unfair to say that Chivington was responsible for US Government policies. Chivington was a military commander, ordered by his Governor (and the army) to stop Cheyenne atrocities. The Indians involved included Dog Soldiers who were carrying out bloody attacks; in fact, scalps of whites were found in tepees at Sand Creek after the battle.
I'm sorry, revisionists and those of you who would love to rewrite history. Chivington was not a sadistic animal. And Scott's well written book should give even the most liberal of you reasons to reconsider your position.
This is an excellent book, well documented, and well worth reading.
Whitewashing Sand Creek.......2005-06-02
A reader who wants to learn about the Sand Creek Massacre would be well advised to begin elsewhere. Stan Hoig's fine book would be an excellent place to start. Grinnell's books on the Cheyenne contain more good information. This book, alas, contains little information about the fight itself - a bare handful of pages.
The presentation is flawed. Although the author states that he does not intend to exonerate Chivington but wants only to bring out the facts of this incident, this book seems like a whitewash of the whole affair. The author presents an admiring look at Chivington but fails to cite evidence which is more critical of the man. For example he does not mention that Chivington was accused of murdering Confederate prisoners and immediately dismisses any alleged profanity by the colonel.
The book is also full of errors. For example, he places Fort Riley, Kansas southwest of the Smoky Hills in Kansas. In fact, Fort Riley is to the east and is north of most of the Smoky Hills area. He also asserts that Confederate agents were stirring up Indian trouble in 1860. It's worth noting that there was no Confederacy in 1860 and that Texas didn't secede from the Union until February, 1861 - the same month the first Confederate constitution was ratified by six deep South states. The is also the inference that problems from 1856 on were stirred up by southern agents.
Mr Scott also seems to be convinced that the Confederacy bore a large part of the responsibility of the warfare on the plains. He refers to Cheyenne attacking in the same manner as Confederate troops. Yet the hatred for the white man which permeated the Dog Soldier society and affected, to some extent, all the warrior societies would have precluded the type of training such an attack would infer.
The litany of Indian attacks in Kansas and Colorado is informative and this is the first modern work I've encountered which mentions these. Unfortunately, when describing encounters between soldiers and Indians, Mr. Scott places the blame primarily on the Indians.
Likewise, the pro-Chivington testimony presented in this book is seldom found elsewhere and it's presentation here is a good thing.
This would be a good book for someone who already has a fair amount of knowledge of the battle and is looking for the other side of the story, but I wouldn't recommend it for the novice or casual reader.
A Johnny Cochran Style Defense.......2005-04-14
An intriguing historical character, Chivington was a preacher who preached against slavery despite threats against him. He was a civil war hero and missionary. Yet he is accused of leading one of the most heartless, brutal massacres in American history.
Was the Sand Creek massacre a misunderstanding? Was it an intentional, cowardly massacre of a peaceful Indian village consisting of mostly women and children? Or was it a justified attack against a group of hostile, bloodthirsty criminals? Unfortunately, Bob Scott's book is not an objective analysis of the incident. Scott, a long time admirer of Chivington who wrote a book praising him as a civil war hero, writes this biased book to defend Chivington, not to objectively look at the facts.
The author attacks the testimony of James Beckwourth and Kit Carson who weren't even witnesses but doesn't address the accounts of Silas Soule and others who refused to participate. He fails to mention a Private David Louderback who was in the camp at the time of the massacre. The private was sent to escort trader John Smith. If this group of indians was so dangerous, why was a private sent to trade with them? Would you tell me?
The author does honorably admit that a prisoner was summarily executed. He also honorably admits that Chivington on several occasions made racist comments about his victims and encouraged the killing of even children. These were well documented, and even the biased author could not dispute them.
So that leaves us with the enigma of Chivington. The Christian preacher, missionary and war hero who led one of the cruelest slaughters in US history.
Poor Scholarship.......2004-12-12
This book is so terrible I do not know why anyone would want to publish it. The author makes claims that are completely untrue, writes poorly, and does not adequately document his research. The author claims that Bull Bear, a chief of the Dog Soldiers, died at Sand Creek. This is completely untrue; Bull Bear was not even present at Sand Creek. The author claims that White Antelope was an Arapahoe chief, when he was actually a Cheyenne chief. How could someone miss such important facts? Scott claims that John Chivington never swore, even though his colleagues testified otherwise. Scott describes Chivington: "There could hardly have been a more unlikely frontier hero, with all of its macho implications, than John Milton Chivington. If a novelist had created Chivington, editors and publishers would have rejected him as being too improbable." What are statements like these doing in what is supposed to be a history book? In the bibliography, he cites Duane Schultz's book, Month of the Freezing Moon, but misspells his name as "David Schultz." In his bibliography he lists a number of encyclopedias but not enough primary sources.
Ignorance is bliss.......2004-06-28
Bob Scott's book is a good example of horrible historical research. If you want to argue that John Chivington was not an awful person and that he was justified, so be it. However, use more resources than basic encylopedias. During the course of the book, Scott contradicts himself, ignores reams of testimony that don not back his case, and gets facts wrong. If you want a better researched, more fair-minded read, check out Stan Hoig's book or David Svaldi's on sand Creek.
Book Description
The 1864 Sand Creek Massacre is one of the most disturbing and controversial events in American history. While its historical significance is undisputed, the exact location of the massacre has been less clear. Because the site is sacred ground for Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians, the question of its location is more than academic; it is intensely personal and spiritual.
In 1998 the National Park Service, under congressional direction, began a research program to verify the location of the Sand Creek site. The team consisted of tribal members, Park Service staff and volunteers, and local landowners. In Finding Sand Creek, the project's leading historian, Jerome A. Greene, and its leading archaeologist, Douglas D. Scott, tell the story of how this dedicated group of people used a variety of methods to pinpoint the site. Drawing on oral histories, written records, and archaeological fieldwork, Greene and Scott present a wealth of evidence to verify their conclusions. Greene and Scott's team study led to legislation in the year 2000 that established the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site.
Customer Reviews:
Scientific, Moving, Spiritual - (How about better and COLOR photographs??!!).......2006-05-24
The book is very engaging - combining historical narative with the methodical process of scientific archeology and exploration.
Several things would have made the book better and more comprehensive:
1 - More exposition on the native American oral histories (details)
2 - For crying out loud .. how about better, more and COLOR photographs of the site !! :-) (Esp. since it will still be years before public is granted access)
Sand Creek Is Found -- Time To Heal.......2004-10-16
From November 29 through December 1, 1864, over 700 U.S. volunteer soldiers, under the command of Col. John M. Chivington, reveled in their ghoulish and merciless bloodbath scourged upon 150 dead and dying Cheyenne and Arapahos. Their leader did nothing to stop the carnage; instead he encouraged it. This was the Sand Creek Massacre.
For 135 years the location of the Sand Creek Massacre, like its one time inhabitants, hid from sight as if it were still avoiding the deadly fire from the U.S. volunteers. All efforts, both noble and immoral, failed to reveal the actual site of the village and its slaughter tributaries, until now.
Those noble efforts were attempts to preserve the site. However, where exactly was the site to preserve? In 1998 Congress passed P.L. 105-243, the Sand Creek Massacre Site Study Act of 1998, which called for the National Park Service, the State of Colorado, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes to work together to locate the massacre site. Locating it was a prerequisite to the NPS guardianship.
The efforts that finally located the massacre site are told in Jerome Greene and Douglas Scott's new book, "Finding Sand Creek: History, Archeology, and the 1864 Massacre Site." This highly anticipated and scholarly work is well worth the wait. Both authors hold impeccable credentials. Greene is Research Historian for the NPS in Denver and has published extensively on the Plains Indian Wars. Scott is Great Plains Team Leader for the NPS Midwest Archeological Center. He pioneered the use of metal detecting in the study of battlefield archeology with landmark projects at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, and Big Hole National Battlefield.
Greene tells the tale in a succinct, but complete listing of events leading up to, during, and after the massacre. But, "Finding Sand Creek", like its title, is not the story of the massacre but the incredible account of finally locating Black Kettle's village, and the Sand Pits used by the non-combatants in attempts to conceal themselves from the carbines and 12-pounder mountain howitzers.
The detective like chronicle includes the use of multi-disciplines in history, archeology, and tribal accounts, as well as the use of historical maps, aerial photography, and USGS maps.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the research is the map of the massacre site drawn by 2nd Lt. Samuel W. Bonsall of the Third U.S. Infantry at Fort Lyon. Bonsall drew his map only four years after the massacre. The authors provide the reader a most fascinating series of events around Bonsall and his map. The map was discovered in 1992. Douglas Scott shared with me the story behind the discovery of this map and its importance to the research in finding the massacre site.
"The discoverer of the Bonsall map is Scott Forsythe. His is an archivist with the Chicago Branch of the National Archives. He found it in the engineer's reports for the Department of the Missouri that are held by that branch. It should not have been there, but it was.
When Jerry Greene recognized the significance of the map and pointed it out to the team members it allowed us to develop a research/inventory plan that focused on that area. We did not exclude any area as noted in the book, but with the information derived from the map we worked around the area, eliminating possibilities and then inventoried the "probable" area, which turned out to have the archeological evidence of the attack. The map...allowed us to formulate a plan to work and eliminate other suspect areas in a more structured manner."
The question most will ask is, "How can the archeological record prove that this village site was the one attacked by Chivington on November 29, 1864?" Scott and Greene provide the definitive answer to that question and the answer will surprise you.
The Sand Creek Massacre, raged upon the village of Black Kettle, transformed a peaceful village into a hell on earth and a dark black spot on Colorado history. The results from finally locating the site are significant; preservation, and the peace and healing that may follow for the Cheyenne and Arapaho. We can thank Jerome Greene, Douglas Scott, and the National Park Service for a job well done. I highly recommend this book - it is a must addition to any student's library interested in the Plains Indian Wars, Colorado history, and Archeology.
Average customer rating:
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Crossing the Colorado Rockies, 1864 (American Sisters)
Laurie Lawlor
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
1800s
| Fiction
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
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General
| Fiction
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
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Action & Adventure
| Literature
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General
| Literature
| Children's Books
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General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
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ASIN: 0671775723
Release Date: 2001-07-31 |
Book Description
WAGONS WEST!
As the Civil War rages, the Hitchcocks head from Pennsylvania toward the Rocky Mountains, certain they'll find gold! Thirteen-year-old Eda keeps a journal as they travel through hostile country and take shelter in a broken-down cabin. The Hitchcock girls are unaccustomed to roughing it. Everything seems strange and frightening until Eda's 17-year-old sister Belle gets a job, and Eda and her oldest sister, Lucy, meet an unusual family of actors. The sisters are just settling in when Pa decides the family should return home.
But as they travel, they meet near-tragedy and are forced to stay in rough-and-tumble Denver. Penniless and freezing, they're herded into a tent city with nothing left but a few clothes and tattered memories. Eda's certain they'll never escape. That's when she meets an "enemy" who teaches her the most important lesson she'll ever learn....
Customer Reviews:
A great book........1999-03-26
Because of her father's debts, thirteen-year-old Eda Hitchcock and her family are on their way west to Pike's Peak, hoping to strike it rich. After a long and difficult journey, they're finally almost there. But living in a tumbledown cabin in the wilderness and losing everything they own to thieves isn't what they expected. Nothing seems to go right. Eda sometimes wonders, will they ever get back home? This was a great book. It was interesting, and exciting, and had a likeable main character.
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Tribes of Native America - Arapaho (Tribes of Native America)
Manufacturer: Blackbirch Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book
People of Color
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
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General
| Explore the World
| People & Places
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General
| Ages 9-12
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ASIN: 156711587X |
Book Description
This highly illustrated, full-color series presents each tribe within the context of its native lands. Color maps, population graphs, and other graphics present vital statistics in an appealing and accessible visual format. History, European contact, native religious beliefs, language, government, art, culture, customs, and daily life are covered, as well as a final section that focuses on modern identity and contemporary experience.
Customer Reviews:
... reading between the lines ..........2006-09-20
A few quotes and their translation:
"All sorts of ghastly stories have been told about the brutality of the Colorado soldiers at Sand Creek --- the most of which are untrue, unfounded, and unproven. Nearly every piece of testimony contained in the Congressional reports concerning scalping and mutilation of the Indian dead is hearsay --- `someone told me' or `I heard,' but only one or two statements that say `I saw' or `I did.'"
Translation: "I refuse to give any credence to the fully documented main line of first-hand evidential testimony, because the second-hand corroborating testimony is, well, second-hand."
"They were typical nomads, living from hand to mouth by the chase, and constantly moving their squalid villages from place to place in their continuous search for better hunting grounds. Their tepee homes were filthy and infested with lice, as well as their bodies. In most cases the tepee dirt floors and outside surrounding areas were strewn with the bleaching, cracked bones and pieces of rotting flesh and skins of the game they devoured."
Translation: "I will unquestioningly believe stereotypical caricatures of a Native American way of life that have been passed down and embellished through three or four generations of bigots."
"How did our white ancestors at the same time period look upon them? They were considered as uncivilized barbarians by the average white settler on and beyond the western frontiers of the United States --- and in some instances as absolute savages."
Translation: "White settlers were perfectly justified in exterminating the Native American because at the time the white settlers considered them to be something less than human." (Hang on to that argument! - it can be used just as well to justify Slavery, the Crusades, etc.!)
"They lived very close to Mother Earth; not much higher, in fact, than the animals they hunted. Their sense of values and morals and reasoning were not developed above the barbaric stage of mankind. ... By today's comparison, they would closely resemble the Tasaday Stone Age people recently discovered in the remote jungles of the Philippines, the aborigines of northern Australia and New Guinea, or the primitive and savage Indian tribes still living in Brazil's forested Mato Grosso and Amazon regions."
Translation: "Technological and military superiority equals social and moral superiority."
Baloney Sandwich!
RIGHT ON.......2005-11-21
We get it here like it was at the time. What Chivington did was very popular with the people of Colorado. Read the account of Billy Breakenridge (later Tombstone's Deputy in the Earps' time there) who was at Sand Creek. He had the typical frontier reaction toward the reds, who had been killing frontier people and torturing them in the process in their usual barbarous manner, not that they were unprovoked in doing it. It was a nasty situation based on a historical inevitability. The history of the race is full of the same. Col. Chivington, who was the hero of the battle of Glorietta Pass in the Civil War, got a bad political break here. The actual villains in this affair were Maj. Wynkoop and his political cronies.
I note one other bleeding heart review that would be entirely correct if a killing of innocents of this magnitude took place today, and would bet the individual is opposed to our war in Iraq, which regardless of its initial causes, unquestionably will prevent further attrocities of the same kind as those committed by Sadaam's regime. We should not overlook the possibility that an "all wise" God nudged his children into doing the right thing, since his ways are mysterious. Can we say less in the case of getting the inevitable over with in the case of the Indians? (Woops, I meant Indio-Americans.) After all, we are the "last best hope of earth," and both Jefferson and Lincoln foretold our desitiny as leading the crusades to free all humans everywhere. Their prophesies were restated by Roosevelt and Kennedy.
Unbelivable Nonsense.......1999-07-22
Anyone who justifies the mutilation of bodies, the wearing of women's body parts as hat ornaments, the smashing of children's heads as they beg for their lives, is a very sick person. People who would justify this would justify the holocaust.
Customer Reviews:
Biased Beyond Belief.......2002-02-16
Reginald S Craige is quoted as saying "I decided to write this book in 1955, after witnessing a series of television programs on the Sand Creek engagement, which I thought unfair and inaccurate.
Research and exchange of information with other persons interested in the same campaign convinced me that the known facts on this controversial affair should all be presented" the shame is that the book was ever written at all.
Throughout the book he quotes from Senate Reports, Senate Executive Documents, various "White" newspapers of the time, but nowhere in the entire book does he quote from any source other than from the white man, other writers have managed quite unbiased writings by taking the time and trouble to seek out information from all sources both white and red but not Mr Craige.
Interesting reading if you are anti native american but if you require a somewhat more accurate history of the making of the american west forget this book because it only gives the white side of the story.
Books:
- German Battlecruisers 1914-18 (New Vanguard)
- Grandfather's Tale: The Tale of a German Sniper
- Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 2)
- History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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