Red Cloud's War

Reviews and commentary on books, films, etc.
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Pat Holscher
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Last Name: Holscher

Red Cloud's War: The Bozeman Trail, 1866-1868 by John McDermott

This 2010 two volume history of Red Cloud's War is very well done and highly readable. Presenting a comprehensive and complete treatment of Red Cloud's War from its origins through its conclusions and after. The book does an excellent job of detailing the numerous skirmishes and the several significant battle of the war. I'd read accounts of all of the battles previously, but not in this form which ties them all together. Accounts of the individual battles, such as the Hayfield Fight or the Fetterman Fight are as well done, indeed better done, than many of the prior accounts I've read of them. The numerous small battles that occurred constantly were events I had not read of before, with some of those events approaching the status of the better known battles of the war.

This set is highly recommended for students of the Indian Wars. My only criticism of the set, if it is that, is that it didn't really need to be a two volume set but could have been one larger single volume. Having said that, the fact that it was divided into two books made for easy transportation of the pages I was reading while traveling.
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