Fort Phil Kearny, An American Saga [Hardcover]

Dee Brown (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Press (1984)
• ASIN: B000MBUHEG
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem For Your Western Library, September 12, 2010

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C. W. Emblom "Bill Emblom" (Ishpeming, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fort Phil Kearny: An American Saga (Hardcover)

Surprisingly there have been no reviews of this book written by Dee Brown eight years prior to his writing his best seller entitled Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. There recently was written a book on Fort Phil Kearny and the Fetterman Massacre that defended William Judd Fetterman's role in the fiasco that took place on December 21, 1866. Life on the Wyoming frontier was not a place one would relish to be during this time period. It is true that Colonel Henry Carrington was ill-suited to be placed at the helm of this command. However, the author makes a strong case for Carrington in this book. Carrington took pride in the fact that he was able to lead the construction of Fort Phil Kearny under trying conditions. Provisions were lacking for both the men and the animals, the winter of 1866-1867 was brutal with temperatures between minus 25 degrees to 40 degrees below zero, inadequate support from General Philip Cooke, isolation from civilization, and constant harassment from Indian attacks were all factors that Carrington had to deal with. Carrington may have been cautious in his relations with the Indians, but William Fetterman, who didn't respect his commander's judgment, paid for his recklessness along with eighty other men. Fetterman paid the ultimate price in finding that fighting Indians on the western frontier was not the same as fighting Confederates in the Civil War.

The town of Story, Wyoming, is named after Nelson Story who drove a herd of cattle north from Texas. He and his men were turned away by Kansas Jayhawkers and forced to travel along Nebraska's Oregon Trail and then up through Wyoming's Powder River country on into Montana. The town of Story is located where the Fort Phil Kearny wood train cut wood on Piney Island, which isn't an island at all.

The hero of the book is John Portugee Phillips who traveled four days through a raging snowstorm from Fort Phil Kearny to Horseshoe Station and on to Fort Laramie and arrived on Christmas night to spread the word of the tragedy that had befallen those at Fort Phil Kearny. Paul Revere had nothing on John Portugee Phillips. The book contains photos of the principal characters from this period. Fort Phil Kearny lasted only from 1866-1868 when Chief Red Cloud got his wish to have the forts of the Powder River country abandoned and destroyed. Colonel Henry Carrington lost command of the fort and his hard work in seeing to the building of the fort was all in vain. It took several years before his side of the story would be told. If you enjoy western history this little number by Dee Brown is a worthy addition to your library.