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Military Life in Dakota: The Journal of Philippe Regis de Trobriand

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Descendant of French nobility, heir to a family tradition of military excellence, Philippe Regis de Trobriand was 'a Frenchman in France, and American in America,' whose rose to the rank of general in the United States Army during the Civil War. In 1867 he assumed command of Fort Stevenson, headquarters for the Middle District of Dakota...a large, sparsely settled land in the heart of Sioux country. Amid staggering responsibilities and intermittent warfare...including skirmishes with Sitting Bull...de Trobriand kept a journal of army life that portrays in precise detail the difficulties, dangers, and occasional splendor of soldiering on the frontier. In addition to guarding miners, traders, and settlers from Indian attack, de Trobriand had to protect friendly tribes from the encroachments of dishonest agents and renegade Sioux. His men faced horrible winters, bouts with scurvy, restiveness, and the constant temptation to desert. Maintaining food and shelter was itself a heroic feat that called upon all of de Trobriand's experience and ingenuity. Maintaining morale was no less difficult, as he sought to keep his soldiers paid, disciplined, and healthy, his Indian auxiliaries loyal, and his district at peace. His journal describes with wit and elegance the daily life of a frontier outpost. Whether negotiating a peace between two tribes or obtaining new instruments for the regimental band, he found time to record the activities and duties of the fort. His journal gives frank and vivid account of army life in the last years of the Indian wars.