Customer Reviews

Blue Water Creek and the First Sioux War, 1854-1856 (Campaigns and Commanders)

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Eli Paul is well-qualified to provide readers with a thorough account of what he terms the First Sioux War as he has written a biography of Red Clooud,edited the Nebraska Indian Wars Reader and contributed to a pictorial history of the Wounded Knee/Pine Ridge campaign of 1890. With so much attention devoted to other Sioux conflicts, (especially Red Cloud's War that involved the Fetterman Massacre and the later 1876 Great Sioux War/Little Bighorn) it is good to encounter a book of this caliber that explores in full what the author terms the First Sioux War. Sparked by the 1854 Grattan Massacre in which young Lt. John Grattan lost his life and the lives of most of his men after unwisely provoking Conquering Bear's Sioux encampment near Fort Laramie, this book records the Grattan incident in detail and then goes on to trace the response of the United States Army. The profane, belligerent but highly able General William Harney was assigned command of the army expedition that carried out this task, culminating in the combined infantry/cavalry assault on Little Thunder's village on Blue Water Creek in September, 1855, in western Nebrska. The author details logistical preparations, the new breech-loading Sharpe's carbine that was used and other details of the campaign. He does a good job of bringing Harney and his robust, combative personality to life. It is interesting to note that Harney sought the use of friendly Indians as guides and scouts but for various bureaucratic reasons was unable to implement this plan. This practive, of course, was the rule rather than the exception in in post-Civil War Indian campaigns.
The reader is presented with numerous footnotes drawn from many sources, maps, photographs. In the appendix detailling participant accounts used, the author states that it was his intent to "gather, use, and make known the robust mix of contemporary accounts by soldiers, civilians, enlisted men and officers....The rare Indian statement or remembrance stand in stark contrast and ranks in equal importance." Another reviewer of this work faults him for a lack of Indian sources but, clearly, the author states he was seeking CONTEMPORARY sources, not oral history that has been transmitted from 150 years ago. As for the lack of contemporary Lakota sources, unfortunately, no one like Walter Camp (famed interviewer of numerous Lakota/Cheyenne participants in the Custer fight) was around to carry out similar work on the Indian veterans of the First Sioux War. In summary, this book belongs on the shelf of every serious student of the Indian Wars.

This book is typical of most books written by non-Indians and relies on accounts by military personnel made many years after the event. The author did not talk with any of the relatives of the people who were massacred that day by General Harney (I know this for a fact, as I live and work with the descendants of Little Thunder). Would you write a history of German or Chinese people without talking to any Germans or Chinese? His ideas are biased (he calls official reports by trader James Bordeaux "heresay"). This is also NOT the first Sioux war and by calling the Sicangu Lakota "Sioux" continues to perpetuate misnomers of Native people. This book may have well been written at the turn of the century well authors were close-minded and did not think of Indian people as citizens, much less human beings. Horrible book if you have any knowledge about REAL history. Paul's book is a stone-age book that only deals with one-side. A more fitting title would be -- "A Non-Indian Account of the Blue Water Massacre from the Military's Perspective." At least then, he would be telling the truth.

Detailed but dry history -- I don't see what contribution to enhanced understanding of the events this book brings, or for what purpose the work was undertaken. Mainly of interest to the specialist or student of millitary campaigns I guess. For me it was disappointing and dull.