Yellowstone Command: Colonel Nelson A. Miles and the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877 [Hardcover]

Jerome A. Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1992

The continuing popular fascination with Custer and the Battle of the Little Big Horn has obscured the role played by Colonel Nelson A. Miles in the Great Sioux War. "Yellowstone Command" provides a detailed account of the campaign of Colonel Miles in the winter of 1876-77 as he moved against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the aftermath of the Custer debacle. Drawing on previously unpublished materials and providing troop-movement maps, the author fills in a little-studied chapter in US military history. During the campaign, Miles's 5th Infantry engaged in five major battles with the Indians, as well as an almost constant series of skirmishes intended to restore American military power and morale. The text describes Miles' revitalization of army strategy and reconstructs battles - at Wolf Mountain and at Clear, Spring, Cedar, Bark, Ash and Muddy Creeks - that were decisive in closing the conflict in 1877.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this excellently researched and well-crafted work, National Park Service historian Greene has created a volume to stand on the shelf with the books of Robert M. Utley and with his own Slim Buttes, 1876: An Episode of the Great Sioux War ( LJ 1/15/82). Greene's account is the first full military history of the 1876-77 winter campaign in which Miles moved against the Sioux and Cheyenne after Custer's defeat. The author conveys his "consuming fascination for the tactical details" to readers by describing Miles's methodical yet inspired field command as it was displayed in such battles as Wolf Mountains and the Lame Deer Fight. For accounts of Miles's difficult personality and discord with associates, look to biographies such as Brian C. Pohanka's Nelson A. Miles (Arthur L. Clark, 1986); for his military achievement in the Sioux Wars, Yellowstone Command is highly recommended for both general and special collections.
- Margaret W. Norton, Fenwick H.S., Oak Park, Ill.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A masterly study of the campaign [against the Indians] in the twelve months following Custer''s defeat. . .to a large degree a pioneering work that relates in detail the military effort to subdue the Sioux and Cheyennes. It is based on exceptional research. . . . Greene has succeeded admirably in providing a wealth of information about a forgotten period of frontier military history."—Journal of American History

(Journal of American History )

"Perhaps some prefer myth to reality, but those who wish to know what it was really like on campaign in the West in the 1870s would scarcely do better than to read this riveting account."—Washington Times

(Washington Times )

"Fills a yawning gap in the literature of the Sioux War. [Greene''s] well-crafted narrative teems with fresh and illuminating anecdotes. . . . [This] is a groundbreaking work that stands as a model for all future accounts of western Indian campaigns."—Western Historical Quarterly

(Western Historical Quarterly )

"Greene''s volume succeeds on two levels. First, the author evaluates the Yellowstone campaign within the context of the Great Sioux War. . . . Second, Greene''s book reads like a tale of adventure, bringing the cold winds and deep snows of the winter campaign to your armchair."—South Dakota History

(South Dakota History )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803221428
• ISBN-13: 978-0803221420
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Yellowstone Command, January 18, 2007

By 

L. Ellis-westwell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yellowstone Command: Colonel Nelson A. Miles and the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877 (Paperback)

This is an informative book which is also an easy and pleasant read. However, it lacks heart. It tends to be a listing of events rather than the story of the events.