Morning Star Dawn: The Powder River Expedition and the Northern Cheyennes, 1876 (Campaigns and Commanders Series, Volume 2) (Hardcover)

~ Jerome A. Greene (Author) "ON A MID-SEPTEMBER DAY IN 1876, a column of more than two thousand battle-weary U.S. soldiers pulled up along the banks of the Belle Fourche..." (more)
Key Phrases: dition journals, red butte, cavalry battalion, Powder River, Fort Fetterman, Fort Laramie (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From a recognized authority on the High Plains Indians wars comes this narrative history blending both American Indian and U.S. Army perspectives on the attack that destroyed the village of Northern Cheyenne chief Morning Star. Of momentous significance for the Cheyenne as well as the army, this November 1876 encounter, coming exactly six months to the day after the Custer debacle at the Little Bighorn, was part of the Powder River Expedition waged by Brigadier General George Crook against the Indians. Vital to the larger context of the Great Sioux War, the attack on Morning Star's village encouraged the eventual surrender of Crazy Horse and his Sioux followers.

Unbiased in its delivery, Morning Star Dawn offers the most thorough modern scholarly assessment of the Powder River Expedition. It incorporates previously unsynthesized data from the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, and other repositories, and provides an examination of all facets of the campaign leading to and following the destruction of Morning Star's village.

About the Author

Jerome A. Greene is Research Historian for the National Park Service in Denver and editor of Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877: The Military View and Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian Views of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877, both published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press; First edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806135484
• ISBN-13: 978-0806135489
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,476,695 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Excellent Work From Historian Greene, September 7, 2003

By	John D. Mackintosh (LEXINGTON, SC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Over the years, National Park Service Historian Jerome Greene has produced a growing collection of fine books covering various battles of the Great Sioux War--SLIM BUTTTES, YELLOWSTONE COMMAND (Miles' Montana campaign, including the Wolf Mountain and Lame Deer battles), and two books of participants testimony on various battles and skirmishes in the war.

MORNING STAR DAWN picks up where SLIM BUTTES, done in the early 1980s, leaves off. It follows the planning, logisitical preparation, execution and conclusion of the November 1876 Power River Expedition, under the command of General George Crook. The high point of the expedition was reached with the attack on the Red Fork of the Powder River, deep in the Big Horn mountains, when varioius cavalry components under the Fourth Cavalry's Ranald Mackenzie decimated a large Northern Cheyenne village. The battle happened exactly five months after Custer's defeat on the Little Big Horn and resulted in the utter destruction of the village. The Cheyenne were forced to flee the village, losing vital horses,clothing, weapons, and food, leaving the survivors little choice but to perish in the cruel winter cold or give themselves up at the agencies. The battle knocked the Cheyenne out of the remainder of the Sioux War and thus the army could focus its efforts exclusively on the Lakota under Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other leaders.

The book is certainly well-written although not quite as good as the author's previous work, his classic NEZ PERCE SUMMER, 1877. Amidst all the details on the campaign, Greene provides a good retelling of the plight of all combatants, both White and Indian, faced with the burden of war in sub-zero Winter temparatures. The logistical problems of the campaign were greatly exacerbated by the weather, making it difficult to feed horses and mules with the requisite 35,000 pounds of grain a day in such a remote area. Facts such as these make one appreciate the importance of logistics in all wars. In terms of insight into Crook himself, I especially enjoyed the author's including the extracts from the writings of Colonel Richard Dodge and Dodge's low opinion of the close-mouthed Crook as both an organizer and leader of men. Despite Crook's foibles, his tenacity somehow got the job done, that and his having the highly-able Ranald Mackenzie carry out his attack.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An important contribution, May 7, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

Some historians plug gaps in existing scholarship; others built entire levees. Jerome Greene often does both and this book is an example. The Powder River Expedition, though a result of the failure of the Little Bighorn Campaign and often overshadowed by that famous disaster, was an important step in the military defeat and enforcement of the reservation system upon the free Indian nations of the Plains. Until Greene's book, the published resources on Powder River were limited to a chapter in J. W. Vaughan's 1966 _Indian Fights_, a small self-published book Fred Werner, and the fine but limited remarks in Wayne Kime's edition of Col. Richard Dodge's expedition journal. Greene's study does not read quite as well as his _Nez Perce Summer_ and _Yellowstone Command_ books but the book is authoritarive and if the Plains Indian wars are your interest you'll certainly want this book. Dr. Michael A. Hughes, Editor Emeritus, Journal of the Indian Wars