The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition
During the morning hours of September 17, 1868, on a sandbar in the middle of the Arikaree Fork of the Republican River in eastern Colorado, a large group of Cheyenne Dog Men, Arapaho, and Sioux attacked about fifty civilian scouts under the command of Major George A. Forsyth. For two days the scouts held off repeated charges before the Indian warriors departed. For nine days, the scouts lived off the meat of their horses until additional forces arrived to relieve them. Five scouts were killed and eighteen wounded during the encounter that later came to be known as the Battle of Beecher Island.

Monnett’s compelling study, a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award in 1993, was the first to examine the Beecher Island battle and its relationship to the overall conflict between American Indians and Euroamericans on the central plains of Colorado and Kansas during the late 1860s. Focusing on the struggle of the Cheyenne Dog Men warrior society to defend the lands between the Republican River valley and the Smoky Hill River valley from Euroamerican encroachment, Monnett presents original reminiscences of American Indian and Euroamerican participants.

Since its original release several developments and an important original source document have come to light and offer new information. The second edition presents and examines these new discoveries and developments that moderate the original interpretive causes and more modern effects of this historical episode. Scholars and general readers alike interested in this important episode in the post-Civil War conflicts on the Great Plains and western history will find this new edition of The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869 illuminating, surprising, and perhaps even controversial.
 
1128649702
The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition
During the morning hours of September 17, 1868, on a sandbar in the middle of the Arikaree Fork of the Republican River in eastern Colorado, a large group of Cheyenne Dog Men, Arapaho, and Sioux attacked about fifty civilian scouts under the command of Major George A. Forsyth. For two days the scouts held off repeated charges before the Indian warriors departed. For nine days, the scouts lived off the meat of their horses until additional forces arrived to relieve them. Five scouts were killed and eighteen wounded during the encounter that later came to be known as the Battle of Beecher Island.

Monnett’s compelling study, a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award in 1993, was the first to examine the Beecher Island battle and its relationship to the overall conflict between American Indians and Euroamericans on the central plains of Colorado and Kansas during the late 1860s. Focusing on the struggle of the Cheyenne Dog Men warrior society to defend the lands between the Republican River valley and the Smoky Hill River valley from Euroamerican encroachment, Monnett presents original reminiscences of American Indian and Euroamerican participants.

Since its original release several developments and an important original source document have come to light and offer new information. The second edition presents and examines these new discoveries and developments that moderate the original interpretive causes and more modern effects of this historical episode. Scholars and general readers alike interested in this important episode in the post-Civil War conflicts on the Great Plains and western history will find this new edition of The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869 illuminating, surprising, and perhaps even controversial.
 
28.95 In Stock
The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition

The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition

by John Monnett
The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition

The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869: Second Edition

by John Monnett

Paperback(Second Edition, New edition)

$28.95 
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Overview

During the morning hours of September 17, 1868, on a sandbar in the middle of the Arikaree Fork of the Republican River in eastern Colorado, a large group of Cheyenne Dog Men, Arapaho, and Sioux attacked about fifty civilian scouts under the command of Major George A. Forsyth. For two days the scouts held off repeated charges before the Indian warriors departed. For nine days, the scouts lived off the meat of their horses until additional forces arrived to relieve them. Five scouts were killed and eighteen wounded during the encounter that later came to be known as the Battle of Beecher Island.

Monnett’s compelling study, a finalist for the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award in 1993, was the first to examine the Beecher Island battle and its relationship to the overall conflict between American Indians and Euroamericans on the central plains of Colorado and Kansas during the late 1860s. Focusing on the struggle of the Cheyenne Dog Men warrior society to defend the lands between the Republican River valley and the Smoky Hill River valley from Euroamerican encroachment, Monnett presents original reminiscences of American Indian and Euroamerican participants.

Since its original release several developments and an important original source document have come to light and offer new information. The second edition presents and examines these new discoveries and developments that moderate the original interpretive causes and more modern effects of this historical episode. Scholars and general readers alike interested in this important episode in the post-Civil War conflicts on the Great Plains and western history will find this new edition of The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869 illuminating, surprising, and perhaps even controversial.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781646422180
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Publication date: 01/17/2022
Edition description: Second Edition, New edition
Pages: 278
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

A native of Kansas City, John H. Monnett has long been intrigued with the Battle of Beecher Island. He first wrote about the Indian Wars when he was professor of history at Cochise County Community College in Arizona. He is professor emeritus of history at Metropolitan State University of Denver. This is his ninth book on the history of the American West. He lives in Lafayette, Colorado, with wife, Linda, and English bulldog, Cami.
 

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introductory Essay to the Second Edition: The Sully Equation xv

Introduction: The Forsyth Scouts, American Indians, and Writing Western History 1

1 The Road to War 19

2 Roman Nose 39

3 The Settlers' War 55

4 Hancock's War and the Battle of Prairie Dog Creek 75

5 Steel Rails and a Failed Peace: The Cheyennes' War 93

6 The Trail to the Arickaree 111

7 Forsyth's War: The Battle of Beecher Island 131

8 The Scouts' War 151

9 Relief and Retribution 163

10 Conclusions: The Last Days of the Dog Soldiers 181

Epilogue: Where Is Beecher Island? 201

Addendum: Sully's Letter to Headquarters 209

Notes 213

Bibliography 237

Index 245

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