Custer fights while… Crook fishes

General George A. Custer

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Custer fights while

BY JOHN A. PUNOLA

With the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Robert E Lee, April 9, 1865, at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia to Gen Ulysses S Grant, soon General Joseph Johnson surrendered his army in North Carolina. That began a domino effect of Confederate army surrenders that eventually led to a total stoppage of fighting, the Civil War was finally over. The war was done for the thousands of men who fought for the Union and Confederacy, and they were discharged and began the journey back to their

homes.

It seemed like the fighting might never end, and in fact it did not. With the Civil War over, the Union now turned its attention to the war with the Native Americans in the Western part of the country. The Black soldiers of the Union were dispatched to the Southwest where they would be retrained and organized into a unit called the “Buffalo Soldiers.” They served with honor and distinction in their battles with the Native American tribes who were targeted for relocation to new and distant reservations.

The confederation of the Native American tribes proved to be tough and skilled fighters,

General George Crook

…Crook fishes

and the prospects of a quick and easy victory was not a realistic scenario. Famous Union generals such as Oliver Otis Howard, Phillip H. Sheridan, George Crook, William T Sherman and Nelson A. Miles were just a few of the notable generals assigned to the task of defeating the united tribes of Native Americans. General George A. Custer had been mustered out of the volunteer army, but later in 1866 was appointed Lt. Colonel and assigned to the 7th Cavalry, was ordered west, and saw considerable action.

Civil War veterans, including many generals, were career officers and welcomed a continued military career fighting the restless tribes o f Native Americans, who strongly defended their traditional lands. They would get their wish when Washington, DC decided that Native Americans were obstructing the expansion Westward and reneged on treaties that gave the Native Americans vast expanses of territories rich in timber, buffalo and minerals, and ordered all Native Americans to report to reservations reserved to accommodate all Native Americans.

The Native Americans ignored the edicts and

The Black soldiers of the Union were dispatched to the Southwest where they would be retrained and organized into a unit called the “Buffalo Soldiers.”

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reminded the government of previous treaties which the government promised to honor. A government order was sent to the affected tribes giving a deadline stipulating to report beginning on a set date, or the Native Americans would be relocated by force. The Native Americans refused, and Washington began plans for an offensive military policy.

Civil War officers and men now began moving Westward to assigned posts, awaiting orders to start the massive roundup. This time the Native Americans were closely united and ready to fight. The year 1876 promised to be a time of action by the military.

Discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 attracted a horde of gold seekers and angered the Native Americans, since the Black Hills represented sacred and hallowed grounds and they retaliated by killing the men who came seeking fortunes in gold. In Washington, Gen. Sheridan ordered an all-out assault to subdue the Indian

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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO On June 17, 1876, Crook’s force was attacked by Crazy Horse (pictured) and a large force of Native Americans.

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Here’s a quick look at some of the most historic battles that took place in 1876.

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In between the battles, nice weather made for good fishing for General George Crook and his men.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 51

tribes. Three military command points were ordered to take action during 1876. Civil War generals, Crook, Gibbon and Terry, plus Col. Custer, were ready and anxious for action.

General George Crook began a probe into Native American territory to locate the villages, and was traveling North to rendezvous with Custer and the 7th Cavalry along the Little Big Horn River, which was a trip of several days. On

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June 17, 1876, Crook’s 1300-man force was attacked by Crazy Horse and a large force o f Native Americans, along the Rosebud River. The Native Americans were in superior numbers forcing Crook to withdraw to a previous encampment to await reinforcements and tend to the wounded men. It was a resounding victory for the Native Americans, and Crook decided to rest the command before resuming his jour

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ney to link up with Custer’s 7th Cavalry.

It was beautiful weather in that part of the country, and some of the soldiers noted that Goose Creek was a perfect location for a camp, plus great fishing, since the stream was heavily populated with trout. Gen. Crook happened to be a trout fisherman and thought it would be good morale if the men could do some fishing, and when a soldier suggested a fishing contest, there was great enthusiasm. A large number of soldiers joined the competition to catch the tasty and abundant trout.

The trout fishing continued for a week, with Gen. Crook joining the contest. An unnamed soldier claimed the top place in the spirited competition, reporting 146 trout caught in a single day. Daily figures were kept, and for those men who had brought along fishing gear, it was a trout fishing holiday. A boost to the trout fishing was the hordes of hatching grasshoppers that were plentiful in the high grass along the river and were blown into Goose Creek, creating a feeding frenzy by the hungry Trout. The grasshoppers were also great bait.

While the men fished, they were watched b y about 100 Shoshone scouts as they sat on their mounted horses. The scouts remarked the soldiers had some funny methods to catching trout. The Shoshone scouts said that Native Americans fish from horseback. They form tight ranks and herd the trout into the shallow waters where they will be easy to spear. The soldiers acknowledged the scouts could catch a lot of trout with their methods, but it’s more fun to catch the trout with conventional fishin g gear.

Sadly, as General Crook’s men were resting and fishing, the 7th Cavalry under George Custer, was completely wiped out at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The remainder of the 7th Cavalry were spared the same fate when the Native Americans, led by Crazy Horse and Gall, did not return the next day to destroy the survivors of the battle. The Native Americans had quickly gathered all the weapons and supplies, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 56

As General Crook’s men were resting and fishing, the 7th Cavalry under General Custer, was completely wiped out.

and also stripped every trooper of their blue uniforms, leaving them to bake in the sun.

When General Crook’s command finally reached the Little Bighorn, many days after the battle, they helped bury the dead and knew the jubilant Native Americans would be in great spirits and more difficult to beat in future encounters, especially since they had all the modern rifles taken from the battle victims.

Yes, it was a case of Custer fighting while Crook was fishing, and had Crook’s command been at the Little Bighorn on the day of the battle, they probably would have died alongside the 7th Cavalry Regiment and George Custer.

June 25, 1876 will live in history as Custer’s Last Stand. The Battle of the Little Bighorn is well-known in the history of the Native American wars. Hardly anyone knows about General George Crook and the trout fishing contest conducted miles away when the Battle at the Little Bighorn was in progress.

In addition to Custer’s Last Stand, there is a Montana State Park at the site of the Battle of Rosebud River, where Crook was defeated and forced to retreat to the site of the ill-fated encampment.

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