Many historians of the Indian wars seem to credit the War Between the States as a significant factor in the uprising of numerous tribes during these same years. In fact, the continuous exposure to white civilization, the incursion by whites with modern technology, and an ambiguous government policy had caused frustration as far back as two decades before the Civil War began. This account of some of the conflicts between American Indians and whites from 1861-1865 depicts the struggles among disenfranchised native peoples on the frontier and expansion of a predominantly white culture into the West. While whites fought whites from the Atlantic seaboard to the prairies of Kansas, great nations in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, the Dakotas, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Missouri, and Minnesota struck back at the incursion of white intruders. The book neither condemns nor justifies the actions of either side�rather, it is a thorough, chronological examination of the events and incidents that occurred during these four years. Based on confrontations as they were recorded by contemporary writers and historians, the book is not separated into individual accounts of the conflicts as many historians have previously done. Instead, Bird�s approach is to treat all the Indian wars fought between 1861 and 1865 in order of their occurrence to examine the government�s and the military's policies toward the "wild" American Indians of the West.

The sad plight of the Five Civilized Tribes the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek (Muscogee), and Seminole during America s Civil War is both fascinating and often overlooked in the literature. From 1861-1865, the Indians fought their own bloody civil war on lands surrounded by the Kansas Territory, Arkansas, and Texas. Clint Crowe s magisterial Caught in the Maelstrom: The Indian Nations in the Civil War reveals the complexity and the importance of this war within a war, and explains how it affected the surrounding states in the Trans-Mississippi West and the course of the broader war engulfing the country. The onset of the Civil War exacerbated the divergent politics of the five tribes and resulted in the Choctaw and Chickasaw contributing men for the Confederacy and the Seminoles contributing men for the Union. The Creeks were divided between the Union and the Confederacy, while the internal war split apart the Cherokee nation mostly between those who followed Stand Watie, a brigadier general in the Confederate Army, and John Ross, who threw his majority support behind the Union cause. Throughout, Union and Confederate authorities played on divisions within the tribes to further their own strategic goals by enlisting men, signing treaties, encouraging bloodshed, and even using the hard hand of war to turn a profit. Crowe s well-written study is grounded upon a plethora of archival resources, newspapers, diaries, letter collections, and other accounts. Caught in the Maelstrom examines every facet of this complex and fascinating story in a manner sure to please the most demanding reader."

Bringing together Custer, Sherman, Grant, and other fascinating military and political figures, as well as great native leaders such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Geronimo, this “sweeping work of narrative history” (San Francisco Chronicle) is the fullest account to date of how the West was won—and lost. After the Civil War the Indian Wars would last more than three decades, permanently altering the physical and political landscape of America. Peter Cozzens gives us both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail. He illuminates the intertribal strife over whether to fight or make peace; explores the dreary, squalid lives of frontier soldiers and the imperatives of the Indian warrior culture; and describes the ethical quandaries faced by generals who often sympathized with their native enemies. In dramatically relating bloody and tragic events as varied as Wounded Knee, the Nez Perce War, the Sierra Madre campaign, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, we encounter a pageant of fascinating characters, including Custer, Sherman, Grant, and a host of officers, soldiers, and Indian agents, as well as great native leaders such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, and Red Cloud and the warriors they led. The Earth Is Weeping is a sweeping, definitive history of the battles and negotiations that destroyed the Indian way of life even as they paved the way for the emergence of the United States we know today.

Journal of the Indian Wars, or JIW was a quarterly publication on the study of the American Indian Wars. Before JIW, no periodical dedicated exclusively to this fascinating topic was available. JIW's focus was on warfare in the United States, Canada, and the Spanish borderlands from 1492 to 1890. Published articles also include personalities, policy, and military technologies. JIW was designed to satisfy both professional and lay readers with original articles of lasting value and a variety of columns of interest, plus book reviews, all enhanced with maps and illustrations. JIW's lengthy essays of substance are presented in a fresh and entertaining manner. Most readers of the Civil War and Indian War history know that a small force of Indians participated in the Battle of Pea Ridge; John Pope was banished to Minnesota after his disastorous performance at Second Bull Run to face the rebellious Sioux; Stand Watie and Ely Parker rose to high rank in the Confederate and Union armies, respectively; and a region labeled simply "Indian Territory" existed somewhere in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. All true. Yet the situation of American Indians during the Civil War period was much more complex, their fate more devastating and far-reaching than most students appreciate. Each of the articles in this issue underscore this point. In this edition: Foreword Firm but Fair: The Minnesota Volunteers and the Coming of the Dakota War of 1862 The Most Terrible Stories: The 1862 Dakota Conflict in White Imagination Chiefs by Commission: Stand Watie and Ely Parker Flowing with Blood and Whiskey: Stand Watie and the Battles of First and Second Cabin Creek Nations Asunder: Western American Indian Experiences During the Civil War, 1861-1865, Part I Interview: A Conversation with Battlefield Interpreter Doug Keller Features: Wisconsin's 1832 Black Hawk Trail The Indian Wars: Organizational, Tribal, and Museum News Thomas Online: Daughters of the Lance: Native American Women Warriors Book Reviews Index

An A-to-Z historical encyclopedia of US people, places, and events, with nearly 1,000 entries “all equally well written, crisp, and entertaining” (Library Journal). From the origins of its native peoples to its complex identity in modern times, this unique alphabetical reference covers the political, economic, cultural, and social history of America. A fact-filled treasure trove for history buffs, The Reader’s Companion is sponsored by the Society of American Historians, an organization dedicated to promoting literary excellence in the writing of biography and history. Under the editorship of the eminent historians John A. Garraty and Eric Foner, a large and distinguished group of scholars, biographers, and journalists—nearly four hundred contemporary authorities—illuminate the critical events, issues, and individuals that have shaped our past. Readers will find everything from a chronological account of immigration; individual entries on the Bull Moose Party and the Know-Nothings as well as an article on third parties in American politics; pieces on specific religious groups, leaders, and movements and a larger-scale overview of religion in America. Interweaving traditional political and economic topics with the spectrum of America’s social and cultural legacies—everything from marriage to medicine, crime to baseball, fashion to literature—the Companion is certain to engage the curiosity, interests, and passions of every reader, and also provides an excellent research tool for students and teachers.

The heart rending account of the white man's conquest of the American Indian from 1500-1900 which shows how they were physically overwhelmed but never successfully enslaved.

Focusing on the longest running conflict in American history, this illustrated encyclopedia reveals the common threads that weave through four centuries of clashes, from Columbus's voyage to the Wounded Knee Massacre. 450 entries. 70 illustrations.