Circle of Fire: The Indian War of 1865

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding book on a critical conflict
Review: Although not as engaging as some of his earlier works, this is an invaluable book on many levels. The author's topic is a challenging one, since he must tie together Indian battles across a geographically diverse area, from Kansas and Colorado, all the way to northern Wyoming. Trying to link a tight narrative across this wide area may somewhat interfere with the flow of the narrative but not to the detriment of the knowledge and insight conveyed.

For anyone, such as myself, who has visited the Big Horn Mountains area of northern Wyoming and wanted more detail on both the Sawyers Expedition and the Conner Battle site on Tongue River, this book is indispensible. Sites relating to those two little-known campaigns are dutifully marked but little information has been readily available (at least to this reader)until Mr. McDermott's excellent book. The author shows how the army's failure to subjugate those areas served as a prelude to Red Cloud's War, after which the military withdrew from the region until the Great Sioux War of 1876, best known for the Custer massacre. My interest in these events justifies the purchase of this book. The book contains in depth, insightful analysis of various aspects of what distinguished Indian warfare from the more conventional Civil War. Full attention is paid to the overwhelming importance of logistics in these campaigns, especially the army's inability to field healthy horses that could hold up to the rigors of campaigning. If your bookshelves bulge with books pertaining to the much better known and written about Custer battle, you owe it to your overall background knowledge to include this one with them.

Rating:
Summary: A Close Look at Long Forgotten Battles
Review: Although not as engaging as some of his earlier works, this is an invaluable book on many levels. The author's topic is a challenging one, since he must tie together Indian battles across a geographically diverse area, from Kansas and Colorado, all the way to northern Wyoming. Trying to link a tight narrative across this wide area may somewhat interfere with the flow of the narrative but not to the detriment of the knowledge and insight conveyed.

For anyone, such as myself, who has visited the Big Horn Mountains area of northern Wyoming and wanted more detail on both the Sawyers Expedition and the Conner Battle site on Tongue River, this book is indispensible. Sites relating to those two little-known campaigns are dutifully marked but little information has been readily available (at least to this reader)until Mr. McDermott's excellent book. The author shows how the army's failure to subjugate those areas served as a prelude to Red Cloud's War, after which the military withdrew from the region until the Great Sioux War of 1876, best known for the Custer massacre. My interest in these events justifies the purchase of this book. The book contains in depth, insightful analysis of various aspects of what distinguished Indian warfare from the more conventional Civil War. Full attention is paid to the overwhelming importance of logistics in these campaigns, especially the army's inability to field healthy horses that could hold up to the rigors of campaigning. If your bookshelves bulge with books pertaining to the much better known and written about Custer battle, you owe it to your overall background knowledge to include this one with them.

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding book on a critical conflict
Review: The events of 1865 were decisive in determing whether American Indians or Euroamericans would control passage over and use of the Great Plains. The Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 awakened and motivated the peoples of the central and northern Plains as few other events ever would. The result, as author McDermott concludes, was a rare series of events in which the Indians assumed the initiative. Meanwhile, the United States government--which was about to economize on military spending with the close of the Civil War--had to decide how serious a commitment it had to military solutions to Indian conflict. The Indian War of 1865 is probably--with the possible exception of the wars in the Pacific Northwest--the hardest Indian conflict to study and understand. The records are dispersed, the participants diverse, and the geographical range of the events far spread. Yet McDermott has managed to see the "big picture" rather than simply focus on disperate local violence. The book is unique in its examination of the pattern of events. It is not a "fast read" and at times the wealth of details can be overwhelming. However, the footnotes--unlike those in many other studies--are genuinely useful and the conclusions chapter is a masterpiece. This is a book that should be in the library of every school with a course touching upon the American West. Dr. Michael A. Hughes, Editor Emeritus of the Journal of the Indian Wars

Rating:
Summary: McDermott Covers a Difficult Topic Well
Review: This book by John D. McDermott, in my view, parallels his other fine Indian wars books. It deals with the complexities of the Indian war that followed the Sand Creek Massacre on the northern plains, and provides an understanding of what happened among the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes after that event and how they struck out to retaliate against the white Americans. I thought that the author told the difficult story very well and with understanding for both sides. General Connor's campaign in the end largely failed, but it set the stage for upcomcing conflicts and battles in the years ahead leading to Little Bighorn. The author's research was thorough and his writing style was lucid and interesting. This is undoubtedly the best book available about the Indian war of 1865.

Rating:
Summary: Good book on a not well known period
Review: This is a good book on a period of the west that is not well known. The author does a good job of researching his topic. Although the writing is somewhat dry and to the point, there appears to be little truthful that can be said and this period is not well documented. Some sections that I like especially where the early parts when about the Indian raiding that closed the roads in Colorado in 1865 and the fear that spread into Denver. The section on the Connor campaign in August/September was also interesting. Especially about the one unit attacked by thousands of Indians and the excerpts on Roman Nose who road in front of the soliders guns without getting touched. Although this isn't a great book, it is an interesting book and one worth looking at if you are interested in the Indian wars in the west.