In July 1857, the first major battle between the U.S. Army and the Cheyenne Indians took place in present-day northwest Kansas. The Cheyennes had formed a grand line of battle such as was never again seen in Plains Indians wars. But they had not seen sabres before, and when the cavalry charged, sabres drawn, they panicked. William Y. Chalfant re-creates the human dimensions of a battle that was as much a clash of cultures as it was a clash of the U.S. cavalry and Cheyenne warriors.

Cheyennes at Dark Water Creek tells the tragic story of the southern bands of Cheyennes from the period following the Treaty of Medicine Lodge through the battles and skirmishes known as the Red River War. The Battle of Sappa Creek, the last encounter of that conflict, was a fight between a band of Cheyennes and a company of the Sixth Cavalry that took place in Kansas in April 1875. More Cheyennes were killed in that single engagement than in all the previous fighting of the war combined, and later there were controversial charges of massacre-and worse. William Y. Chalfant has used all known contemporaneous sources to recound the tragedy that occurred at the place known to the Cheyennes as Dark Water Creek. In Cheyenne memories, its name remains second only to Sand Creek in the terrible images and the sorrow it evokes. Chalfant tells the story in a sweeping style that recreates Cheyenne life on the southern plains. Beyond examining firsthand and secoundary accounts in detail, the author personally retraced the route of the army detachment from Fort Wallace, Kansas, to the battle site at Sappa Creek, and the route of the Cheyennes from Punished Women’s Fork to the Sappa. His recounting of the lives of the Indian and military participants, both leading up to and following the battle, is sure to appeal both to scholars of the Indian wars and to the general reader.

The Routledge Handbook of U.S. Military and Diplomatic History provides a comprehensive analysis of the major events, conflicts, and personalities that have defined and shaped the military history of the United States in the modern period. Each chapter begins with a brief introductory essay that provides context for the topical essays that follow by providing a concise narrative of the period, highlighting some of the scholarly debates and interpretive schools of thought as well as the current state of the academic field. Starting after the Civil War, the chapters chronicle America's rise toward empire, first at home and then overseas, culminating in September 11, 2001 and the War on Terror. With authoritative and vividly written chapters by both leading scholars and new talent, maps and illustrations, and lists of further readings, this state-of-the-field handbook will be a go-to reference for every American history scholar's bookshelf.

The colorful, action-packed early history of the horse-riding branch of the U.S. Army. In this comprehensive and lively account, Richard Wormser—who was himself an enthusiastic horseman—narrates the major events and characters of the U.S. Cavalry’s formative, and, some might say fruitful, years. From the American Revolution and the exploits of men such as Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee III and Francis Marion, the first of the guerrillas, the author follows on with Stephen Kearny, the “Father of the Cavalry” whose dragoons went west to California on mules, and his nephew Philip, who organized the famed Gray Horse Troop of the Mexican War. Other famous names featured include Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson; George Crook, who admired the Indians it was his duty to hunt down; and George Armstrong Custer. A U.S. Army officer and cavalry commander who served with distinction in the American Civil War, Custer is most remembered for leading more than 200 of his men to their deaths in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. Also known as “Custer’s Last Stand’, Bighorn was part of the Black Hills War against a confederation of Plains Indians, including the Cheyenne and Dakota Sioux. It remains one of the most controversial battles in American history. Roosevelt’s Roughriders and Black Jack Pershing, who led his troops in an automobile, complete the narrative—one which is undoubtedly a saga of daring raids, of epic marches, and of grueling battles. As the author reveals, the story of the U.S. Cavalry is also the story of the birth and growth of America itself.

A lieutenant with the 9th U.S. Cavalry, the "Buffalo Soldiers, " offers his observations on all aspects of Plains Indian life. His views were sometimes simplistic but unfailingly sympathetic. 180 photos.