The New York herald., 1876-10-02
Terry's Sioux Campaign.


Terry's Sioux Campaign.
Now that the Sioux campaign on the Yell
lowstone has been closed for the season and
the troops sent to their posts we may sum up
and see what has been accomplished by the
operations during the past summer. What
ever may be said or thought about it by others,
that portion Of our Indian war intrusted to
General Terry, so far as he was concerned,
seems to have been conducted to the entire
satisfaction of those engaged in it, who, after
all, are perhaps the best judges Of what
should have been done. General Sheridan
has hastened to express his appreciation
of General Terry's management and
when we remember what nm eminent
authority the Lieutenant General is on
Indian fighting we feel like accepting his
opinion as final. Certainly no man in the
nation is more capable of judging what
ought to be accomplished in an Indian CAM
paign, and we have never yet known General
Sheridan to bestow praise where it was not
deserved or withhold reproof when it was
merited.
We publish to-day long and interesting
account of General Crooks latter campaign,
which is aptly described as a kind of Mos
COW retreat. We will return another day ia
the consideration of General Crooks relation
to the events of the campaign which has just
closed.
There is probably much about the Custer
massacre that has not yet been made public
and that in time will come out. The plan was
we'll laid for enclosing and destroying the
Sioux on the Little Big Horn, and that it mis-
carried in execution was not the fault Of the
Commanding General. Perhaps the first
cause of failure was due to want of concert
of action between General Crooks and Gen.
eral Terry's forces There are good reasons
for doubling whether Colonel Reno managed
his part of the fight of the 25th of June to
the best advantage Our correspondents say
that when Reno began to fall back with his
three companies Of cavalry there were not
over one hundred Indians in his immediate
front, and but one cavalryman had been
wounded Yet a retreat that degenerated
into rout was made at this stage of the
battle. It has also been stated that the
Indians withdrew in full view of Reno, and
could be seen going in the direction Custer
had taken, and that Reno permitted them to
concentrate on Custer, and did not attemptto
go to his relief for over an hour, and then only
sent one out of seven companies under his
command. Heavy firing was heard in the
direction Of Custer, and yet Reno only sent
one company to his relief and kept the six
back. Perhaps these things can be explained
by military men, and there are men living
who were present in the battle who
know all about it, and we should like
to have them throw little more light
on the subject. Custer has been charged
with being rash and with having un-
necessarily sacrificed the lives of his off,
GERS and men, and IL is due to the
memory of Custer as well as the friends Of
the dead soldiers that all the facts about the
battle of the Little Big Horn should now be
made known. Custer could have waited
until Terry, with Gibbons column, could
have co-operated, but in all probability the
Indians would have taken alarm and es-
capped. We cannot see that Clusters
plan of fighting the battle was
faulty, and there is great doubt 6s to
whether the failure to capture the Sioux
village was not due to the incapacity Of SUBJ
ordinates rather than any rashness on the
part of the dead General Notwithstanding
their success in the battle of the 25th of
June, and the destruction of Custer and
4, kha Tx>I ol
advantage, and their victory was en-
tirely barren, as General Terry came up
next day with Gibbons column and gave the
warriors their choice of either fighting the
battle over again on the same ground or of
bcatinga retreat. The Sioux went to war with
great expectations, vowing that before it was
over they would drive the miners out of the
Black Hills, push back the border settle
ments and kill hundreds of white men.
women and children. The first campaign
ends in their being broken into small bands,
flying in all directions, utterly demoralized,
while more men are going daily to
the Black Hills aud our frontier set
Elements are steadily advancing So
far as the killing of Indians was con-
cerned the campaign just closed was un-
doubtedly failure, but that the Indians are
completely beaten and demoralized and
rendered wretched by the operations there
is not doubt The object sought to be at
tanned by the campaign-viz., the breaking
of tho Sioux power, the safety of our miners
and the securing of our frontier settle
ments-has been accomplished; and why,
after all, should we seek to destroy these
poor wretches? Our troops are welcome
home to their families and winter quarters.
and the country, whether it does or not,
ought to feel grateful to them for their SER
vices. General Terry seems to have man
aged his campaign excellently we'll and to