Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-09-03

Defeat of General George Crook in Battle of the Rosebud
Had important Bearing Upon Disaster That Befel the 9TH
Cavalry Under the Command of Custer on Little Big Horn
(By W.. ii. BANFILL)

- :" OD
bud river about 40 miles to the east
had a close call from meeting the
same fate. The virtual defeat of
Crooks men in this battle had an
important bearing on the disaster
which befell Clusters command the
following week.
But for the valiant aid of nearly 300
Grow and Shoshone scouts and war
riorS who were with Crook and who
discovered an ambuscade of the Sioux
and Cheyenne forces, Crook would un-
doubtedly have had far greater diff
Guilty in preventing disaster to his own
forces, if he had been able to do SO
at all.
Among the Grow chieftains with
Crook was Plenty Coos, then o 28
years old and already beginning to be
recognized as an important chief, al
though not the head man Of the Grow
contingent. Leading the Shoshone
band wa their old chief, Washable,
then past 10 years of age. In addition
to the band Of nearly 200 warriors
who were with Crook, about 30 Grow
scouts had Joined the command OF
General Gibbon who in turn loaned
six of the most efficient to Custer for
his fatal expedition. The entire Grow
nation numbered less than 5000 souls,
so that their contribution TO the battle
forces against their old enemies was
quite material. The Shoshones con-
sisted of 60 or 10 picked men.
The plan of campaign against the
Sioux and Cheyenne bands who had
refused to come in to the reservations
in the spring of 1876 is said to have
been formulated by General Phil Sherl-
dan. Crook was to march north from
Fort Fetterman in northern Wyoming.
General Gibbon was to gather all avail
able forces from the posts in western
Montana and to move down the yell
loWstone from Fort Ellis. General
Terry, who was to be in chief command
was to come with forces from Fort
Abraham Lincoln near Bismarck. Gen
eral Custer, then Northumberland OF
the Seventh cavalry, was in immediate
command of this force from the east.
Crook was to advance from the south
at the same time that the other com
mands converged upon the hostiles
IIOIIl lIlt llOl lllCdoO ullo
of the weak points in the plan was the
difficulty in co-ordinating the move
ments Of the different units owing to
the lack of means of communication
1t is said that messengers from the
commands to the north were killed or
their way to Crook. The lack of con-
tact is shown by the fact that Crook
did not learn of Clusters defeat unit
more than two weeks afterward.
Had Crook started a week later ano
moved into the valley of the Little
Big Horn, an easier route than thai
of the Rosebud, he would have arrived
;at the Indian encampnent approx
mately at the same time as custer
With his 100 men, he would PROP
ably nave averted the disaster OF thai
day. Had the troops then in camp al
the mouth Of the Big Horn known thai
Crook was coming up the Rosebud
they might also have put into effect
Sheridan's design of ~converglng upoI
the 'hostiles with telling effect.
AS it was the bands of Ogalalla Slous
and Cheyennes who took part In tht
battle with Crook, had time after they
knew that Crook had retreated the
way he came, to cross over into tnt
valley of the Little Big Horn u
ioin the other bands Of hostiles before
the command under Custer arrived II
that vicinity. The checkmatlng O
Crook on the Rosebud was a tactlca
victory for the Indians and made pos
,sible the crushing of Custer.
The battle on the Rosebud has peer
described from a number OF dlf1eren
angles by various writers. From bI'
army standpoint, a description is u
In Brady's Indian Fights and Fight
ers." while there are also several &C
commits based on "reminiscences Of sol
diers. A good account from the vieWpoln
of Indian allies of Crook may be 1oune
in Hebard's Washable" which alS'
includes considerable research IRON
other angles. Linderman's THE Amer
can. based on the life of Plenty COOS
pives that chieftain's "reminiscences 0
fine battle. Accounts Of the battle a
viewed by the hostile Sioux and Chey-
ennes may be found in Gr1nneus TN
Fighting Cheyenne" and in Marquis
"A Warrior Who Fought Custer"
The forces under Crook were con
centrated at Fort Fetterman, near IN
present Douglas, Wyo, on the uppe
Platte river, early in the spring II
the middle of March, Col. j. j. Rey
nolds with a detachment of 600 or ~
men marched to the headwaters OF tn
powder river to the north OF Fort Eel
terman and surprised the village o
Crazy Horse, Ogalalla Sioux chie1taln
Supplies and lodges were destroyed AM
the pony herd captured. But Graz
Horse rallied his men and forced tn
soldiers to retire, r~ecapturiDg Tn
horses. 49,,
After Reynolds experiences VIII
Crazy Horse, the command remained
at Fort Fetterman until May %, whel
q force of LOO men under Crook start
ed north. Their march took then
across the headwaters Of the Tongu
river which flows into Montana to tn
headwaters Of the Tongue river whlc'
starts in the Big Horn mountains t
the north and west of the Powder rlvel
On the way, the troops were harasse'
nv moving columns of Crazy Horse
forces, while they also had to conten
with a blizzard. The forces stopped o.
O river, a tributary of the Tongue
where there was good grass and waite
there for the bands of Crows and Sno
ehopac nbo had prOmised tn iOtp then