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Editorial Review Product Description
The Indian wars remain the most misunderstood campaign ever waged by the U. S. Army. From the first sustained skirmishes west of the Mississippi River in the 1850s to the sweeping clashes of hundreds of soldiers and warriors along the upper plains decades later, these wars consumed most of the active duty resources of the army for the greater part of the nineteenth century and resulted in the disruption of nearly all of the native cultures in the West. Yet the popular understanding of the Indian wars is marred by stereotypes and misinformation as well as a tendency to view these individual wars—the battles against the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Nez Perce, the Apache, and other groups—as distinct incidents rather than parts of a single overarching campaign. Dispelling notions that American Indians were simply attempting to stop encroachment on their homelands or that they shared common views on how to approach the Europeans, Bill Yenne explains in Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West, that these wars, fought for more than five decades across a landscape the size of continental Europe, were part of a general long-term strategy by the U. S. Army to control the West as well as extensions of conflicts among native peoples that predated European contact.Complete with a general history of Indian and European relations from the earliest encounters to the opening of the west, and featuring legendary figures from both sides, including Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, George Custer, Kit Carson, and George Crook, Indian Wars allows the reader to better understand the sequence of events that transformed the West and helped define the American temperament.BILL YENNE is author of many books, including Sitting Bull, also available from Westholme. He was also a consultant for the History Channel's "Command Decision: The Battle of the Little Bighorn." ... Read more Customer Reviews (12) 
FOR THE CLASS ROOM
I BOUGHT THIS BOOK, BASED ON AUTHORS TREATMENT OF SITTING BULL. TOO BORING ON DETAIL, I WAS HOPING FOR INSIGHT ON THE VARIOUS TRIBES . HIS FACTS COULD BE CORRECT, BUT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT 1500 INDIANS VS ABOUT THE SAME SOLDIERS OR VOLUNTEERS, ALMOST ALWAYS FORTY INDIANS DIE, ONLY TWO OR THREE SOLDIERS OR VOLUNTEERS ARE KILLED. IM SURE THE AUTHOR WORKED HARD ON BOOK, FOR MY TASTE, NO ENTERTAINMENT VALUE.ISTRUGLED TO GET THRU, MANY BATTLES I WAS FAMILIAR WITH. ANY ONE INTERESTED IN HISTORY ALL THE INDIAN BATTLES, DATES, ETC. HAVE AT IT.
An Excellent History of the U.S. Indian Relocation Travesty
This is a must read if you have an interest in the plight of the Indians in North America. It discusses the treaties made and treaties broken and the unjust treatment of the North American Indians. These noble people recognized that the U.S. policy was one of extinction in order to develop the Western frontier. Many of the tribes and battles I had never heard of before. A lot of research went into presenting this history of Native Americans. They certainly deserved more than what they received from a greedy and insensitive U.S. Government.
Very general and disappointing
Based on other Amazon reviews of this book, I was very anxious to read it. I've recently read a few other books on the Indian wars, so I wanted a good book that gave a general history of the entire spectrum of wars. This book seemed like it fit the bill.
I will concede that Yenne does as promised in covering just about everything; every major battle and campaign is covered. As a primer, it seems to cover everything that it should.
However, there were a few problems with the book. Firstly, Yenne starts out discussing the linguistic relations between various tribes, which is so muddled it only creates confusion. This should have been relegated to an appendix in chart form for those who might take interest in this. This seems like too in-depth for a primer.
Secondly, early on Yenne points out that the Medal of Honor was handed out with little discretion during this time, to the point that it wasn't quite as meaningful as it is today. However, he then goes on to mention every single Medal of Honor awarded in various battles, including the soldiers' names, either in the narrative or in obtrusive footnotes. This seemed completely irrelevant to the focus of the book and entirely out of place. His focus and dedication to this minor theme is awkward and weirdly obsessive.
Thirdly, this book is just a bit too bare-bones. It's great to have a just-the-facts account of the Indian Wars, but it leaves a lot to be desired. There is no real thesis and no topical organization; there is no discussion of over-arching themes or any structure to the narrative, other than stating the facts. As a result, the narrative is very disjointed and jumps from one event to another, preventing any relevant facts from sinking in.
I very much applaud Yenne for his effort in researching and writing this kind of primer, but I'm sorely disappointed with the result. I will concede that I did learn some things from this book. But I can't help but think that there are other books that convey those lessons in better form, and so I can't really recommend this book.
Tenacious Warriors
Although, glorified by Hollywood and the subject of countless books; the author, Bill Yenne, notes "The Indian Wars in the West were the longest and most misunderstood campaigns ever waged by the U.S. Army." He further states "The time period is generally from the California gold Rush of 1849 through 1890.... " Amazingly, except during the Civil War, the Indian Wars consumed most of the active personnel of the army for most of the nineteenth century.
Many readers erroneously think of Indians as a monolithic culture of savages. The author states that tribes were culturally and politically astute and engaged in warfare with competing tribes. Thus when Europeans first arrived in North America, the Indians treated them as another tribe, often forming alliances with them or attacking them. As the United States began its westward migrations, following the 1812 War, in 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act calling for the relocation of all Indians living east of the Mississippi River thereby setting the stage for future Indian conflicts.
The author does an excellent job of briefly narrating the numerous battles with the U.S. Army of the Cheyenne, Apache, Soux, Navajo and other groups which were parts of an overall campaign. The Indian Wars were fought on a vast landscape the size of continental Europe that was, for much of the nineteenth century, an open trackless wilderness....
Battles were fought on the Plains, the Southwest, with fewer battles in the California Theater and the Pacific Northwest. The text gives a brief/interesting account of Custer's Battle of the Little Bighorn where Custer's failures lead to disaster.
The passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres of undeveloped land in the West to families who lived on it for five years which further acerbated relations with the Indians. Then in 1868 the federal government adopted the policy of setting aside reservations of land as permanent homelands for members of specific tribes. Much conflict occurred over placing and keeping Indians on reservations. The conflict narratives conclude with brief accounts of Wounded Knee I in December 1890 and Wounded Knee II in February 1973.
The text includes such legendary figures as Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Geronimo, George Custer, Kit Carson, Nelson Miles and George Crook. Interestingly Geronimo was never captured but surrendered. In 1905 at the age of seventy-five he was invited to ride in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade. While Crazy Horse's "....tactical skill and his leadership qualities are even now the subject of discussion for cadets in training at West Point."
The tactics employed by the opposing sides were dramatically different.Initially the U.S. Army tactics were geared to protecting trails and roads then with the advent of Indian Reservations, the Army's strategy changed to large task forces to place Indians on reservations and returning them if they escaped. "The basic Indian tactics centered on small groups of mounted warriors operating as raiding parties....the U.S, Army found them a formidable opponent." The text further notes "The U.S. Army's key advantage in terms of concentrated manpower and firepower began to change the balance when there was a shift from tactical to strategic warfare." The author concludes this excellent work with the statement "In the half century of conflicts, there were numerous turning points in which battles might have turned differently. What would not have changed, however, is the tenacity and bravery exhibited by the warriors on both sides."
For the interested reader of American and/or American Western history, this is a must read.
A solid survey of the military history of the Indian Wars
Bill Yenne's "Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West" is a solid historical survey of the military struggle for conquest of the American frontier.Although, as the book's subtitle suggests, the primary focus is on the West, the volume actually reaches all the way back to the Indian wars of Seventeenth century New England.While Yenne devots considerable space to the well-known wars against the Northern Plains Indians and the Apaches and the Nez Perce, he does not neglect the numerous forgotten conflicts with the natives of virtually every region.In its basic nature, "Indian Wars" is a fairly brief survey of events (Yenne generally tries to pin down casualty figures and what soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for their actions, but for the most part details of the battles are passed over with little mention; for this reason, "Indian Wars" might be profitably read in parallel with Gregory Michno's "Encyclopedia of Indian Wars: Western Battles and Skirmishes, 1850-1890" that provides the missing combat details but lacks Yenne's background context).
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Worth reading, but much chaff with the wheat