b"The Story of Crazy Horse incompetent. As the veteran military history commentator General SLA Marshall commented about the Reynolds fiasco in his insightful book about the Indian Wars, Crimsoned Prairie:The approach was done under fair skies. Then as the column got to within one hundred miles from the Yellowstone River, it was struck by a blizzard. Temperatures plummeted below zero. The (supply) wagon train (accompanying the expedition) stalled in snowdrifts and was left behind. Frostbite casualties cut troop strength. Still, Crook carried on. Next, the column came across some pony tracks. A battalion under a veteran cavalryman, Colonel J. J. Reynolds, was pared off to follow the tracks and act accordingly to what it found. In the early morning of March 17, 1976, (with temperatures 40-50 degrees freezing along the Powder River) it came upon an Indian village, (which was assumed to be that of Crazy Horse's warriors and families) went into the attack, killed as many people as could not get away, and burned the village (Marshall, SLA, Crimsoned Prairie, Charles Scribner and Sons, New York, 1972, p. 129).But Reynolds failed to reckon with the staying power and the charisma of Crazy Horse - and very soon what appeared to be a downright victory for the cavalry turned out to be a downright blunder. Marshall:For a number of reasons, that blow is rated a capital blunder. The victims were a band of friendly or at least allegedly neutral Cheyenne under Chief Two Moons. The chief and his people had met other of the outlawed bands of Sioux and Cheyenne in the country north of the Bighorns. Concluding that their mood was for war, Two Moons had turned his band about and was heading for theDouble H Hat Company reservations. At least that is the story as pieced together later by historians andspecializes in custom handmade Indianophiles to explain why Two Moons was ever after a foe of the white manfelted fur hats in various styles and would deal some hard blows in that role. Where the truth lies, one may neverincluding western, gentlemen know for sure (Ibid., p. 130). and ladies hats. The shop is Reynolds swiftly got his comeuppance, and double. After burning the village,located in under the longhorn Reynolds and outfit pursued the fleeing Cheyenne steadied on the same bluffWe will custom build a hat toin Wickenburg. Jimmy the hat from which the army had attacked. The pursuing troops, misled by their easyfit your unique style. Variousman (our Master Hatter) also overcoming of a sleeping village, and suddenly dismayed by a storm of bullets andstyles include hats for theoffers hat cleaning, blocking and arrows, turned tail and fled in panic. The mounted warriorstook out after themRed Hat Society, western,total renovation. and the harassment, along with the killing and scalping of any luckless soldiergentlemens and ladies whose mount faltered or failed so that he either fell or lagged behind, continuedhats. We offer a variety of until well after daylight the following morning. embellishments, including custom inlays, for a unique hat For Crook, who had suffered no such mortification in Arizona, the affair was morecustom designed for you.than a passing incident. He turned the column about and marched it back to Fort Fetterman (Ibid).Not only did Reynolds fail to strike the camps of Crazy Horse which were actually a few miles downriver, but his troopers also allowed the inferior Cheyenne to strike back and recapture the fine pack of ponies they had been able to seize in their initial attack. An angry Crook had Colonel Reynolds court-martialed, and although Reynolds was acquitted, his military career was over. For the Indians, the realization that the army would hit them and despite the debacle hit them again, hit home. All of the refusal tribes congregated and began moving north towards the Black Hills, deep into the country around the Yellowstone, Rosebud, and Little Big Horn rivers where they would, in mass, fervently oppose the invasion of the soldiers.That was not long in coming, for Crook, a firm believer in the old adage that if at first you don't succeed, you try, try again would rebuild and reform his forces, wait till the end of spring and optimum conditions, then renew the assault on the Sioux and Cheyenne.This time it would be a three-pronged assault pieced together by Phil Sheridan and implemented by Crook striking up from the south, Colonel John Gibbon and his combined force of the 2nd Cavalry and an Infantry regiment striking from the west, and General Alfred Terry bringing with him Sheridan's favorite long-haired Indian fighting protg, Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry riding westward to effect a reunion with Gibbon on the banks of the Yellowstone. It would be Crook who once again would strike first, and once again experience mortification on the banks of Rosebud Creek.THE ROSEBUDA TACTICAL VICTORY BUT A STRATEGIC DEFEAT:It was Crook who had the largest force of all - over 1000 cavalry and infantry and over 250 Shoshone and Crow scouts, mortal enemies of the Sioux, under the brilliant Shoshone Chief Washakie, that moved out first, marching north toward the junction with Terry, Custer, and Gibbon. As the column moved up to high ground, Crook had every reason to be confident. His was the largest force, with continued on page 47ArizonaRealCountry.com March 2023 45"