b'Crazy Horse continued from page 45elements of the 2nd and most of the 3rd CavalryWeasel rallied the Sioux, turned the charge, and got(although his casualties were fairly light, maybe about under his second-in-command Lieutenant Colonelthe soldiers on the run.when these five commenced60 killed or wounded, the hostiles losing twice as William Royall, and five companies of the 4th and 9thto rallying their men, that was as far as the soldiersmuch, if not more so), his supplies running low, the US Infantry, plus the Shoshone and Crow scouts, andgot. . .Crazy Horse usedgood judgment in thechastened Crook chose to pull back and make camp he reckoned that with such a powerful force he couldRosebud fight (Sajna, p 280). at Goose Creek in Wyoming, miles to the south and smash and sweep Crazy Horse or any other Indiannow a fair distance from the area where Custer, Terry, foe off the battlefield. What he didn\'t reckon for wasThe battle swirled on for over 3 miles and over six andand Gibbon were at the same time converging. Crook Crazy Horse. half hours, Crook directing one force of soldiers to trywould have been only 35 miles away from Custer had and seize the high ground while issuing orders to ahe chose to continue his advance - and might have Crook had relied on the element of surprise. But withsecond force to set up defensive positions to fend offbeen able to reach the 7th in time for the Little Big such a large force - and Crazy Horse\'s knowledge thatthe mass Sioux and Cheyenne attacks. In the confusedHorn fight. But now he was in camp, almost 60 miles after the Reynolds fiasco, Crook would come aftermelee, Crook\'s forces were nearly overwhelmed andback from the Rosebud battlefield, resting his men him as soon as the weather cleared - the element ofwould have suffered the same fate as Custer\'s just aand hunting game for weeks - the only indication of surprise was lost. Crazy Horse had pegged Crookweek later if it hadn\'t been for both the bravery ofthe drama of the Little Big Horn was when Captain from the get-go, and was "on top" of the latter\'shis troops and their willingness to engage the foe,Mills on the late afternoon of June 25th spotted a large movements once Crook moved out of the valley upand for the loyalty of Chief Washakie, who ralliedsmoke pall to the north - the death of the 7th Cavalry.into the high ground approaching the Rosebud. his Shoshonis and Crows in constant counterattacks against Crazy Horse - Washakie would not be deniedTo all of Crook\'s experiences with the Apache, there And for such a seasoned veteran of both the Civilthat hot, smoky, incessant firing, day. had been nothing like this - massed Indians, more War and the Apache wars, Crook was very careless.of them than were Crook\'s own numbers, drawn up He did not secure his encampments at night, onlyThere was a particularly bad moment when Major Guyfor open battle, rampant to engage the army on its relying on a few score guards to keep watch, andV. Henry of the 3rd Cavalry was shot in the face andown terms. Nothing of that sort had happened before on the Shoshone and Crow scouts to reconnoiter.dropped unconscious from his saddle. Henry, a Unionin the Plains wars, and after this campaign, it would That proved to be extremely unwise as we shallveteran of the Civil War and a survivor of the battle ofnever happen again (Marshall, p. 132).soon note. He and his aides spent much timeCold Harbor, where he had been miraculously slightly hunting game instead of seeing to security and towounded while two horses were shot from under him,Crook had underestimated the brilliance, skill, and deployments once they encountered Crazy Horsewas not lucky at all, that hot, late spring mid-morningbravery of Chief Crazy Horse, and now the latter, which and his combined Sioux-Cheyenne warrior force.alongside the Rosebud. In fact, he would have been amay have lost the battlefield but won the strategic George Crook would pay quite dearly for his lack ofgoner as the Sioux and Cheyenne swept down close tovictory, stopping Crook in his tracks was free to move awareness and his overconfidence. where he laid, his men almost panicked and unable tonorth, his forces largely intact and unscathed, to rejoin react, if it hadn\'t been for Washakie. Sitting Bull at the camps along the Little Big Horn.On the evening of June 16, 1876, Crook\'s forces stopped to rest. The men, mules, and horses wereSeeing the plight of the badly wounded officerAnd Custer and the 7th were riding ahead to that exhausted, particularly since they had marched 35(Henry would lose sight in one eye but would gosame river and a road they did not know miles the previous day. Once again, Crook failed toon to command the 10th Cavalry in the aftermath properly secure his encampment, relying mainly onof Wounded Knee, and a division of GeneralPick up our April issue for Part 5.the Crow and Shoshoni scouts to give an alarm inMiles\' Puerto Rico plenty of time of potential hostile action. The Crowexpeditionary force in and Shoshoni were particularly apprehensive as theythe Spanish-American had detected hostile movement from the beginningWar) Washakie rallied of the march, but even more so when Crook stoppedhis Shoshoni and Crow to rest along the south fork of the Rosebud. Whetherscouts once more, they tried to alert Crook to the possible attackcharged directly into the of a massed hostile force outside of their voicedmidst of the hostiles, and apprehensions is not known, but quite simply Crookmanaged to reach Major would be caught napping. Henry, pick him up, and bring him to safety. At 8 a.m. on the morning of June 17, 1876, CrazyThe Crow and Shoshoni Horse, with an overwhelming force of an estimatedwere present throughoutWanna 1800 warriors struck. The massed force of Siouxthe entire fray, allowing and Cheyenne on horseback directly led by CrazyRoyall\'s overwhelmedSPRUCE UP Horse screaming "Hoka Hey" - it is a good day tocavalry to reach Crook\'sFOR SPRING?die - smashed right into the covering force of Crowmain position and for and Shoshoni scouts. The scouts were alert but simplyCaptain Anson Mills\'We Can overwhelmed by such a force descending upon them.infantry to maintain local The groggy soldiers in the camp heard the firing twocounter-attacks to driveHelp!or three miles away but thought the scouts were offthe Sioux andhunting buffalo. They remained unconcerned untilCheyenne away. ValleyWide Serviceabout 8:30 am when two Crow scouts rushed into theSame Day & Next Day Servicecamp shouting "Lakota, Lakota!" followed closely byFinally, at approximatelyWe Specialize In:the hostiles. Overwhelmed, the Crow and Shoshoni2:30 pm in the afternoon, Storefronts Call Us For Amanaged to fend off the Sioux and Cheyenne and givewith Royall\'s cavalry Custom Showers FREE ESTIMATEjust enough time for the soldiers to deploy, grab theirhaving reached Crook Custom Mirrorsrifles and meet the oncoming horde with a volley orand safety, Mills and Shade Screens Residential Windowstwo of concentrated firepower, which temporarilyhis infantry arrived on Window Film 10% OFFMention this ad and receivehalted the massed hostile force in its place. the scene and drove the Glass RailingsSioux and Cheyenne, Window Repair & ReplacementThe desperate, at times hand-to-handle battle of thewho themselves were Board Up ServiceRosebud was on. As one of Crazy Horse\'s warriors,quite exhausted as well24 Hour every time you need us!Short Buffalo, recalled: by this time, off theEmergency Servicebattlefield. Crook hadOffice:In the Rosebud fight the soldiers first got the Siouxsecured the battlefield, and the Cheyenne on the run. Crazy Horse, Badbut that was about it.We Service Your Every Glass Need. 928-232-3540Heart Bull, Black Dear, Kicking Bear, and GoodHis force badly mauled,25 N Adams St. Wickenburg, AZ 85390ArizonaRealCountry.com March 2023 47'