Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was victorious in only one engagement against  the American Indians—the Battle of the Washita. Eight years before the Little Bighorn, Custer marched his men through heavy snows to attack a village of Cheyenne Indians under Chief Black Kettle, the most peaceful of the Cheyenne leaders. The Indians did not consider themselves to be at war and were taken by surprise by the dawn attack. Over one hundred men, women, and children were killed and eight hundred horses shot.

Was the massacre justified? History has tended to take Custer's word for it, but the facts behind the event may speak differently. It must be left to the conscience of the reader to decide which is commemorated by the marker erected on the site of the battle: a great victory for Custer or a tragedy for the Cheyennes.

“With much evidence of exhaustive research, this volume is an unusually well-written and engrossing account. It makes every effort to maintain historical objectivity, and in cases where the matter is controversial [the author] is careful to quote the opinions of both principals and authorities. This detailed narrative is particularly revealing with regard to the competence and frailties of army officers, including General Custer.”—Library Journal

Stan Hoig lives in Edmund, Oklahoma. Among his books are The Humor of the American Cowboy (also a Bison Book), The Sand Creek Massacre, The Peace Chiefs of the Cheyennes, and Tribal Wars of the Southern Plains.