General George Crook: Civil War
Veteran, Commander in the Indian War Campaigns, and Humanitarian
It’s not
often that we find military men in history who not only excelled in the
campaigns they led, but were also kind to their adversaries and kept every
promise they ever made. Such was the leadership and character of General George
Crook.
Crook was
born on a farm in Montgomery County near Dayton, Ohio to Thomas and Elizabeth
Matthews Crook. Congressman Robert
Schenck nominated George to the United States Military Academy. He graduated in
1852, ranking near the bottom of his class. I think greatness may come for some
as they mature, so I didn’t let this little factoid influence me, but it woke
me up to the understanding that where a person ranks in their class has very
little to do with their character. I knew a different George who used to
frequent the ER drunk and high on drugs. He had a master’s degree in English
and bragged about it. All I saw was a waste of an education I would have loved
to have had. He contracted AIDS from dirty needles, was homeless, and ended up
dying in the street. So much for class rank. Just sayin’. But back to my
article.
He was
assigned to the 4th U.S. infantry as brevet second lieutenant, and served in
California from 1852–61. He also served in Oregon and northern California to
fight against several Native American tribes. Crook commanded the Pitt River
Expedition of 1857 and was severely wounded by an Indian arrow. Fort Ter-Waw in
what is now Klamath, California, was established by George Crook.
Crook was
promoted to first lieutenant in 1856, and then to captain in 1860. With the
beginning of the American Civil War, Crook was ordered east and in 1861 and
made colonel of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He led it on duty in western
Virginia.
In the
meantime, he married Mary Tapscott Dailey, from Virginia.
He commanded
the 3rd Brigade in the District of the Kanawha where he was wounded in a small
fight at Lewisburg, VA. After his wounds healed, Crook returned to command of
his regiment during the Northern Virginia Campaign. He and his regiment were
part of John Pope's headquarters escort at the Second Battle of Bull Run.
After the
Union Army's defeat at Second Bull Run, Crook and his regiment were attached to
the Kanawha Division at the start of the Maryland Campaign. On September 12
Crook's brigade commander, Augustus Moor, was captured and Crook assumed
command of the 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division. Crook led his brigade at the
battle of South Mountain and near Burnside's Bridge at the battle of Antietam.
(Just a little reminder here. The battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest
in the history of the United States with a loss of life greater than all our
wars combined.) He received a promotion to the rank of brigadier general on
September 7, 1862. During these early battles he developed a lifelong
friendship with one of his subordinates, Col. Rutherford B. Hayes of the 23rd
Ohio Infantry. I hope that name is familiar since he became President of the
United States some time later.
I could wax
on here in great detail about the Civil War battles and how Crook led his men
or how he ended up a prisoner of the Confederates in February, 1865 until he
was traded back to the Union Army, but that would over shadow the thing I
really wanted to speak to in this article, and that would be the campaigns
Crook led against the Indians on the western frontier.
At the end
of the Civil War, George Crook received a brevet as major general in the
regular army, but reverted to the permanent rank of major. Only days later, he
was promoted to lieutenant colonel, serving with the 23rd Infantry on frontier
duty in the Pacific Northwest. In 1867, he was appointed head of the Department
of the Columbia.
George Cook upon graduation from West Point
Snake War
Crook
successfully campaigned against the Snake Indians in the 1864-68 Snake War,
where he won nationwide recognition. Crook had fought Indians in Oregon before
the Civil War. He was assigned to the Pacific Northwest to use new tactics in
this war, which had been waged for several years. Crook arrived in Boise City to
take command on December 11, 1866. The general noticed that the Northern Paiute
used the fall, winter and spring seasons to gather food, so he adopted the
tactic recommended by a predecessor George B. Currey to attack during the
winter. Crook had his cavalry approach the Paiute on foot to attack at their
winter camp. As the soldiers drew them in, Crook had them remount; they
defeated the Paiute and recovered some stolen livestock.
Crook used
Indian scouts as troops as well as to spot enemy encampments. While campaigning
in Eastern Oregon during the winter of 1867, Crook's scouts located a Paiute
village near the eastern edge of Steens Mountain. After covering all the escape
routes, Crook ordered the charge on the village while intending to view the
raid from afar, but his horse got spooked and galloped ahead of Crook's forces
toward the village. Caught in the crossfire, Crook's horse carried the general
through the village without being wounded. The army caused heavy casualties for
the Paiute in the battle of Tearass Plain. Crook later defeated a mixed band of
Paiute, Pit River and Modoc at the battle of Infernal Caverns in Fall River
Mills, California.
Tonto Basin
Campaign
(A little side
note here: The "0" Mile General Crook Trail Marker is located in the
place where in 1871 General George Crook established a military supply trail
which connected Forts Whipple, Verde and Apache. The marker is located close to
the Fort Verde Administration Building at 125 E. Hollamon St. Camp Verde,
Arizona.)
President
Ulysses S. Grant next placed Crook in command of the Arizona Territory. Crook's
use of Apache scouts during the Yavapai War brought him much success in forcing
the Yavapai and Tonto Apache onto reservations. In 1873 Crook was appointed
brigadier general in the regular army, a promotion that passed over and angered
several full colonels next in line.
Great Sioux
War
From 1875 to
1882 and again from 1886 to 1888, Crook was head of the Department of the
Platte. Crook served against the Sioux during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77.
He fought the Lakota at the Battle of the Rosebud. On 28 May 1876, Brigadier
General George Crook assumed direct command of the Bighorn and Yellowstone
Expedition at Fort Fetterman. Crook had gathered a strong force from his
Department of the Platte. Leaving Fort Fetterman on 29 May, the 1,051-man
column consisted of 15 companies from the 2d and 3d Cavalry, 5 companies from
the 4th and 9th Infantry, 250 mules, and 106 wagons. On June 14, the column was
joined by 261 Shoshone and Crow allies. Based on intelligence reports, Crook
ordered his entire force to prepare for a quick march. Each man was to carry
only 1 blanket, 100 rounds of ammunition, and 4 days' rations. The wagon train
would be left at Goose Creek, and the infantry would be mounted on the pack mules.
On June 17,
Crook's column marched northward along the south fork of Rosebud Creek. The
Crow and Shoshone scouts became apprehensive. Although the column had not yet
encountered any sign of Indians, the scouts seemed to sense their presence. The
soldiers, particularly the mule-riding infantry, had tired from the early morning
start and the previous day's 35-mile march. Crook stopped to rest his men and
animals after two hours march. Although he was deep in hostile territory, Crook
made no special provisions for defense.
The Crow and
Shoshone scouts remained alert while the soldiers rested. About 30 minutes
later, the soldiers heard the sound of intermittent gunfire coming from the
bluffs to the north. As the intensity of fire increased, a scout rushed into
the camp shouting, "Lakota, Lakota!" The Battle of the Rosebud began.
The Sioux and Cheyenne had fervently engaged Crook's Indian allies on the high
ground just to the north. Heavily outnumbered, the Crow and Shoshone scouts
fell back toward the camp, but their fighting withdrawal gave Crook time to
deploy his forces. Rapidly firing soldiers drove off the attackers but used up
much of the ammunition meant for use later in the campaign. Low on ammunition
and with numerous wounded, the General returned to his post. Historians debate
whether Crook's pressing on could have prevented the killing of the five
companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn. The way I look at it, Crook saved his men from
unnecessary death. I can’t see where his men could have made a difference in
the outcome since they were low on ammunition. But that’s just me.
Crook
commanded the Department of the Platte from 1875 to 1882, with headquarters at
Fort Omaha in North Omaha, Nebraska. During this period, in 1879, he spoke on
behalf of the Ponca tribe and Native American rights during the trial of
Standing Bear v. Crook, in which the federal judge affirmed that Standing Bear
had some of the rights of US citizens. That same year his home, now called the
General Crook House, was completed.
General George Crook with two of his Indian scouts
Geronimo's
War
By 1882,
Crook had returned to command in Arizona. The Apache had taken up arms against
the U.S. army under the leadership of Geronimo. Crook repeatedly forced the
surrender of the Apache but saw Geronimo escape. As a mark of respect, the
Apache nicknamed Crook Nantan Lupan,
which means "Grey Wolf". Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook in command of
the Arizona Territory and brought an end to the Apache Wars. He had Geronimo,
the Chiricahua Apache band, and the Chiricahua scouts, who had served the U.S.
Army, transported as prisoners of war to Florida. Crook was reportedly furious
that the scouts, who had faithfully served the Army, were imprisoned as well
and telegrammed numerous protests to Washington. It is said the scouts, along
with most of Geronimo's band, were forced to spend the next 26 years in
captivity before they were finally released.
After years
of campaigning in the Indian Wars, Crook won steady promotion back up the ranks
to the permanent grade of Major General, and President Grover Cleveland placed
him in command of the "Military Division of the Missouri" in 1888.
After the
Indian wars, Crook served in Omaha again as the Commander of the Department of
the Platte from 1886 to 1888. While he was there, his portrait was painted by
artist Herbert A. Collins.
He spent his
last years speaking out against the unjust treatment of his former Indian
adversaries. He died suddenly in Chicago in 1890 while serving as commander of
the Division of the Missouri. Crook was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland.
Red Cloud, a
war chief of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux), said of Crook, "He, at least,
never lied to us. His words gave us hope."
In 1898,
Crook's remains were transported to Arlington National Cemetery where he was
reinterred on November 11.
In honor of
his tremendous service both in the battles he commanded in the Civil War and
the Indian Wars, there are many memorials to General George Crook. Here are
some of them:
Bronze of Gen. Crook at Fort Omaha.
His good
friend and Union Army comrade, President Rutherford B. Hayes, named one of his
sons George Crook Hayes in respect of his commanding officer. Crook County in
Wyoming and Oregon were named for him, as was the town of Crook, Colorado.
"Crook
City", an unincorporated place in the Black Hills, of South Dakota was
named for his camp there in 1876. Crook Mountain is near there, between
Deadwood and Sturgis, SD. Crook City Road also passes through there from
Whitewood, SD heading toward Deadwood, SD.
Crook Peak
in Lake County, Oregon, in the Warner Mountains is named after him; near where the general set up Camp Warner
(1867–1874) to subdue the Paiute Indians. Crook Mountain, a peak in the Cascade
Range, was also named for him.
Cañon
Pintado Historic District, 10 miles south of Rangeley, Colorado, has numerous
ancient Fremont culture and Ute petroglyphs, first seen by Europeans in the
mid-18th century. One group of carvings has several horses, which locals call
Crook's Brand Site, as they claim the horses carry the general's brand. The Ute
adopted the horse in the 1600s.
Forest Road
300 in the Coconino National Forest is named the "General Crook
Trail." It is a section of the trail which his troops blazed from Fort
Verde to Fort Whipple, and on to Fort Apache through central Arizona.
Numerous
military references honor him: Fort Crook (1857 – 1869) was an Army post near
Fall River Mills, California, used during the Indian Wars, and later for the
protection of San Francisco during the Civil War. It was named for then Lt. Crook
by Captain John W. T. Gardiner, 1st Dragoons, as Crook was recovering there
from an injury. California State Historical Marker 355 marks the site in Shasta
County. Fort Crook (1891 – 1946) was an Army Depot in Bellevue, Nebraska, first
used as a dispatch point for Indian conflicts on the Great Plains, then later
as an airfield for the 61st Balloon Company of the Army Air Corps. It was named
for Brig. Gen. Crook due to his many successful Indian campaigns in the west.
The site formerly known as Fort Crook is now part of Offutt AFB, Nebraska.
3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division is nicknamed "Grey Wolf" in his
honor, in a variation of his Apache nickname meaning "Grey Wolf".
The General
Crook House at Fort Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska is named in his honor, as he was
the only Commander of the Department of the Platte to live there. The Crook
Walk in Arlington National Cemetery is near George Crook's gravesite.
References:
The PBS
Historical Website
Wikipedia
Arlington
National Cemetery webpage for George Crook
Today in
History news letter
Sarah
J. McNeal is
a multi-published author of several genres including time travel, paranormal,
western and historical fiction. She is a retired ER and Critical Care nurse who
lives in North Carolina with her four-legged children, Lily, the Golden
Retriever and Liberty, the cat. Besides her devotion to writing, she also has a
great love of music and plays several instruments including violin, bagpipes,
guitar and harmonica. Her books and short stories may be found at Prairie Rose
Publications and its imprints Painted Pony Books, and Fire Star Press. Some of
her fantasy and paranormal books may also be found at Publishing by
Rebecca Vickery and Victory Tales Press. She welcomes you to her website
and social media:
The first story, HEARTS AND DIAMONDS, was a part of the Cowboy Cravings anthology (June 2014). Hired gun Nick Diamond is determined to ruin the life of his nemesis, Carlton Ridgeway, by claiming Ridgeway’s bride at the altar with a damning lie. He never gives a thought as to how his actions might affect the bride, Liberty Blankenship, who is ready to sacrifice herself for respectability—though she longs for love with all her heart. When Ridgeway comes looking for a fight, Nick obliges—and all hell breaks loose—but will Liberty get her heart’s desire in the end?
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