Been there. The guy was nuts. There was absolutely no way that the terrain and vegetation could have concealed 1000 Sioux. Much less their horses. The army unit was on a ridge commanding a good view. There was some vegetation along the creek. Willows or something but the battle was in December. So he had to know what he was up against.
How funny, I just watched this a day or two ago.
I find it strange that a seasoned officer would allow his troops to fall for the fox and hound trap. Green, overconfident troops chasing after a smaller force that just manages to keep out of range.
Thanks, Kim. Very interesting to a bit of a history buff. I never heard of this either.
If you’re in the mood for fights the “indians” won, and idiot commanders, there may be another you haven’t heard of –
The Battle of the Wabash. The largest defeat ever by Native Americans.
For some reason, Americans are obsessed with the wars with the plains Indians although the wars with the eastern Indians went on far longer and were much bloodier. I blame Hollywood Westerns.
I think it’s because combat in the confined space of a forest is confusing and doesn’t make for good camera shots, and back in the day Custer was sort of played up as some kind of glorious (dipshit) hero. There were people wandering around Hollywood who grew up on tales of the plains and had probably met some of the legendary western heroes. Plus, great panorama shots of charging cavalry, big deal in the 30s and 40s even if that wasn’t what happened at Little Bighorn.
The Custer legend was still sort of alive when I was a kid, helped out by Hollywood of course.
On the other hand, they did do “Northwest Passage”, and “Guns along the Mohawk”. But those had some historical upbeat points. Very little glory in the Wabash massacre, and what actor would have wanted to play the part of St. Clair? Adam Schiff wasn’t born yet.
I’d love to see a properly done movie on Oriskany.
That is a rather interesting story with many angles to treat in a good film.
I traveled with my in laws in their RV from Albany to Fort Niagara and Niagara Falls several years ago. we stopped in Rome, visited the site of the battle at Oriskany, Fort Stanwyx and the Oneida Tribal museum. It was interesting to see the battle portrayed from several different perspectives.
JQ
” Americans are obsessed with the wars with the plains Indians…”
Yes, and I too blame Hollywood. However, you must also keep in mind that in the heyday of the Hollywood western – the 1930’s through the 50’s, there was still living memory of that time.
A person who was 80 years old in 1940 would have been born in 1860. He would have been 16 the year of the Little Bighorn battle, 21 the year of the shootout at the OK corral, and 30 at the time of the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Been there. The guy was nuts. There was absolutely no way that the terrain and vegetation could have concealed 1000 Sioux. Much less their horses. The army unit was on a ridge commanding a good view. There was some vegetation along the creek. Willows or something but the battle was in December. So he had to know what he was up against.
How funny, I just watched this a day or two ago.
I find it strange that a seasoned officer would allow his troops to fall for the fox and hound trap. Green, overconfident troops chasing after a smaller force that just manages to keep out of range.
Thanks, Kim. Very interesting to a bit of a history buff. I never heard of this either.
If you’re in the mood for fights the “indians” won, and idiot commanders, there may be another you haven’t heard of –
The Battle of the Wabash. The largest defeat ever by Native Americans.
Synopsis
https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-the-wabash-the-forgotten-disaster-of-the-indian-wars/
More detailed
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2021/11/15/the-battle-of-the-wabash-slaughter-in-the-snow/
For some reason, Americans are obsessed with the wars with the plains Indians although the wars with the eastern Indians went on far longer and were much bloodier. I blame Hollywood Westerns.
I think it’s because combat in the confined space of a forest is confusing and doesn’t make for good camera shots, and back in the day Custer was sort of played up as some kind of glorious (dipshit) hero. There were people wandering around Hollywood who grew up on tales of the plains and had probably met some of the legendary western heroes. Plus, great panorama shots of charging cavalry, big deal in the 30s and 40s even if that wasn’t what happened at Little Bighorn.
The Custer legend was still sort of alive when I was a kid, helped out by Hollywood of course.
On the other hand, they did do “Northwest Passage”, and “Guns along the Mohawk”. But those had some historical upbeat points. Very little glory in the Wabash massacre, and what actor would have wanted to play the part of St. Clair? Adam Schiff wasn’t born yet.
I’d love to see a properly done movie on Oriskany.
That is a rather interesting story with many angles to treat in a good film.
I traveled with my in laws in their RV from Albany to Fort Niagara and Niagara Falls several years ago. we stopped in Rome, visited the site of the battle at Oriskany, Fort Stanwyx and the Oneida Tribal museum. It was interesting to see the battle portrayed from several different perspectives.
JQ
” Americans are obsessed with the wars with the plains Indians…”
Yes, and I too blame Hollywood. However, you must also keep in mind that in the heyday of the Hollywood western – the 1930’s through the 50’s, there was still living memory of that time.
A person who was 80 years old in 1940 would have been born in 1860. He would have been 16 the year of the Little Bighorn battle, 21 the year of the shootout at the OK corral, and 30 at the time of the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Indeed, Wyatt Earp himself lived until 1929.