Atlas of the Sioux Wars

The three Sioux wars covered in this atlas offer a variety of historical case studies for the student of low intensity conflict. The difficulties of using volunteer forces to quell a rebellion of suppressed peoples are investigated in the 1862 campaign in Minnesota. The 1866-68 Sioux War in Wyoming and Montana is the story of securing a fixed route of travel through hostile territory with limited resources. The final conflict, that of 1876, encompasses one of the largest and most ambitious search-and-destroy missions in the history of Indian warfare. While there are admittedly several differences between the Indian wars and low-intensity conflict as we envisage it today, the practical aspects of operational and tactical warfighting during these wars parallel many of the difficulties faced by modern soldiers. In both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, technologically and organizationally sophisticated forces have come to grief at the hands of supposedly backward foes-a lesson often forgotten by soldiers of many nations. This atlas will be especially useful to those soldiers who wish to study the Sioux campaigns on the actual sites by using the Staff Ride methodology. For them, this work may serve as an educational reference as they begin their study, provide a handy companion on the battlefield, and serve as a helpful reminder as they integrate their insights from the classroom with those of the battlefield. All of the soldiers who fought in the Sioux wars paid a great price for their education. We cannot hope to learn everything from pure study, whether it be from a book, lecture, or field trip. Nevertheless, we can only ignore the experiences of these nineteenth-century soldiers at our own peril. In an era of diminishing resources and ambiguous mission statements, we can ill afford such a dereliction.