The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 348
562 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Withal, Utley successfully contends that the army became more humani-
tarian by the late I87os and into the I88os and even denies at one point
that Wounded Knee was a bona fide massacre because "massacre implies
deliberate and indiscriminate slaughter" (p. 408). Utley's case doubtless
would have been strengthened had he instead used the adjective "intended."
Certainly, Nelson Miles never intended a massacre to take place and was,
in fact, chagrined that it should; but it did take place and, regrettably, in
a deliberate and indiscriminate manner as Utley's own narrative shows.
As a writer, Utley is a craftsman; and all of the chapters are well written.
Some, however, stand out more than others. Particularly good chapters
include those on Sitting Bull, the conquest of the Sioux, the Bannock and
Paiutes, the Mexican border conflicts, and Geronimo. Another fine feature
of the book is the fact that the author offers the nonspecialist in military
affairs something which is so often lacking in volumes on the Indian wars
-a tactical overview of the army's combat doctrine on Indian fighting.
A synopsis of the latter, together with the logistical problems, which proved
to be enormous, may also be found in his article on that subject which
appeared in the July I974 issue of The American West. His praise of
George Crook as the Indian fighter par excellence is very convincing. He
also has a high claim to nonpartisanship by his thoughtful and illuminating
evaluation of Miles. Finally, the work is capped by a very good bibli-
ography.
In sum, it is a solid work indeed and a worthy addition to MacMillan's
Wars of the United States series.
Southwest Texas State University JAMES W. POHL
Jennison's Jayhawkers: A Civil War Cavalry Regiment and Its Commander.
By Stephen Z. Starr. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press,
I973. Pp xvi+405. Bibliography, index. $12.95.)
Regimental histories, like county histories, are often tedious accounts
that recall the historian's origin as a chronicler. Thankfully, Jennison's Jay-
hawkers is not another one of these. Although Stephen Starr's smooth flow-
ing prose of early chapters gives way to a more prosaic style later, on the
whole he presents an engrossing story about one of the most colorful units
of Lincoln's army.
Raised in a theater of the Civil War unequaled for personal brutality,
the Seventh Kansas Volunteer Cavalry amply earned its reputation as a
rawly disciplined group of plunderers of the Missouri countryside. Moved
later to Tennessee and Mississippi, the Jayhawkers angered more staid reg-348
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/396/?rotate=270: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.