Traveler's Guide to the Great Sioux War: The Battlefields, Forts, and Related Sites of America's Greatest Indian War [Paperback]

This little book (only 126 pages) does many different things, all very well, and most better than books many times its size. Hedren has chosen 54 specific historical sites relating to the Great Sioux War and arranged them chronologically, with site 1 being the Grattan Battlefield in Wyoming (commemorating an 1854 incident which helped set the stage for later events) and site 54 being Sitting Bull's grave in South Dakota (he died in 1890). In addition to these 54 "official" sites, Hedren identifies and directs readers to many other related locations nearby.

Each site gets a number (which is also pin-pointed on a map), a brief description of the its significance, and directions to it (also whether it's on private property or not); then follows a longer historical account of the site's role in the War and a number of photographs indicating what a visitor to the site would see. It's a magnificent tool for anyone touring the area (most sites are in Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska), but it's just as valuable (and exciting) for anyone interested in the Sioux War who can't leave his livingroom. A great book. Highly recommended.

This book is fabulous in that in that it not only charts the tour sites of the Great Sioux was with excellent maps, directions and fantastic pictures but also provides excellent mini-histories on what occurred at each site including bios on the main participants. Just reading this book gives you a good historical perspective for the great plains war with chapters that categorize the historical sites by period starting with the Gratten marker in Wyoming. The Gratten monument was for a Lt. and his company that threatened Conquering Bear's village over the alleged theft of a cow resulting in his death and his companies (1856). This book proceeds with sites and histories flowing the Red Cloud War of 1866, through the Little Bighorn Campaign period and aftermath, the summer and winter campaigns. Also includes historical sites after 1877 such as sitting Bull's Canadian sites with descriptions of the sites and pictures. Hedren covers every major historical site from old forts, some of which have been reconstructed and some have actual structures that he describes and has pictures of. You can virtually follow the expeditions of the army or find exact locations of significant village sites. This book adds an extra dimension to any trip as Hedren shows you additional sites, some obscure, right next door to the more publicized sites. A great example is Little Bighorn, just 30 miles away is the pristine Rosebud Battlefield site where Crook encountered the Sioux and Cheyenne in a desperate and critical battle a week before Custer. In addition, the Powder River Battlefield where Crook's forces struck first but lost the initiative in March is just further west of the Rosebud Battlefield. This book provides so much information and easy directions including those that are on private property (includes caution to seek permission) that an adventurous traveler can seemingly so it all in a long week but perhaps two. The book's pictures are better than many books that are dedicated to a specific battle. The pictures of the massive Bear Butte Mountain are incredible as its mass is seen along a flat plain. The also book includes pictures of the main participants and their places of rest. A book that Walter Camp would be proud of as he documented many of these sites almost 100 years ago before they were lost to obscurity. I wish I had this book when I visited the Little Bighorn two years ago; however, there is so much great information I would have had to stay west another week.

Superb volume; spent happy hours reading about places we've been lucky enough to visit and reviewing ones still to come if we can ever cross the Atlantic again. Amazon is a fantastic storehouse for books on our favourite subjects.This one is a must as an aide memoire and a forward planner.

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