Richard Irving Dodge

"General William Tecumseh Sherman: a flesh-and-blood man obscured by his larger-than-life myth. Here, we have the chance to glimpse the human side of Sherman through the private journals of Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, his former aide-de-camp. With an eye for details, Dodge recounts daily life with the famous general. Editor Wayne R. Kime's insightful commentary and annotations place Dodge's writings in context and make clear their importance.". "In summer 1883, General Sherman took Dodge with him on a 10,000-mile inspection tour across the northern tier of territories, on to the Pacific Northwest, south through California, and east through the Southwest to Denver. Dodge had no idea his journals would ever become public, so he wrote openly about his companions and their interactions, terrain and natural wonders, conditions of military posts, life in civilian communities, and what the future seemed to hold for the region and its changing population."--BOOK JACKET.

Lt. Col. Richard Irving Dodge's journals, written with utter candor for his eyes only, are the fullest firsthand account we possess of Gen. George Crook's Powder River Expedition against the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, which culminated in Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie's resounding destruction of Dull Knife's forces on November 25, 1876. Editor Wayne R. Kime, with his customary flair, has transcribed the journals from Dodge's pocket-size notebooks and has provided a pertinent introduction and well-crafted, thoroughly illuminating annotations. Dodge's journals will clearly prove useful to specialists in U.S.-Indian relations and the Great Sioux War, but they will also appeal to a variety of readers because of Dodge's lively style and his range of subject matter. With vigorous intelligence, he describes such topics as General Crook as a military leader and strategist, the merits of infantry versus cavalry against the Plains Indians, the effects of subzero weather in Wyoming on a large army far from its sources of supply, and of course, the elusiveness of military glory.

In the spring and summer of 1875, Lt. Col. Richard Irving Dodge escorted the scientific expedition of geologist Walter P. Jenney into the Black Hills of the Dakotas to determine the truth of rumors of gold started by Gen. George Armstrong Custer the previous summer. The five-month trek north from Cheyenne, Wyoming, challenged Dodge's 452 men with their wagons and animals, but in many respects it was "a delightful pic nic (without the ladies)," as Dodge described it. Colonel Dodge wrote his journals daily in the field, and in their variety, discursiveness, and detail they convey clearly the pleasure he took in what he said was "the most delightful summer of my life." Yet he used only a small fraction of what he recorded in his subsequent official communications and published works. If it were not for this well-annotated and illustrated edition by Wayne R. Kime, readers would not have access to Dodge's experiences with such characters as the stowaway Calamity Jane or the eccentric mountain man and backwoods philosopher California Joe, who was hired to guide the expedition. Dodge's particular interests in hunting, fishing, and fine scenery also enliven his narrative, as do the politics dividing the miners from the Indians, and the soldiers from the scientists on the expedition.

In 1883, Col. Richard I. Dodge wrote what is arguably the best description of the Plains Indians and the world they lived in, circa 1880, 'Our Wild Indians; Thirty-Three Years Among The Red Man Of The Great West.' But 'Our Wild Indians' is so much more than just an anthropological culture study. Dodge enhanced the book's dialogue with a flood of his personal experiences, his Indian Wars combat stories, his reminisces of friendships and personal engagements with virtually all the Plains tribes between Canada and Mexico, as well as most of the era's famous chiefs and warriors. When 'Our Wild Indians' was first published, it was wildly popular and a national best seller. It was then, as it still is now, because of Dodge's intimate knowledge of Plains Indians, his amazing breadth of military experiences on the Plains, and his smooth and easy to follow writing style. For these reasons, his book has kept a connection with the reading public for going on 140 years. 'Our Wild Indians' is still considered to be one of the best, and purist, prime sources for Native American historical research. But even better, 'Our Wild Indians' is just a great read. It is certainly non-fiction, but it reads like a good fiction book.

A view of the American Indians, first published in 1882, from an Army colonel who served during the Indian wars in the West, presenting his views on the customs and behavior of prominent Indian tribes, including the Cheyenne, Apache, Pawnee, Ute, Comanche, and Sioux.