Patrick Connor's War: The 1865 Powder River Indian Expedition (book)

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The summer of 1865 marked the transition from the Civil War to Indian war on the western plains. With the rest of the country’s attention still focused on the East, the U.S. Army began an often forgotten campaign against the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. Led by Gen. Patrick Connor, the Powder River Indian Expedition into Wyoming sought to punish tribes for raids earlier that year. Patrick Connor’s War describes the troops’ movement into hostile territory while struggling with bad weather, supply shortages, and communication problems.

David E. Wagner’s carefully assembled account carries readers along the trail of Connor’s men and allows soldiers to give firsthand impressions of the land and campaign. The author draws on journals, letters, and reports—especially the James H. Kidd Papers, a copy of Connor’s expedition report previously believed burned, and the newly discovered C. M. Lee diary—to reconstruct a day-by-day chronology that finds the men trudging, sometimes barefoot and half starved, over unforgiving terrain. The thrill and danger of buffalo hunts and skirmishes with Indians punctuated an arduous trek across the northern plains.

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