Crazy Horse and Custer : The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors

On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages; both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie. LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS LIST OF MAPS INTRODUCTION PART ONE CHAPTER 1: The Setting and the People: The Great Plains CHAPTER 2: The Setting and the People: Ohio CHAPTER 3: “Curly” CHAPTER 4: Curly’s Vision CHAPTER 5: Autie CHAPTER 6: Custer at West Point CHAPTER 7: Custer and Crazy Horse on the Eve of Manhood PART TWO CHAPTER 8: War and Love Among the Oglalas CHAPTER 9: Guerrilla Warfare, Indian Style CHAPTER 10: War and Love Among the Americans CHAPTER 11: The Boy General and the Glorious War CHAPTER 12: Crazy Horse and Custer as Young Warriors PART THREE CHAPTER 13: Crazy Horse and the Fort Phil Kearny Battle CHAPTER 14: Custer Comes to the Plains CHAPTER 15: A Summer on the Plains: 1867 CHAPTER 16: The Treaty of 1868 and the Battle of the Washita CHAPTER 17: Truce on the High Plains, 1869–73 PART FOUR CHAPTER 18: Crazy Horse and Custer on the Yellowstone, 1873 CHAPTER 19: The Panic of 1873 and the Black Hills Expedition of 1874 CHAPTER 20: Politics: Red and White CHAPTER 21: Crazy Horse Fights on the Rosebud While Custer Closes In CHAPTER 22: The Battle of the Little Bighorn CHAPTER 23: The Death of Crazy Horse CHAPTER 24: What Happened to the Others Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611  men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the  banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana  Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting for battle.  The lives of two great warriors would soon be  forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader  of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong  Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme  courage. Both became leaders in their societies at  very early ages; both were stripped of power, in  disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of  their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled  grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an  irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would  pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for  an inevitable clash between two nations fighting  for possession of the open  prairie. A New York Times bestseller from the author of Band of Brothers: The biography of two fighters forever linked by history and the battle at Little Bighorn. On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where three thousand Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages. Both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie. On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 U.S. Army soldiers rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting to battle.The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer of the Seventh Cavalry. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both had become leaders in their societies at very early ages; both had been stripped of power, and in disgrace had worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge. Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between the two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie. - Back cover.