George Crook
Encyclopedia
George R. Crook was a career United States Army
officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War
and the Indian Wars
.
(near Dayton
). He was nominated to the United States Military Academy
by Congressman Robert Schenck and graduated in 1852, ranking near the bottom of his class. He was assigned to the 4th U.S. infantry
as brevet second lieutenant, serving in California, 1852–61. He served in Oregon
and northern California
, fighting against several Native American
tribes. He commanded the Pitt River Expedition
of 1857 and in one of the several engagements was severely wounded by an Indian arrow. He established Fort Ter-Waw in what is now Klamath, California
. His promotion to the rank of 1st lieutenant was received in 1856, and to that of captain in 1860. He was ordered east and in 1861 was made colonel
of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
.
He married a Virginia
n, Mary Tapscott Dailey.
of Ohio's 36th regiment and led it on duty in western Virginia. He was in command of the 3rd Brigade in the District of the Kanawha where he was wounded in a small fight at Lewisburg, VA. Crook returned to command of his regiment during the Northern Virginia Campaign
. He and his regiment were part of John Pope's
headquarters escort at the Second Battle of Bull Run
. After the Union Army's defeat at Second Bull Run, Crook and his regiment were attached to the Kanawha Division
at the start of the Maryland Campaign
. On September 12 Crook's brigade commander, Augustus Moor, was captured and Crook assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division which had been attached to the IX Corps. Crook led his brigade at the battle of South Mountain
and near Burnside's Bridge
at the battle of Antietam
. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general
on September 7, 1862. During these early battles he developed a life-long friendship with one of his subordinates, Col. Rutherford B. Hayes
of the 23rd Ohio Infantry
.
Following Antietam, General Crook assumed command of the Kanawha Division. His division was detached from the IX Corps for duty in the Department of the Ohio. Before long Crook was assigned to command an infantry brigade in the Army of the Cumberland
. This brigade became the 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, XIV Corps which he led at the Battle of Hoover's Gap
. In July he assumed command of the 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. He fought at the battle of Chickamauga
and was in pursuit of Joseph Wheeler
during the Chattanooga Campaign
.
In February 1864 Crook returned to command the Kanawha Division which was now officially designated the 3rd Division of the Department of West Virginia
.
Ulysses S. Grant
ordered a Union advance on all fronts, minor as well as major. Grant sent for Brigadier General Crook, in winter quarters at Charleston, West Virginia
, and ordered him to attack the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, Richmond
's primary link to Knoxville
and the southwest, and to destroy the Confederate salt works at Saltville, Virginia
.
The 35-year-old Crook reported to army headquarters at City Point, Virginia
, where the commanding general explained the mission in person. Grant instructed Crook to march his force, the Kanawha Division
, against the railroad at Dublin, Virginia
, 140 miles (225.3 km) south of Charleston. At Dublin he would put the railroad out of business and destroy Confederate
military property. He was then to destroy the railroad bridge over New River
, a few miles to the east. When these actions were accomplished, along with the destruction of the salt works, Crook was to march east and join forces with Major General Franz Sigel
, who meanwhile was to be driving south up the Shenandoah Valley
.
After long dreary months of garrison duty, the men were ready for action. Crook did not reveal the nature or objective of their mission, but everyone sensed that something important was brewing. "All things point to early action", the commander of the second brigade, Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, noted in his diary.
On April 29, 1864, the Kanawha Division marched out of Charleston and headed south. Crook sent a force under Brigadier General William W. Averell
westward towards Saltville, then pushed on towards Dublin with nine infantry regiments, seven cavalry regiments, and 15 artillery pieces, a force of about 6,500 men organized into three brigades. The West Virginia countryside was beautiful that spring, but the mountainous terrain made the march a difficult undertaking. The way was narrow and steep, and spring rains slowed the march as tramping feet churned the roads into mud. In places, Crook's engineers had to build bridges across wash-outs before the army could advance.
The column reached Fayette on May 2, and then passed through Raleigh Court House and Princeton. On the night of May 8, the division camped at Shannon's Bridge, Virginia, 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Dublin.
The Confederates at Dublin soon learned the enemy was approaching. Their commander, Colonel John McCausland
, prepared to evacuate his 1100 men, but before transportation could arrive, a courier from Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins
informed McCausland that the two of them were ordered by General John C. Breckinridge
to stop Crook's advance. The combined forces of Jenkins and McCausland amounted to 2,400 men. Jenkins, the senior officer, took command.
Breaking camp on the morning of May 9, Crook moved his men south to the top of a spur of Cloyd's Mountain. Before the Union troops lay a precipitous, densely wooded slope with a meadow about 400 yards wide at the bottom. On the other side of the meadow, the land rose in another spur of the mountain, and there Jenkins' rebels waited behind hastily erected fortifications.
Crook dispatched the third brigade under Colonel Carr B. White
to work its way through the woods and deliver a flank attack on the rebel right. At 11 am, he sent Hayes' first brigade and Colonel Horatio G. Sickel
's second brigade down the slope to the edge of the meadow, where they were to launch a frontal assault on the Confederates as soon as they heard the sound of White's guns.
The slope before them was so steep that the officers had to dismount and descend on foot. Crook stationed himself with Hayes' brigade, which was to lead the assault. After a long, anxious wait, Hayes at last heard cannon fire off to his left and led his men at a slow double time out onto the meadow and into the rebels' musketry and artillery fire, which Crook called "galling". Their pace quickened as they neared the other side, but just before the up-slope they came to a waist-deep creek. The barrier caused little delay and the Yankee infantry stormed up the hill and engaged the rebel defenders at close range.
The only man to have trouble with the creek was General Crook. Dismounted, he still wore his high riding boots, and as he stepped into the stream, the boots filled with water and bogged him down. Nearby soldiers grabbed their commander's arms and hauled him to the other side.
Vicious hand-to-hand fighting erupted as the Yankees reached the crude rebel defenses. The Southerners gave way, tried to re-form, then broke and retreated up and over the hill towards Dublin.
The Yankees rounded up rebel prisoners by the hundreds and seized General Jenkins, who had fallen wounded. At this point the discipline of the Union men wavered, and there was no organized pursuit of the fleeing enemy. General Crook was unable to provide leadership as the excitement and exertion had sent him into a faint.
Colonel Hayes kept his head and organized a force of about 500 men from the soldiers milling about the site of their victory. With his improvised command, he set off, closely pressing the rebels.
While the fight at Cloyd's Mountain
was going on, a train pulled into the Dublin station and disgorged 500 fresh troops of General John Hunt Morgan
's cavalry, which had just defeated Averell at Saltville. The fresh troops hastened towards the battlefield, where they soon met their compatriots retreating from Cloyd's Mountain. The reinforcements halted the rout, but Colonel Hayes, although ignorant of the strength of the force now before him, immediately ordered his men to "yell like devils" and rush the enemy. Within a few minutes General Crook arrived with the rest of the division, and the defenders broke and ran.
Cloyd's Mountain cost the Union army 688 casualties, while the rebels suffered 538 killed, wounded, and captured.
Unopposed, Crook moved his command into Dublin, where he laid waste to the railroad and the military stores. He then sent a party eastward to tear up the tracks and burn the ties. The next morning the main body set out for their next objective, the New River bridge, a key point on the railroad, a few miles to the east.
The Confederates, now commanded by Colonel McCausland, waited on the east side of the New River to defend the bridge. Crook pulled up on the west bank, and a long, ineffective artillery duel ensued. Seeing that there was little danger from the rebel cannon, Crook ordered the bridge destroyed, and both sides watched in awe as the structure collapsed magnificently into the river. McCausland, without the resources to oppose the Yankees any further, withdrew his battered command to the east.
General Crook, supplies running low in a country not suited for major foraging, now entertained second thoughts about his orders to push on east and join Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley. At Dublin he had intercepted an unconfirmed report that General Robert E. Lee
had beaten Grant badly in the Wilderness
, which led him to consider whether the Confederate commander might not soon move against Crook with a vastly superior force.
Having accomplished the major part of his mission, destruction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, Crook turned his men north and after another hard march, reached the Union base at Meadow Bluff, West Virginia.
in command of the Department of West Virginia the following day. However Crook did not assume command until August 9. Along with the title of his department Crook added "Army of West Virginia". Crook's army was soon absorbed into Philip H. Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah
and for all practical purposed functioned as a corps in that unit. Although Crook's force kept its official designation as the Army of West Virginia it was often referred to as the VIII Corps. It should be noted that the official VIII Corps of the Union Army was led by Lew Wallace
during this time and its troops were on duty in Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Crook led his corps in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
at the battles of Opequon
(Third Winchester), Fisher's Hill
, and Cedar Creek
. On October 21, 1864, he was promoted to major general of volunteers.
In February 1865, General Crook was captured by Confederate raiders at Cumberland, Maryland
, and held as a prisoner of war
in Richmond until exchanged a month later. He very briefly returned to command the Department of West Virginia until he took command of a cavalry division in the Army of the Potomac
during the Appomattox Campaign
. Crook first went into action with his division at the battle of Dinwiddie Court House
. He later took a prominent role in the battles of Five Forks
, Amelia Springs
, Sayler's Creek
and Appomattox Court House.
At the end of the Civil War, George Crook received a brevet
as major general in the regular army, but reverted to the permanent rank of lieutenant colonel
, serving with the 23rd Infantry
on frontier duty in the Pacific Northwest.
in the 1864-68 Snake War
where he won nationwide recognition for his heroic efforts. Crook had fought Indians in Oregon before the Civil War. When the Civil War was concluded Crook traveled out to the Pacific Northwest to employ new tactics to this war that had been waged for several years. Crook arrived in Boise City to take command on December 11, 1866. The general quickly noticed that the Northern Paiutes were summer fighters relying on the other seasons to gather food so he implemented the tactic recommended by a predecessor George B. Currey to attack during the winter. Crook had cavalry dismount and attack Paiutes at their winter camp appearing as infantry in order to draw them to engage in which time Crook's company remounted and defeated the Indians and regaining stolen livestock. Another new tactic employed by Crook was to employ Indian scouts to act as troops as well as to spot Indian encampments. In one particular incident in the war Crook almost lost his life by mistake. While campaigning in Eastern Oregon during the winter of 1867 Crook located a Paiute
village near the eastern edge of Steens Mountain
with the help of Indian scouts. After covering all the escape routes Crook ordered the charge on the village while intending himself to view the raid from afar, but his horse got spooked and thrust Crook ahead of his men towards the village. While being caught in the crossfire of his men's bullets behind him and the Indians ahead Crook's horse carried the general through the village to the other side before Crook could finally dismount; miraculously uninjured. Still a successful raid for the army with heavy casualties for the Paiutes at the Battle of Tearass Plain. Crook later defeated a mixed band of Paiute, Pit River Indians and Modocs at the battle of Infernal Caverns
.
placed Crook in command of the Arizona Territory
. Crook's use of Apache scouts
during the Yavapai War
brought him much success in forcing the Yavapai
and Tonto Apache
s onto reservations. In 1872 Crook was appointed brigadier general
in the regular army, a promotion that passed over and angered several full colonels next in line for promotion to general.
during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77
. He fought the Lakota at the Battle of the Rosebud
.
On 28 May 1876, Brigadier General George Crook assumed direct command of the Bighorn and Yellowstone Expedition at Fort Fetterman. Crook had drawn together an impressive force from his Department of the Platte. Leaving Fort Fetterman on 29 May, the 1,051-man column consisted of 15 companies from the 2d and 3d Cavalry, 5 companies from the 4th and 9th Infantry, 250 mules, and 106 wagons. On 14 June, the column was joined by 261 Shoshone and Crow allies. Based on intelligence reports, Crook ordered his entire force to lighten itself for a quick march. Each man was to carry only 1 blanket, 100 rounds of ammunition, and 4 days' rations. The wagon train would be left at Goose Creek, and the infantry would be mounted on the pack mules.
On 17 June, Crook's column roused itself at 0300 and set out at 0600, marching northward along the south fork of Rosebud Creek. The holiday atmosphere that prevailed since the arrival of the Indian scouts was suddenly absent. The Crow and Shoshone scouts were particularly apprehensive. Although the column had not yet encountered any sign of Indians, the scouts seemed to sense their presence. For their part, the soldiers, particularly the mule-riding infantry, were apparently fatigued from their early morning reville and the previous day's 35-mile march. Accordingly, Crook stopped to rest his men and animals at 0800. Although he was deep in hostile territory, Crook made no special dispositions for defense. His troops merely halted in their marching order. The Cavalry battalions led the column followed by the battalion of mule-borne foot soldiers,and a provisional company of civilian miners and packers brought up the rear.
Fortunately the Crow and Shoshone scouts remained alert while the soldiers rested. Several minutes later, the soldiers in camp could hear the sound of intermittent gunfire coming from the bluffs to the north. At first, they dismissed the noise as nothing more than the scouts taking potshots at buffalo. As the intensity of fire increased, a scout rushed into the camp shouting, "Lakota, Lakota!" The Battle of the Rosebud was on. By 0830, the Sioux and Cheyenne had hotly engaged Crook's Indian allies on the high ground north of the main body. Heavily outnumbered, the Crow and Shoshone scouts fell back toward the camp, but their fighting withdrawal gave Crook time to deploy his forces. The attackers were driven off by rapid firing soldiers which used up much of the ammunition meant for use later in the campaign. Low on ammunition and with a considerable number of wounded, the General returned to his post. Whether Crook's pressing on instead could have prevented the subsequent slaughter of five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer
at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
is debatable.
He was the Commander of the Department of the Platte
from 1875 to 1882, with headquarters at Fort Omaha
in North Omaha, Nebraska
. During this period, in 1879, he spoke on behalf of the Ponca
tribe and Native American
rights during the trial of Standing Bear v. Crook. That same year his home, now called the General Crook House
, was completed.
. Crook repeatedly forced the surrender of the Apaches but saw Geronimo escape. The Apache, as a mark of respect, nicknamed Crook Nantan Lupan, which means "Grey Wolf". Nelson A. Miles
replaced Crook in command of the Arizona Territory and brought an end to the Apache Wars
when he sent Geronimo
, the Chiricahua
Apache
tribe and the Chiricahua
scouts serving in the U.S. Army into exile in Florida
. (Crook was reportedly furious and appalled that the scouts, who had faithfully served the Army against their own tribe, were sent as well and telegrammed numerous protests to Washington. They, along with most of Geronimo's band, were forced to spend the next 26 years in captivity before they were finally released.) After years of campaigning in the Indian Wars
, Crook won steady promotion back up the ranks to the permanent grade of Major General, and President Grover Cleveland
placed him in command of the "Military Division of the Missouri" in 1888.
from 1886 to 1888. While he was there, his portrait was painted by artist Herbert A. Collins
.
He spent his last years speaking out against the unjust treatment of his former Indian adversaries. He died suddenly in Chicago
while serving as commander of the Division of the Missouri. Crook was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland
, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery
on November 11, 1898.
Red Cloud
, a war leader of the Oglala Lakota
(Sioux
), said of Crook when he died, "He, at least, never lied to us. His words gave us hope."
Crook County, Wyoming, Crook County, Oregon
, and the town of Crook, Colorado
are named in George Crook's honor, and the Crook Walk in Arlington National Cemetery
is near George Crook's gravesite. Crook Peak in Lake County Oregon (elevation 7834 feet) in the Warner Mountains is named after Crook. The peak is near where Crook established Camp Warner (1867–1874) to "subdue" the Paiute Indians.
Fort Crook (1857 – 1869) was an Army post near Redding, California
, used during the Indian Wars, and later for the protection of San Francisco during the Civil War. It was named for then Lt. Crook by Captain John W. T. Gardiner, 1st Dragoons, as Crook had been injured and was recovering there. California State Historical Marker 355 marks the site in Shasta County
. Fort Crook
(1890 – 1946) was an Army Depot in Bellevue, Nebraska
, first used as a dispatch point for Indian conflicts on the Great Plains, then later as an airfield for the 61st Balloon Company of the Army Air Corp. It was named for Brig. Gen. Crook due to his many successful Indian campaigns in the west. The site formerly known as Fort Crook is now part of Offutt AFB, Nebraska
.
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division is nicknamed "Greywolf" in his honor, in an odd mutation of his Apache nickname "Grey Fox". Forest Road 300 in the Coconino National Forest
is named the "General Crook Trail", and is a section of the trail which General Crook blazed from Fort Verde to Fort Whipple
and on to Fort Apache through Central Arizona, and his good friend and Union Army
comrade, President
Rutherford B. Hayes
, named one of his sons George Crook Hayes in respect of his commanding officer.
The General Crook House
at Fort Omaha
in Omaha, Nebraska
is also named in his honor, as he was the only Commander of the Department of the Platte
to live there.
Crook Mountain, a peak in the Cascade Range
, was named for George Crook by Wenatchee National Forest
supervisor Albert H. Sylvester
.
In Pintado Canyon Historic District 10 miles south of Rangely, Colorado, a petroglyph site named Crook's Brand Site includes a horse in the mural of Ute origin, which is said by locals to have the brand of General Crook's horse.
in the television series Deadwood
. He was also portrayed by Gene Hackman
in the 1993 movie Geronimo: An American Legend
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and the Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
.
Early life
Crook was born to Thomas and Elizabeth Matthews Crook on a farm near Taylorsville, OhioOhio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
(near Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
). He was nominated to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
by Congressman Robert Schenck and graduated in 1852, ranking near the bottom of his class. He was assigned to the 4th U.S. infantry
U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment
The U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. It has served the United States for approximately two hundred years.-Origins:...
as brevet second lieutenant, serving in California, 1852–61. He served in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, fighting against several Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribes. He commanded the Pitt River Expedition
Pitt River Expedition
The Pitt River Expedition is the name given to several expeditions, detailed below. They were named for the Pit River and Pitt River Indians, as they were then called. . The Pit River is one of several tributaries of the Sacramento River...
of 1857 and in one of the several engagements was severely wounded by an Indian arrow. He established Fort Ter-Waw in what is now Klamath, California
Klamath, California
Klamath is an unincorporated, rural, census-designated place in Del Norte County, California, situated on US Route 101 inland from the mouth of the Klamath River. The population was 779 at the 2010 census, up from 651 at the 2000 census...
. His promotion to the rank of 1st lieutenant was received in 1856, and to that of captain in 1860. He was ordered east and in 1861 was made colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
36th Ohio Infantry
The 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruited from several counties in southeastern Ohio, the 36th OVI participated in several battles in the Eastern Theater before being transferred for a period to the...
.
He married a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
n, Mary Tapscott Dailey.
Early service
When the Civil War broke out, Crook accepted a commission as ColonelColonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
of Ohio's 36th regiment and led it on duty in western Virginia. He was in command of the 3rd Brigade in the District of the Kanawha where he was wounded in a small fight at Lewisburg, VA. Crook returned to command of his regiment during the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
. He and his regiment were part of John Pope's
John Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
headquarters escort at the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
. After the Union Army's defeat at Second Bull Run, Crook and his regiment were attached to the Kanawha Division
Kanawha Division
The Kanawha Division was a Union Army division which could trace its origins back to a brigade originally commanded by Jacob D. Cox. This division served in western Virginia and Maryland and was at times led by such famous personalities as George Crook and Rutherford B. Hayes.-Kanawha Brigade:On...
at the start of the Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign
The Maryland Campaign, or the Antietam Campaign is widely considered one of the major turning points of the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North was repulsed by Maj. Gen. George B...
. On September 12 Crook's brigade commander, Augustus Moor, was captured and Crook assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, Kanawha Division which had been attached to the IX Corps. Crook led his brigade at the battle of South Mountain
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain was fought September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for possession of three South Mountain passes: Crampton's, Turner's, and Fox's Gaps. Maj. Gen. George B...
and near Burnside's Bridge
Burnside's Bridge
Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Crossing over Antietam Creek, the bridge played a key role in the September 1862 Battle of Antietam during the American Civil War when a small number of Confederate soldiers from Georgia for several...
at the battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...
. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
on September 7, 1862. During these early battles he developed a life-long friendship with one of his subordinates, Col. Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
of the 23rd Ohio Infantry
23rd Ohio Infantry
The 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during much of the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a variety of campaigns and battles, and is remembered with a stone memorial on the Antietam National Battlefield not far from Burnside's...
.
Following Antietam, General Crook assumed command of the Kanawha Division. His division was detached from the IX Corps for duty in the Department of the Ohio. Before long Crook was assigned to command an infantry brigade in the Army of the Cumberland
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.-History:...
. This brigade became the 3rd Brigade, 4th Division, XIV Corps which he led at the Battle of Hoover's Gap
Battle of Hoover's Gap
The Battle of Hoover's Gap was the principal battle fought in the Tullahoma Campaign of the American Civil War.-Background:...
. In July he assumed command of the 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps in the Army of the Cumberland. He fought at the battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
and was in pursuit of Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler
Joseph Wheeler was an American military commander and politician. He has the rare distinction of serving as a general during war time for two opposing forces: first as a noted cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and later as a general in the...
during the Chattanooga Campaign
Chattanooga Campaign
The Chattanooga Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in October and November 1863, during the American Civil War. Following the defeat of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans's Union Army of the Cumberland at the Battle of Chickamauga in September, the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen...
.
In February 1864 Crook returned to command the Kanawha Division which was now officially designated the 3rd Division of the Department of West Virginia
Army of West Virginia
The Army of West Virginia served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was the primary field army of the Department of West Virginia. It campaigned primarily in West Virginia, Southwest Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley. It is noted for having two future U.S. presidents serve in...
.
Southwest Virginia
To open the spring campaign of 1864, lieutenant generalLieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
ordered a Union advance on all fronts, minor as well as major. Grant sent for Brigadier General Crook, in winter quarters at Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, and ordered him to attack the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
's primary link to Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
and the southwest, and to destroy the Confederate salt works at Saltville, Virginia
Saltville, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,204 people, 909 households, and 660 families residing in the town. The population density was 273.7 people per square mile . There were 1,003 housing units at an average density of 124.5 per square mile...
.
The 35-year-old Crook reported to army headquarters at City Point, Virginia
City Point, Virginia
City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...
, where the commanding general explained the mission in person. Grant instructed Crook to march his force, the Kanawha Division
Kanawha Division
The Kanawha Division was a Union Army division which could trace its origins back to a brigade originally commanded by Jacob D. Cox. This division served in western Virginia and Maryland and was at times led by such famous personalities as George Crook and Rutherford B. Hayes.-Kanawha Brigade:On...
, against the railroad at Dublin, Virginia
Dublin, Virginia
Dublin is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, 140 miles (225.3 km) south of Charleston. At Dublin he would put the railroad out of business and destroy Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
military property. He was then to destroy the railroad bridge over New River
New River (West Virginia)
The New River, part of the Ohio River watershed, is a tributary of the Kanawha River about 320 mi long. The river flows through the U.S. states of North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia...
, a few miles to the east. When these actions were accomplished, along with the destruction of the salt works, Crook was to march east and join forces with Major General Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel
Franz Sigel was a German military officer, revolutionist and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
, who meanwhile was to be driving south up the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
.
After long dreary months of garrison duty, the men were ready for action. Crook did not reveal the nature or objective of their mission, but everyone sensed that something important was brewing. "All things point to early action", the commander of the second brigade, Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, noted in his diary.
On April 29, 1864, the Kanawha Division marched out of Charleston and headed south. Crook sent a force under Brigadier General William W. Averell
William W. Averell
William Woods Averell was a career United States Army officer and a cavalry general in the American Civil War. After the war he was a diplomat and became wealthy by inventing American asphalt pavement.-Early years:...
westward towards Saltville, then pushed on towards Dublin with nine infantry regiments, seven cavalry regiments, and 15 artillery pieces, a force of about 6,500 men organized into three brigades. The West Virginia countryside was beautiful that spring, but the mountainous terrain made the march a difficult undertaking. The way was narrow and steep, and spring rains slowed the march as tramping feet churned the roads into mud. In places, Crook's engineers had to build bridges across wash-outs before the army could advance.
The column reached Fayette on May 2, and then passed through Raleigh Court House and Princeton. On the night of May 8, the division camped at Shannon's Bridge, Virginia, 10 miles (16.1 km) north of Dublin.
The Confederates at Dublin soon learned the enemy was approaching. Their commander, Colonel John McCausland
John McCausland
John McCausland, Jr. was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army, famous for the ransom of Hagerstown, Maryland, and the razing of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War....
, prepared to evacuate his 1100 men, but before transportation could arrive, a courier from Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins
Albert G. Jenkins
Albert Gallatin Jenkins was an attorney, planter, representative to the United States Congress and First Confederate Congress, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
informed McCausland that the two of them were ordered by General John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
to stop Crook's advance. The combined forces of Jenkins and McCausland amounted to 2,400 men. Jenkins, the senior officer, took command.
Breaking camp on the morning of May 9, Crook moved his men south to the top of a spur of Cloyd's Mountain. Before the Union troops lay a precipitous, densely wooded slope with a meadow about 400 yards wide at the bottom. On the other side of the meadow, the land rose in another spur of the mountain, and there Jenkins' rebels waited behind hastily erected fortifications.
Crook dispatched the third brigade under Colonel Carr B. White
Carr B. White
Carr Baily White was a physician, officer during the Mexican War and general during the American Civil War. His Civil War service is greatly associated with operations in western Virginia and Maryland....
to work its way through the woods and deliver a flank attack on the rebel right. At 11 am, he sent Hayes' first brigade and Colonel Horatio G. Sickel
Horatio G. Sickel
Horatio Gates Sickel was a Union general during the American Civil War. He served in the Pennsylvania Reserves during the first part of the war and later commanded brigades in western Virginia and at Petersburg, where a serious wound ended his military career.-Early life:Horatio Sickel was born...
's second brigade down the slope to the edge of the meadow, where they were to launch a frontal assault on the Confederates as soon as they heard the sound of White's guns.
The slope before them was so steep that the officers had to dismount and descend on foot. Crook stationed himself with Hayes' brigade, which was to lead the assault. After a long, anxious wait, Hayes at last heard cannon fire off to his left and led his men at a slow double time out onto the meadow and into the rebels' musketry and artillery fire, which Crook called "galling". Their pace quickened as they neared the other side, but just before the up-slope they came to a waist-deep creek. The barrier caused little delay and the Yankee infantry stormed up the hill and engaged the rebel defenders at close range.
The only man to have trouble with the creek was General Crook. Dismounted, he still wore his high riding boots, and as he stepped into the stream, the boots filled with water and bogged him down. Nearby soldiers grabbed their commander's arms and hauled him to the other side.
Vicious hand-to-hand fighting erupted as the Yankees reached the crude rebel defenses. The Southerners gave way, tried to re-form, then broke and retreated up and over the hill towards Dublin.
The Yankees rounded up rebel prisoners by the hundreds and seized General Jenkins, who had fallen wounded. At this point the discipline of the Union men wavered, and there was no organized pursuit of the fleeing enemy. General Crook was unable to provide leadership as the excitement and exertion had sent him into a faint.
Colonel Hayes kept his head and organized a force of about 500 men from the soldiers milling about the site of their victory. With his improvised command, he set off, closely pressing the rebels.
While the fight at Cloyd's Mountain
Battle of Cloyd's Mountain
The Battle of Cloyd's Mountain was a Union victory in western Virginia in 1864 that allowed the Union forces to destroy the last railroad connecting Tennessee to Virginia.-Background:...
was going on, a train pulled into the Dublin station and disgorged 500 fresh troops of General John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
's cavalry, which had just defeated Averell at Saltville. The fresh troops hastened towards the battlefield, where they soon met their compatriots retreating from Cloyd's Mountain. The reinforcements halted the rout, but Colonel Hayes, although ignorant of the strength of the force now before him, immediately ordered his men to "yell like devils" and rush the enemy. Within a few minutes General Crook arrived with the rest of the division, and the defenders broke and ran.
Cloyd's Mountain cost the Union army 688 casualties, while the rebels suffered 538 killed, wounded, and captured.
Unopposed, Crook moved his command into Dublin, where he laid waste to the railroad and the military stores. He then sent a party eastward to tear up the tracks and burn the ties. The next morning the main body set out for their next objective, the New River bridge, a key point on the railroad, a few miles to the east.
The Confederates, now commanded by Colonel McCausland, waited on the east side of the New River to defend the bridge. Crook pulled up on the west bank, and a long, ineffective artillery duel ensued. Seeing that there was little danger from the rebel cannon, Crook ordered the bridge destroyed, and both sides watched in awe as the structure collapsed magnificently into the river. McCausland, without the resources to oppose the Yankees any further, withdrew his battered command to the east.
General Crook, supplies running low in a country not suited for major foraging, now entertained second thoughts about his orders to push on east and join Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley. At Dublin he had intercepted an unconfirmed report that General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
had beaten Grant badly in the Wilderness
Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5–7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by...
, which led him to consider whether the Confederate commander might not soon move against Crook with a vastly superior force.
Having accomplished the major part of his mission, destruction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, Crook turned his men north and after another hard march, reached the Union base at Meadow Bluff, West Virginia.
Shenandoah Valley
The following July, Crook assumed command of a small force called the Army of the Kanawha. Crook was defeated at the Second Battle of Kernstown. Nevertheless he was appointed as a replacement for David HunterDavid Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
in command of the Department of West Virginia the following day. However Crook did not assume command until August 9. Along with the title of his department Crook added "Army of West Virginia". Crook's army was soon absorbed into Philip H. Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah
Army of the Shenandoah
Army of the Shenandoah refers to two armies in the American Civil War:* Confederate Army of the Shenandoah* Union Army of the Shenandoah...
and for all practical purposed functioned as a corps in that unit. Although Crook's force kept its official designation as the Army of West Virginia it was often referred to as the VIII Corps. It should be noted that the official VIII Corps of the Union Army was led by Lew Wallace
Lew Wallace
Lewis "Lew" Wallace was an American lawyer, Union general in the American Civil War, territorial governor and statesman, politician and author...
during this time and its troops were on duty in Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Crook led his corps in the Valley Campaigns of 1864
Valley Campaigns of 1864
The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...
at the battles of Opequon
Battle of Opequon
The Battle of Opequon, more commonly known as the Third Battle of Winchester, was fought in Winchester, Virginia, on September 19, 1864, during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War....
(Third Winchester), Fisher's Hill
Battle of Fisher's Hill
The Battle of Fisher's Hill was fought September 21–22, 1864, as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. Fisher's Hill is located near Strasburg, Virginia....
, and Cedar Creek
Battle of Cedar Creek
The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended...
. On October 21, 1864, he was promoted to major general of volunteers.
In February 1865, General Crook was captured by Confederate raiders at Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, and held as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Richmond until exchanged a month later. He very briefly returned to command the Department of West Virginia until he took command of a cavalry division in the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
during the Appomattox Campaign
Appomattox Campaign
The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...
. Crook first went into action with his division at the battle of Dinwiddie Court House
Battle of Dinwiddie Court House
The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House was a minor engagement in the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War that was the immediate prelude to the decisive Battle of Five Forks. On March 29, 1865, with the Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps of the Army of the Potomac, Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan...
. He later took a prominent role in the battles of Five Forks
Battle of Five Forks
The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, in Dinwiddie County, during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War. The battle, sometimes referred to as the "Waterloo of the Confederacy," pitted Union Maj. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan against...
, Amelia Springs
Battle of Amelia Springs
The Battle of Amelia Springs, Virginia was a minor engagement that occurred on April 5, 1865 during the Appomattox Campaign of the American Civil War...
, Sayler's Creek
Battle of Sayler's Creek
-External links:* * : Maps, histories, photos, and preservation news...
and Appomattox Court House.
Indian Wars
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
as major general in the regular army, but reverted to the permanent rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
, serving with the 23rd Infantry
23rd Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army originally formed on June 26th 1812. The 23rd saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812...
on frontier duty in the Pacific Northwest.
Snake War
Crook successfully campaigned against the Snake IndiansSnake Indians
Snake Indians is the common name given by American immigrants on the Oregon Trail to the bands of Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone Native Americans in the Snake River and Owyhee River valleys of southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon...
in the 1864-68 Snake War
Snake War
The Snake War was a war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians", the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory...
where he won nationwide recognition for his heroic efforts. Crook had fought Indians in Oregon before the Civil War. When the Civil War was concluded Crook traveled out to the Pacific Northwest to employ new tactics to this war that had been waged for several years. Crook arrived in Boise City to take command on December 11, 1866. The general quickly noticed that the Northern Paiutes were summer fighters relying on the other seasons to gather food so he implemented the tactic recommended by a predecessor George B. Currey to attack during the winter. Crook had cavalry dismount and attack Paiutes at their winter camp appearing as infantry in order to draw them to engage in which time Crook's company remounted and defeated the Indians and regaining stolen livestock. Another new tactic employed by Crook was to employ Indian scouts to act as troops as well as to spot Indian encampments. In one particular incident in the war Crook almost lost his life by mistake. While campaigning in Eastern Oregon during the winter of 1867 Crook located a Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
village near the eastern edge of Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain
Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some and rises from an elevation of about above the Alvord Desert to its peak at...
with the help of Indian scouts. After covering all the escape routes Crook ordered the charge on the village while intending himself to view the raid from afar, but his horse got spooked and thrust Crook ahead of his men towards the village. While being caught in the crossfire of his men's bullets behind him and the Indians ahead Crook's horse carried the general through the village to the other side before Crook could finally dismount; miraculously uninjured. Still a successful raid for the army with heavy casualties for the Paiutes at the Battle of Tearass Plain. Crook later defeated a mixed band of Paiute, Pit River Indians and Modocs at the battle of Infernal Caverns
Battle of Infernal Caverns
The Battle of Infernal Caverns was a battle during the Snake War fought between Native Americans and the U.S. Army. The Native American warriors had made a fortress out of lava rocks in the Infernal Caverns of northern California. From there they were able to pour a steady fire upon the soldiers...
.
Tonto Basin Campaign
After his successful campaign in the Pacific Northwest President Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
placed Crook in command of the Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
. Crook's use of Apache scouts
Apache scouts
The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars up to 1886 though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various...
during the Yavapai War
Battle of Salt River Canyon
The Battle of Salt River Canyon, or the Battle of Skeleton Cave, was the first principal engagement during the 1872 Tonto Basin Campaign under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Crook. It was part of the Yavapai War from 1871 to 1875.-Battle:...
brought him much success in forcing the Yavapai
Yavapai
Yavapai can refer to:* The Yavapai people, a Native American people of central and western Arizona, with reservations at:**The Yavapai-Apache Nation near Camp Verde, AZ**The Yavapai-Prescott Tribe at Prescott, AZ...
and Tonto Apache
Tonto Apache
The Tonto Apache is one of the groups of Western Apache people. The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language...
s onto reservations. In 1872 Crook was appointed brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the regular army, a promotion that passed over and angered several full colonels next in line for promotion to general.
Great Sioux War
Crook next served against the SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77
Great Sioux War of 1876-77
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations which occurred between 1876 and 1877 involving the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, against the United States...
. He fought the Lakota at the Battle of the Rosebud
Battle of the Rosebud
The Battle of the Rosebud occurred June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Native Americans during the Black Hills War...
.
On 28 May 1876, Brigadier General George Crook assumed direct command of the Bighorn and Yellowstone Expedition at Fort Fetterman. Crook had drawn together an impressive force from his Department of the Platte. Leaving Fort Fetterman on 29 May, the 1,051-man column consisted of 15 companies from the 2d and 3d Cavalry, 5 companies from the 4th and 9th Infantry, 250 mules, and 106 wagons. On 14 June, the column was joined by 261 Shoshone and Crow allies. Based on intelligence reports, Crook ordered his entire force to lighten itself for a quick march. Each man was to carry only 1 blanket, 100 rounds of ammunition, and 4 days' rations. The wagon train would be left at Goose Creek, and the infantry would be mounted on the pack mules.
On 17 June, Crook's column roused itself at 0300 and set out at 0600, marching northward along the south fork of Rosebud Creek. The holiday atmosphere that prevailed since the arrival of the Indian scouts was suddenly absent. The Crow and Shoshone scouts were particularly apprehensive. Although the column had not yet encountered any sign of Indians, the scouts seemed to sense their presence. For their part, the soldiers, particularly the mule-riding infantry, were apparently fatigued from their early morning reville and the previous day's 35-mile march. Accordingly, Crook stopped to rest his men and animals at 0800. Although he was deep in hostile territory, Crook made no special dispositions for defense. His troops merely halted in their marching order. The Cavalry battalions led the column followed by the battalion of mule-borne foot soldiers,and a provisional company of civilian miners and packers brought up the rear.
Fortunately the Crow and Shoshone scouts remained alert while the soldiers rested. Several minutes later, the soldiers in camp could hear the sound of intermittent gunfire coming from the bluffs to the north. At first, they dismissed the noise as nothing more than the scouts taking potshots at buffalo. As the intensity of fire increased, a scout rushed into the camp shouting, "Lakota, Lakota!" The Battle of the Rosebud was on. By 0830, the Sioux and Cheyenne had hotly engaged Crook's Indian allies on the high ground north of the main body. Heavily outnumbered, the Crow and Shoshone scouts fell back toward the camp, but their fighting withdrawal gave Crook time to deploy his forces. The attackers were driven off by rapid firing soldiers which used up much of the ammunition meant for use later in the campaign. Low on ammunition and with a considerable number of wounded, the General returned to his post. Whether Crook's pressing on instead could have prevented the subsequent slaughter of five companies of the 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
is debatable.
He was the Commander of the Department of the Platte
Department of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho...
from 1875 to 1882, with headquarters at Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ...
in North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha, Nebraska
North Omaha is a community area in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. It is bordered by Cuming and Dodge Streets on the south, Interstate 680 on the north, North 72nd Street on the west and the Missouri River and Carter Lake, Iowa on the east, as defined by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha...
. During this period, in 1879, he spoke on behalf of the Ponca
Ponca
The Ponca are a Native American people of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan-language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma...
tribe and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
rights during the trial of Standing Bear v. Crook. That same year his home, now called the General Crook House
General Crook House
The General George Crook House Museum is located at 5730 North 30th Street in Fort Omaha. The Fort is located in the Miller Park neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska...
, was completed.
Geronimo's War
By 1882, Crook was back in command in Arizona. The Apaches had once again taken up arms against the U.S. army under the leadership of GeronimoGeronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
. Crook repeatedly forced the surrender of the Apaches but saw Geronimo escape. The Apache, as a mark of respect, nicknamed Crook Nantan Lupan, which means "Grey Wolf". Nelson A. Miles
Nelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...
replaced Crook in command of the Arizona Territory and brought an end to the Apache Wars
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
when he sent Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, the Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
tribe and the Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
scouts serving in the U.S. Army into exile in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. (Crook was reportedly furious and appalled that the scouts, who had faithfully served the Army against their own tribe, were sent as well and telegrammed numerous protests to Washington. They, along with most of Geronimo's band, were forced to spend the next 26 years in captivity before they were finally released.) After years of campaigning in the Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, Crook won steady promotion back up the ranks to the permanent grade of Major General, and President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
placed him in command of the "Military Division of the Missouri" in 1888.
Later life
Crook served in Omaha again as the Commander of the Department of the PlatteDepartment of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho...
from 1886 to 1888. While he was there, his portrait was painted by artist Herbert A. Collins
Herbert A. Collins
Herbert Alexander Collins, Sr., was a Canadian-born American artist. He was known nationally in the United States as a landscape and portrait painter.-Early years:...
.
He spent his last years speaking out against the unjust treatment of his former Indian adversaries. He died suddenly in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
while serving as commander of the Division of the Missouri. Crook was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland
Oakland, Maryland
Oakland is a town in the west-central part of Garrett County, Maryland, United States. With a population of 1,925 according to United States Census 2010 figures, it is the most populated community in Garrett County...
, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
on November 11, 1898.
Red Cloud
Red Cloud
Red Cloud , was a war leader and the head Chief of the Oglala Lakota . His reign was from 1868 to 1909...
, a war leader of the Oglala Lakota
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
(Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
), said of Crook when he died, "He, at least, never lied to us. His words gave us hope."
In memoriam
Crook County, Oregon
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 19,182 people, 7,354 households, and 5,427 families residing in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile . There were 8,264 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
, and the town of Crook, Colorado
Crook, Colorado
Crook is a Statutory Town in Logan County, Colorado, United States. The population was 128 at the 2000 census.-History:The town was named for General George Crook, officer during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Geography:...
are named in George Crook's honor, and the Crook Walk in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
is near George Crook's gravesite. Crook Peak in Lake County Oregon (elevation 7834 feet) in the Warner Mountains is named after Crook. The peak is near where Crook established Camp Warner (1867–1874) to "subdue" the Paiute Indians.
Fort Crook (1857 – 1869) was an Army post near Redding, California
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
, used during the Indian Wars, and later for the protection of San Francisco during the Civil War. It was named for then Lt. Crook by Captain John W. T. Gardiner, 1st Dragoons, as Crook had been injured and was recovering there. California State Historical Marker 355 marks the site in Shasta County
Shasta County, California
Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...
. Fort Crook
Fort Crook
Two posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:Two posts of this name existed:: Fort Crook a post near Fall River Mills, California from 1857 to 1869.: Fort Crook in Nebraska, established in 1891, to replace Fort Omaha, now Offutt Air Force Base....
(1890 – 1946) was an Army Depot in Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue is a city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 50,137 at the 2010 census. Eight miles south of Omaha, Bellevue is part of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Originally settled in the 1830s, It was the first state capitol. Bellevue was incorporated in...
, first used as a dispatch point for Indian conflicts on the Great Plains, then later as an airfield for the 61st Balloon Company of the Army Air Corp. It was named for Brig. Gen. Crook due to his many successful Indian campaigns in the west. The site formerly known as Fort Crook is now part of Offutt AFB, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
.
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division is nicknamed "Greywolf" in his honor, in an odd mutation of his Apache nickname "Grey Fox". Forest Road 300 in the Coconino National Forest
Coconino National Forest
The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff. Originally established in 1898 as the "San Francisco Mountains National Forest Reserve", the area was designated a U.S...
is named the "General Crook Trail", and is a section of the trail which General Crook blazed from Fort Verde to Fort Whipple
Fort Whipple
Fort Whipple may refer to:*Fort Whipple, Arizona, first capital of Arizona Territory*Fort Whipple, Virginia, historical name for U.S. Army's Fort Myer...
and on to Fort Apache through Central Arizona, and his good friend and Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
comrade, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
, named one of his sons George Crook Hayes in respect of his commanding officer.
The General Crook House
General Crook House
The General George Crook House Museum is located at 5730 North 30th Street in Fort Omaha. The Fort is located in the Miller Park neighborhood of North Omaha, Nebraska...
at Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha
Fort Omaha, originally known as Sherman Barracks and then Omaha Barracks, is an Indian War-era United States Army supply installation. Located at 5730 North 30th Street, with the entrance at North 30th and Fort Streets in modern-day North Omaha, Nebraska, the facility is primarily occupied by ...
in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
is also named in his honor, as he was the only Commander of the Department of the Platte
Department of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho...
to live there.
Crook Mountain, a peak in the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
, was named for George Crook by Wenatchee National Forest
Wenatchee National Forest
Wenatchee National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in Washington. With an area of 1,735,394 acres , it extends about 137 miles along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Range of Washington, USA from Okanogan National Forest to Gifford Pinchot National Forest...
supervisor Albert H. Sylvester
Albert Hale Sylvester
Albert Hale Slyvester was a pioneer surveyor, explorer, and forest supervisor in the Cascade Range of the U.S. state of Washington. He was a topographer for the United States Geological Survey in the Snoqualmie Ranger District between 1897 and 1907...
.
In Pintado Canyon Historic District 10 miles south of Rangely, Colorado, a petroglyph site named Crook's Brand Site includes a horse in the mural of Ute origin, which is said by locals to have the brand of General Crook's horse.
In popular media
Crook was portrayed by Peter CoyotePeter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
in the television series Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
. He was also portrayed by Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
in the 1993 movie Geronimo: An American Legend
Geronimo: An American Legend
Geronimo: An American Legend is a 1993 film, starring Wes Studi as Geronimo, Jason Patric as 1st Lt. Charles B. Gatewood, Gene Hackman as Brig. Gen. George Crook, Robert Duvall as Chief of Scouts Al Sieber, and Matt Damon as 2nd Lt. Britton Davis. The film was directed by Walter Hill from a...
.
See also
- List of American Civil War generals