The 1876 Sioux Campaign: Ground Rules

[bc]

Great map Fred.

For Montana & Harpskiddie, I promised a little bit of North Carolina history. I spent a few years there stationed at the Town Pump on Hay Street in Fayetteville or was it the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Anyway, it is probably the nicest state I have ever lived in.

Now for my friends in North Carolina, I suppose most people are aware that emblazoned on the North Carolina State auto tag are the words -- First in Flight. Do you know what the origin of those words are?

Instead of waiting for a response, I know that the standard response from most people is going to be that the origin of those words are from the Wright Brothers first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk. This is where I get to say wrong wilbur&orville breath.

The origin of the state motto is from none other that General Robert E. Lee himself. I refer you to the book, "The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee" by Clifford Dowdey.

At page 910, letter # 960, Robert E. Lee wrote to Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge on February 14, 1865 the following:

"Sir, I regret to be obliged to call your attention to the alarming number of desertions that are now occurring in the army. Since the 12th instant they amount to two divisions of Hill's corps, those of Wilcox and Heth, to about four hundred. There are a good many from other commands. The desertions are chiefly from the North Carolina regiments, and especially those form the western part of the State. ...."

There is the true origin of the state motto, "First in flight". Read it and weep. And I hope no one is offended.

[bc]

Fred, I am really impressed with what you added in your chronology and especially on the troop movements on the June 25 threads. I guessed at Custer's tactics under the Custer's Tactics thread, which I can't find now, and all the time you, Bruce Liddic, & Fox had already come up with that info which you now have posted since my post at Custer's tactics. You have really added the most vital and compelling facts and analysis for those June 25 troop movements by Custer which really helps tie everything together. It all makes sense to me now. All that is left now is just to nitpick over minor variations.

Just for ground rules sake, could you identify what the bullets, check marks, yellow posts, etc. stand for in those June 25 threads? It appears that the check mark has a different meaning. Thanks.

[fred]

bc said:

Just for ground rules sake, could you identify what the bullets, check marks, yellow posts, etc. stand for in those June 25 threads? It appears that the check mark has a different meaning.

bc--

Thank you; your words mean a lot to me.

You should be aware, however, that most of the theory comes from others, not from me, except where you may read some obvious "asides." Most of those-- in other words, my own personal view of others' work-- I have tried to leave out. Most of what you read comes from Richard Fox, Bruce Liddic, James Willert, Greg Michno, John Gray, Edgar Stewart, W. A. Graham, Lloyd Overfield, Richard Hardorff, Doug Scott, Evan Connell, Jerome Greene, Vern Smalley, Walter Camp, and several others.

As for the bullets.... This stuff is mostly drawn from notes I keep on my computer. Rather than deal with the built-in "auto-formatting" of Microsoft for Mac, I set up these notes with the "check" marks, "dots," "diamonds," and "spades"; symbols, in other words. When I first began posting here, this system didn't recognize the symbols when I would cut-and-paste, so I replaced them with asterisks (it did take the dots). Suddenly, as I posted here recently I missed a check and when I proofed the post, I noticed it now took those checks. Generally speaking, the checks are the "main" category, then the asterisks would be a sub and the dots would be a sub of that. But don't let them throw you... it is haphazard, at best.

All authors are underlined, or should be. All direct quotes are in yellow. They can be from a participant, but are generally from some author's book. If the quote from a participant has become rather generic, I leave it alone, but I hate it when things are taken out of context or are misattributed; therefore, the yellow.

Again, bc, thanks for your kind words. And I really do hope this all has helped you. And also, please add anything you want, or ask any question that pops into your head. There is no end to the number of people who can help-- many are willing to oblige. And the wise-assed idiots will be kept off, I can assure you of that. Your contributions are no less valuable than anyone else's. You would be amazed at how a question that has been bothering you about a simple little thing can lead to a very important conclusion or how it can lead to a great analysis.

Best wishes,
Fred.

[bc]

Your welcome Fred. However my statement above "All that is left now is just to nitpick over minor variations." was very much premature and wrong. You, Conz, and others have been adding posts with lots of new info and after further review of the Chronology, everything now is just clear as "mud" with an emphasis on mud. The analysis continues .....

[fred]

bc said:

... everything now is just clear as "mud" with an emphasis on mud. The analysis continues .....

bc--

When it becomes clear to you, let me know. I'll buy the beer and the steaks, but it will have to be at your place. I'll be on the road again.

Best wishes,
Fred.

[bc]

Wind direction and speed. We have been talking a lot about hearing gunfire, etc. and who heard what and where. Does anyone know what the wind direction and speed was that day? I know there was talk of the dust from the pony herds, maybe someone can say which way it was blowing. From airport data, it appears that the wind in June averages about 7 to 10 mph and the prevailing wind is either southwesterly or southeasterly. Anyway, knowing if someone such as Weir was downwind or upwind, assuming there was any wind at all that day, will help me evaluate what someone happened that day.

[clw]

If you go to the RCOI and search for 'wind', you'll find several references.

[bc]

I checked the RCOI. Basically the wind was from the north. It was variously described as light, little or no wind, or not a heavy wind. When Reno was in the timber, the Indians began burning brush from which it was noted that the smoke was blowing from the north. I suspect there was a light northerly wind not inconsistent with a 5 to 10 mph wind. Not enough to bother someone but enough to move smoke.

It was also partly cloudy on the 25th, it sprinkled the night of the 25th, and cloudy and rainy on the 26th.