Battle of the Rosebud, Episode 1

General George Crook sets out to redeem himself after an embarrassing winter campaign that culminated with the Battle of the Powder River, which energized the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne to resist the upcoming onslaught. Crook's large force of over 1,300 soldiers moves out, but Crook fails to enlist any Sioux as scouts and struggles to locate promised Shoshone and Crow allies. The Sioux and Northern Cheyenne will surprise Crook not once, but twice. This video sets the stage for what is likely the largest fight of the Old West.

[@Ammo08]

I was stationed at F.E. Warren AFB (Fort D.A. Russell) in the early 1970s. some of us history buffs took a trip for a few days and followed the route the troopers from Fort Russell took, (as close as possible) to the Rosebud, very interesting.

[@MilitaryHistory317]

I was in Cheyenne Saturday night. I stopped by Fort Fetterman but it is closed on Sunday and Monday. However, on my way to the Rosebud I had a chance to see the Fetterman battlefield, Ft. Kearny, and the Wagon Box Fight. More to follow on that. I will be on the ground this Thursday and Friday on the Rosebud, etc.

[@DL-rp4lu]

@@MilitaryHistory317 On the ground, huh? You mean not renting a helicopter to circle around in the air? You can just say you will be there. You don’t need to say on the ground. 🙄

[@MilitaryHistory317]

@@DL-rp4lu Helicopter? I use a drone!

[@connorsimpson2997]

@@DL-rp4lu shut up dork. What a waste of time to type your comment. This dude is doing great work

[@redtobertshateshandles]

I love the inserted photos (except the desecration of the Black Hills) , the Commissary can't get anyone to peel potatoes. Lol

[@michaelplanchunas3693]

Chief Plenty Coups was a featured speaker at the dedication of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 1921. His speech was short but heartfelt. His coup stick and regalia are on display at the Arlington Museum. His gift to the nation.

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Thank you for the info. I knew about the speech but did not know about the display. When I am in Arlington for business this March, I will have a look!

[@forrestunderwood3174]

These have been excellent.

[@brucebutler2746]

A master class. Well done.

[@dmprdctns]

Excellence... Looking forward to the series...!!

[@dennisdittrich2291]

Great information and video, I am headed there in 2 weeks for the first time. Thannx

[@catman8670]

Crazy horse was a great warrior for sure

[@leelee6e]

A bit on the Crazy side.

[@williecarroll3565]

i have really high expectations from this series already

[@andrewstevenson118]

Thank you for taking the time to do this. And yes, here in NZ the Coral Sea is relevant. 🙂

[@timferryA1]

Well done!

[@janupczak1643]

Brilliant presentation! Thank you. Must go find the next installment....

[@RemoteViewr1]

Over and over and over again; this visceral compulsion to divide a command into three forces, and then taking the sole actual attacking force and dividing it into three again. With sleepless hungry exhausted soldiers, riding near worthless mounts. Then claiming, surprise, surprise, surprise, you are in fact surprised at how many indians you encounter. By contrast, the indians you, again, surprise, are well rested, their horses are well cared for great mounts and out number your forces by a factor of ten. What leadership!

[@jeffingram9916]

My grandfather was born in 1865. He was 11 years old when the Battle of the Rosebud occurred. My father was his youngest child born in 1914. I was born in 1942 making me 81. Three generations from 1865 until today.

[@robertmiller8529]

My great grandpa was born in 1855 in Norway. I’m 30 in Minnesota. God bless.

[@thomasfoss9963]

My grandfather was born around the same time in Germany, a farmer who migrated to the US in the 1880s, and I thank God he didn't participate in any native slaughters, or massacres----

[@mattsmolinski595]

This video is not about you is it? Everyone has a relative alive at all times in history.

[@bretthines1020]

Great series!

[@raymondpilarczyk2773]

Actually, if a warrior wanted to follow Crazy Horse or not, so be it, was also the same status quo for any Plains Indian war leader from the Sioux in the north to the Comanche in the south... the individualistic freedom of the warrior societies prompted this

[@marchinotognino4329]

very well done

[@frankrice5364]

Awesome vedio and history

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Thank you Frank. I was on the battlefield last week, so Part 2 so be out this Saturday or Sunday.

[@johnreynolds2063]

on a roadtrip and stop by the battlefield very cool place theres panals up explaining the battle worth the trip then go to custers battlefield

[@eancurtis9333]

Awesome

[@neilpk70]

Still snickering about that Godfather reference.😄

[@fastsetinthewest]

Good video. I visited Washita a long time ago before the Feds ruined it. I couldn't find lodging and returning home I bought an RV. Washita has an interesting terrain. It was sad to me about the troops killing over 700 ponies. The ponies could smell the soldiers and were frightened. The squaws were forced to hold the ponies while the troops killed them. Exactly to understand Big Horn one must visit and understand Washita. I have visited about every site Custer visited. I'm originally from the Wolverine State and live in Texas. Eaglegards...

[@thomasfoss9963]

Excellent!!! The one detail I didn't know was how they forced the "squaws" to hold all those ponies-- Brutally cruel---

[@todchristensen1454]

I like the video and the history. Could have lived without all the images of the apache which had no place here.

[@bricktopmedic]

Brave Rifles!

[@curtismes]

This is really good stuff...i know the Apache wars and live in Az...but nothing of rosebud

[@tracysrocket]

Audio drops low at 4:10 and doesn't regain crispness. Other than that, very well done.

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Thank you. I discovered the issue with the audio and think that shall not be a problem going forward.

[@jeffclark7888]

@@MilitaryHistory317 what about going backward? Remaining stationary? I wish that people would stop saying “moving forward” and “going forward”. Unnecessary, filler phrases.

[@superbee-di5tp]

@@jeffclark7888 oh my, a little testy are we.Why don’t you go backwards or forward right out of here? Picky, picky, picky

[@jeffclark7888]

@@superbee-di5tp Oh, my. You’re being testy.

[@AminuteofhistoryK]

Love the channel. Can you recommend a good book on the battle please? Thank you

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Thank you! It seems that by far the best book is Paul Hedren's "Rosebud". He is a great researcher of the period.

[@charlescook279]

the video could have been better without the background music

[@pinchevulpes]

Crook and Miles the officers who have the dubious honors of being defeated by Crazy Horse AND Geronimo! Lol

[@brianmccarthy5557]

How were they defeated? Crook's Apache campaigns are a model for counterinsurgency warfare in a hostile environment. Plus he ended up creating a lasting peace while being respected by both sides. Miles was often controversial but also very successful. I suggest you don't actually know much about this period.

[@pinchevulpes]

@@brianmccarthy5557 if you want to have a grown up conversation I’d cease with the insults, won’t get you far in life insulting every person you meet. If you’re a military person you mark success with achieving mission objectives, crook was unable to capture or impede Geronimo or his band, Geronimo surrendered of his own accord. Earlier in Miles career he was unable to beat Crazy Horse at the rosebud and wolf mountain and was left with the tactically disadvantaged position every time! Even if you’ve seen the movies you’d know that, and you’re saying I’m the know nothing? Check your revision there Brian unless you got sources saying crook got any kind of battlefield win against Geronimos band of 32 or so warriors.

[@pinchevulpes]

@@brianmccarthy5557 I suggest you read a book Brian and stop insulting people on the internet for cool points

[@thomasfoss9963]

Yes, Crook was unable to capture Geronimo, or Cochise for that matter, in the Dragoons, or Chiricahua Mountains--- While the Apache may have respected Crook, there was no lasting peace-- To this day, the tribes have a deep resentment towards whites for destroying their culture, and way of life-----

[@pinchevulpes]

@@thomasfoss9963 no we live in peace and even intermarry.

[@justincase9665]

May I ask what time of year did you go to both The Rosebud and Little Bighorn battlefields...?? I am on the verge of going (flying from S.C.) first week of May and staying in Billings...

[@MilitaryHistory317]

I was at the Rosebud in February of '22, and I also went to LBH in what turned out to be freezing rain and sleet. The other three times I went to LBH were in either June or September. You are going there at a good time but be prepared for wild swings of weather. Be sure to check with the LBH Park Service about access, given the major improvements they are making to the Visitor Center. The Rosebud Battlefield is out in the proverbial middle of nowhere but is an amazing location.

[@justincase9665]

@@MilitaryHistory317 Thank-You very much..We had to move it up until June....Also having second thought about flying at all, but taking our RV..Loooong drive...~!!

[@justincase9665]

Went to the Rosebud this past week and the Little BigHorn, (planned it to make sure we missed the reenactment at LBH )..Walked to Conical Hill, Crooks Hill and the Miners Rocks...Lots of pictures, especially of the petroglyphs as well..Awesome place and very, very quiet except the wind to help your mind wonder....

[@johnzajac9849]

At 4:29, wearing a bandana and seated and facing the camera (left center) is Geronimo, the famous Apache leader. DM. How did the infantry keep up with the cavalry while in column?

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Yes! Here is the link to the photo in the Library of Congress with additional information. www.loc.gov/item/2012646818/

[@johnzajac9849]

@@MilitaryHistory317 How did the infantry keep up with the cavalry, while in column?

[@MilitaryHistory317]

@@johnzajac9849 It seems the column moved as fast as its slowest element. Often, the wagon train slowed the advance, that happened to Custer going through the Badlands (there is an interesting interpretive sign along the trail about it). This explains why Crook would mount his infantry on mules for the advance to much laughter from the Auxiliaries and the CAV troopers.

[@johnzajac9849]

@@MilitaryHistory317 I would not want to cross, on foot, Montana and Wyoming in summer, carrying a 10-pound rifle, ammunition, bayonet, pack, etc. as an infantryman did in the 1870s!

[@johnzajac9849]

BTW. Regarding Confederate artillery accuracy at Gettysburg, see the photo of the famous Trostle barn, when you can. (Trostle barn, 1863, Gettysburg, PA. Dead horses of U.S. artillery battery.) My Facebook comments: 'Note the cannonball hole below the two diamonds and white circle on the left side of the barn. Likely, an 'inaccurate' rebel gun was fired to see if a shot could complete a diamond shape of the symbols with another hole directly below the round white symbol. 'Experts' will continue to repeat the old wives' tale about how 'faulty' rebel cannons were and how rebel artillerists couldn't even 'hit the side of a barn'.' That's some shooting!

[@williamh3823]

Custer didnt need Crooks strength assessment..Custer scouts said as much from Rosebud to lilbig

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Great point. Only General Terry would have listened.

[@jimsatterfield8748]

There was a lot more posturing than fighting in this "battle." If you doubt this, consider the paltry casualty numbers...

[@brianmccarthy5557]

That's true of most battles and military encounters.

[@jimsatterfield8748]

@@brianmccarthy5557 Yeah, but we are talking, like, single digit casualty numbers. Not really a battle, more of a posture. Crook deserves a lot of criticism here. No Communication? Bullshit. Custer and others could have used intel....

[@thomasfoss9963]

Those are called skirmishes--- Inflated and sensationalized news always sold newspapers in the "East"

[@roseclemons6522]

the soldiers getting exhausted yet completing their duty, huge respect for them

[@montanaelkwhisperer1744]

The background music is too loud and distracting

[@catman8670]

Why show Geronimo while speaking of little big horn

[@MilitaryHistory317]

He is surrendering to George Crook. Very few pics of old George in the public domain.

[@bobcosmic]

An insight into the 13 colonies of Dam Erica

[@stevewixom9311]

For some reason for along time i've been under the impression that the term "company" was only used in the infantry. That the term "troop" was used exclusively by the calvary. Is that accurate or have i got it all wrong?

[@MilitaryHistory317]

Steve, this also puzzled me, as in the 19th Century those terms seemed interchangeable as opposed to now with CAV units designated Troops, Squadrons, and Regiments. Most historians of the period use Company, so I followed that rubric, but I prefer Troop.

[@stevewixom9311]

@@MilitaryHistory317 Hi, thanks for getting back in touch. Since the solders in the calvary were referred to as calvary troopers. It only makes sense they had to be part of a troop of calvary. So that's what i use.

[@THINKincessantly]

Company dates back to Europe referring to land pirates or mercenary groups...Look up Sir John Talbot of England, his company operated in 15th century Italy ...private army sort of

[@johnandrews3547]

Outstanding job on this video, It is my view that Crook more than anybody else is to blame for the events at Little Bighorn. If Crook had passed this intel on the large amount of reservation Indians that had left the rez to join sitting bull, custer would have nad no choice but to wait for Terry.

[@brucesegerdahl7892]

Indians would still be there if they had better PR

[@kenneth6847]

Very nice video and informative

[@larryrobinson6914]

George you got skunked

[@daniellastuart3145]

I'am form the UK and i'm interested in History and the events of the Battel of the Little Big Horn( Grassy Grass) and i never understood why the Battle if the Rosebud & Battel of the Little Big Horn were never connect as one campaign. May Be it because there both US Army defeats ????????

[@MilitaryHistory317]

I have read somewhere that it was just the sensationalism of the Last Stand that overshadowed The Rosebud. Also, quite a few of the Natives wanted to discuss it, but the interviewers would just brush that idea aside to focus on LBH. Great point!

[@brianmccarthy5557]

All the serious histories connect them, but you probably have never had access to them.

[@arkvadik8578]

At around minute 4, the author discusses the hiring of Indian scouts as he had done in the southwest. This is actually not correct, since Crooks Apache campaign didn't take place until the 1880s, years after this campaign on the northern plains in 1876.

[@MilitaryHistory317]

It seems you have been misinformed. Crook's first campaign in Arizona started in 1871. I highly recommend Cozzen's book. Check out this excerpt discussing Crook's 1872 campaign. Crook’s force would be unorthodox, to say the least. Availing himself of the innate Apache love of fighting, he offered full army pay to warriors willing to turn against their own people (he had plenty of takers). Cozzens, Peter. The Earth Is Weeping (p. 183). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[@brianmccarthy5557]

Crook had used former Confederates as scouts in his anti-guerilla campaigns in the Civil War.

[@scaredy-cat]

The generals in this campaign couldn’t have been more incompetent in the field

[@tomg3290]

Well !, I didn't know hunk poppa was going to even bee there -

[@tabletsam5624]

Crazy Horse would have fought for Germany in the fourties. Love him.

[@ytugtbk]

a. Down with the AI animation. b. Normalize your audio levels. One level during some narration; then completely different on another. Very unprofessional and annoying from an end-user perspective.

[@herrprepper2070]

Incredibly poor marksmanship.