Between 1864 and 1877, during the height of the Plains Indian
wars, Pawnee Indian scouts rendered invaluable service to the
United States Army. They led missions deep into contested
territory, tracked resisting bands, spearheaded attacks against
enemy camps, and on more than one occasion saved American troops
from disaster on the field of battle. In "War Party in Blue, " Mark
van de Logt tells the story of the Pawnee scouts from their
perspective, detailing the battles in which they served and
recounting hitherto neglected episodes.
Employing military records, archival sources, and contemporary
interviews with current Pawnee tribal members--some of them
descendants of the scouts--Van de Logt presents the Pawnee scouts
as central players in some of the army's most notable campaigns. He
argues that military service allowed the Pawnees to fight their
tribal enemies with weapons furnished by the United States as well
as to resist pressures from the federal government to assimilate
them into white society.
According to the author, it was the tribe's martial traditions,
deeply embedded in their culture, that made them successful and
allowed them to retain these time-honored traditions. The Pawnee
style of warfare, based on stealth and surprise, was so effective
that the scouts' commanding officers did little to discourage their
methods. Although the scouts proudly wore the blue uniform of the
U.S. Cavalry, they never ceased to be Pawnees. The Pawnee Battalion
was truly a war party in blue.
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