During the nineteenth century, the U.S. military fought numerous
battles against American Indians. These so-called Indian wars
devastated indigenous populations, and some of the conflicts stand
out today as massacres, as they involved violent attacks on often
defenseless Native communities, including women and children.
Although historians have written full-length studies about each of
these episodes, Massacring Indians is the first to present them as
part of a larger pattern of aggression, perpetuated by heartless or
inept military commanders. In clear and accessible prose, veteran
historian Roger L. Nichols examines ten significant massacres
committed by U.S. Army units against American Indians. The battles
range geographically from Alabama to Montana and include such
well-known atrocities as Sand Creek, Washita, and Wounded Knee.
Nichols explores the unique circumstances of each event, including
its local context. At the same time, looking beyond the confusion
and bloodshed of warfare, he identifies elements common to all the
massacres. Unforgettable details emerge in the course of his
account: inadequate training of U.S. soldiers, overeagerness to
punish Indians, an inflated desire for glory among individual
officers, and even careless mistakes resulting in attacks on the
wrong village or band. As the author chronicles the collective
tragedy of the massacres, he highlights the roles of well-known
frontier commanders, ranging from Andrew Jackson to John Chivington
and George Armstrong Custer. In many cases, Nichols explains, it
was lower-ranking officers who bore the responsibility and blame
for the massacres, even though orders came from the higher-ups.
During the nineteenth century and for years thereafter, white
settlers repeatedly used the term 'massacre' to describe Indian
raids, rather than the reverse. They lacked the understanding to
differentiate such raids - Indians defending their homeland against
invasion - from the aggressive decimation of peaceful Indian
villages by U.S. troops. Even today it may be tempting for some to
view the massacres as exceptions to the norm. By offering a broader
synthesis of the attacks, Massacring Indians uncovers a more
disturbing truth: that slaughtering innocent people was routine
practice for U.S. troops and their leaders.
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