Massacre, memoir, and myth: The 1866 Fetterman Fight, a reconstruction
Myths permeate histories of the 1866 Fetterman Fight, or Massacre. Thesis foci include myths of the 1866 Fort Laramie Treaty, the July 1866 Skirmish at Crazy Woman's Fork, Jim Bridger's role from May 1866 to spring 1867, and the December 1866 Fetterman Fight. Beginning in 1867, Colonel Carrington, Captain Fetterman's commanding officer, shifted blame from himself to Fetterman. Based upon Carrington's allegations, historical consensus indicts Captain Fetterman for arrogantly disobeying orders, foolishly leading eighty men into a fatal ambush by 1,800 Lakota, Cheyenne, and Araphoe warriors, and committing mutual suicide with Captain Brown when hope was gone. In his 1991 article "Price of Arrogance," John D. McDermott reaffirmed Carrington's accusations. This thesis debunks the myths, challenges the consensus version, reconstructs the fight with soldier and Indian memoirs, and Army documents, and offers a new interpretation of the Fetterman Fight.
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