George Crook

George Crook (born September 8, 1828 in Dayton , Ohio , † March 21, 1890 in Chicago , Illinois ) was a general in the US Army in the American Civil War and in battles against the Indians .

Life

He attended the Military Academy at West Point , New York and graduated there in 1852 as the 38th of 43 course participants from. As an infantry officer, he was then in the fight against Indians and protect the border area ( Frontier ) in Oregon and California used.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War he was a captain and took command of the 36th Ohio Infantry Regiment on September 13, 1861 while being promoted to Colonel of the Volunteers, with whom he fought in West Virginia and especially during a skirmish with the Confederates at Lewisburg, West Virginia.

On September 7, 1862, he was promoted to brigadier general of the volunteers and commanded a brigade in the battles on South Mountain and Antietam . Transferred to the west, he commanded the 2nd Cavalry Division of the Cumberland Army during the Battle of Chickamauga .

He then served in the West Virginia Defense Area and defeated the Confederates at Cloyd's Mountain (May 9, 1864). On August 8, 1864, he took over the military area and the associated West Virginia Army and was instrumental in General Sheridan's tactical successes in the Shenandoah campaign in 1864 . Two future US presidents, William McKinley and Rutherford B. Hayes, served under Crook's command, with the latter developing a lifelong friendship from their joint service. On October 21, 1864, he was promoted to major general of the volunteers. In February 1865 he was captured by Confederate guerrillas, but soon exchanged and finally commanded the 2nd Cavalry Division of the Potomac Army at the end of the war and later until June 1, 1865 as commanding general of their cavalry corps.

General Crook with White Mountain Apache Scouts.

During the Civil War, Crook were awarded various brevet ranks from major to major general in the regular army for bravery . He was awarded the rank of major general of the volunteers on July 18, 1864. After the war ended, Crook stayed in Maryland, where he married Mary T. Daley on August 22, 1865. The marriage remained childless; his wife lived on the family estate near Oakland, Maryland after his transfer to the West.

On January 15, 1866, Crook resigned from the volunteer organization and was taken over by the army with the rank of major in the 3rd US Infantry Regiment. On July 28, 1866 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commander of the 23rd US Infantry Regiment in the west, where he successfully fought against the Paiute . He was then ordered to Arizona in May 1871 , where he replaced General George Stoneman in July 1871 . Crook should end the fighting with the Apaches and collect them in reservations .

Crook defeated the western Apaches and organized peace talks with the remaining tribes to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. He tried to protect the Indians from the whites, who in their greed for profit showed no consideration for them and their lives. In 1872 there was peace in Arizona after the successful peace treaty with Cochise . After this success, Crook was promoted to brigadier general on October 29, 1873 and stayed for two more years in Arizona, where he campaigned for a humane treatment of the Indians and thus acquired many sympathies with them, which was through a saying of the famous Lakota chief Red Cloud it becomes clear: "Crook never lied to us, his words gave people hope."

In 1875 he was transferred to the north and appointed commander of the Platte Defense Area with headquarters in Omaha. In the " Great Sioux War " in 1876, Crook commanded one of the three army columns that were sent into the field against the Indians. On June 17, 1876, the Sioux and their allies ( Oglalas under Crazy Horse ) involved him at Rosebud Creek, Montana in a battle lasting several hours . Confused and unsure about the unexpected aggressiveness and determination of the opponent, Crook withdrew to his base camp. Since his advance on the rosebud was stopped, he could not exonerate Custer . The result was his defeat on the Little Bighorn River (June 25, 1876).

In the following years, Crook was involved in the persecution and overthrow of the enemy Indians. In the winter of 1876 he led a large-scale campaign that culminated on November 25, 1876 with a victory over the Northern Cheyenne under Morning Star (aka Dull Knife) on the Red Fork of the Powder River in Wyoming .

In 1882, Crook was sent back to Arizona after Geronimo started the Apache guerrilla war again. In 1886 he was replaced by his rival, General Nelson Appleton Miles , who eventually got Geronimo to surrender. Geronimo and his men were sent to Florida along with the scouts to whom Crook owed so much, something Crook never forgave his successor Miles. Promoted to major general on April 6, 1888, Crook received the Division of the Missouri. He died of a heart attack in Chicago on March 21, 1890 . On the Arlington National Cemetery , the Memorial Cemetery of the American nation, he was laid to rest after a reburial on 11 November 1898th

Trivia

The army base Fort Crook in Nebraska , which is still operated as Offutt Air Force Base , was named after Crook .

George Crook was nicknamed Nantan Lupan by the Apaches , which means gray wolf.

literature

John Gregory Bourke : On the Border with Crook. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 1891, ISBN 0-8094-3583-7 .
- ditto Bison Books, 1971, ISBN 0-8032-5741-4 . ( here online)
George Crook: General George Crook: His Autobiography. University of Oklahoma Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8061-1982-9 .
Frank C. Lockwood: More Arizona Characters ... University of Arizona, 1943.
Paul Magid: George Crook: From the Redwoods to Appomattox. Norman, OK 2011, ISBN 0-8061-4207-3 .
Paul Magid: The Gray Fox: George Crook and the Indian Wars. Norman, OK 2015, ISBN 0-8061-4706-7 .
Charles M. Robinson: General Crook and the Western Frontier. Norman, OK 2001, ISBN 0-8061-3358-9 .
Edwin L. Sabin: General Crook and the Fighting Apaches. (1871-1886), Lulu Pr, 2008, ISBN 1-4097-1970-7 .

Web links

Commons : George Crook - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b ^c John H. and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, accessed on August 10, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 191).
^ ^A ^b John H. and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, accessed on August 13, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 192).
^ Durwood Ball, Paul Andrew Hutton: Soldiers West: Biographies from the Military Frontier. University of Oklahoma Press, November 19, 2012, accessed August 31, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 246).
↑ Lt. arlingtoncemetery.net: " He was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 1898. "

personal data
SURNAME	Crook, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	General of the US Army
DATE OF BIRTH	September 8, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH	Dayton , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH	March 21, 1890
Place of death	Chicago , Illinois

[Eicher-1] A ^b ^c John H. and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, accessed on August 10, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 191).

[Eicher_1-2] A ^b John H. and David J. Eicher: Civil War High Commands. Stanford University Press, 2001, accessed on August 13, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 192).

[Hutton-3] Durwood Ball, Paul Andrew Hutton: Soldiers West: Biographies from the Military Frontier. University of Oklahoma Press, November 19, 2012, accessed August 31, 2018 (Crooks' life data, p. 246).

[4] Lt. arlingtoncemetery.net: " He was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland, but was moved to Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery on November 11, 1898. "