In the Field
Memoirs and accounts from officers in the field
Compared to the previous sections that looked at the articles from the Army & Navy Journal this section will look at accounts from officers in the field fighting the Native Americans. While the articles in the ANJ were often written by officers serving in the U.S. Army, they were not always fighting the Native Americans first hand. Similarly to the newspaper articles in the following examination, the writers and editors of these papers were not often in the field with these soldiers experiencing what they reported on first hand. For a closer examination of what officers in the West thought about the Native Americans, the cavalry forces, Sheridan, and their mission in the West this section looks at a work from the legendary George Armstrong Custer and the veteran officer Régis de Trobriand. Custer is arguably the most famous American cavalryman and his death at the Battle of Little Bighorn is widely known. Prior to his death he published a book on his experiences in the West which provides a valuable insight into not only his life but his thought and opinions on the Indians and the West. On the other hand Régis de Trobriand is a lesser known officer but served in the Army during the American Civil War like Custer and led men in the West throughout this period. Following his death, his daughter published his memoirs telling the story of his life as a French immigrant turned American Army officer. These two men were picked for multiple reasons. As officers during the American Civil War they both had experience leading Union forces prior to the Indian Wars and can show the influence (if any) Civil War officers had on strategy in the West. Furthermore many of the officers who served in the West did not always publish their memoirs. Of those who have, fewer are available online for public use. Both Custer's book and de Trobraind's memoirs were easily accessible online which made them optimal to convert into text for this analysis. While there are other officers out there that could be included in this examination, scanning and converting their accounts into digital text documents for voyant analysis would have been very time consuming and hindered this overall project. As such, both the men chosen had gallant military careers with multiple awards and honors. Furthermore Custer's work examines his experiences in the West up until the book’s publication in 1874. Similarly, de Trobraind was only serving in the West until 1874. Both of these men served in different parts of the West for similar lengths of time and their accounts cover almost the same period of service. By understanding their opinions on the West and the cavalry following the Civil War we can infer what changes were being made and the opinions of officers fighting on the front lines against these Native Americans.
If any of the Voyant Tools below do not load, please click on the tool title to see an image file of the results, or go to the Sources page where all the visuals for this project are listed on the left hand side of your screen. Please take note that images of the Voyant tools are not interactive like the imbedded web tools.
“I would be willing, yes glad, to see a battle every day during my life”- George Custer's My Life on the Plains
This section will examine Custer's book My life on the Plains. Or, Personal experiences with Indians, which was published in 1874 just two years before his death at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Because of his death, Custer obviously did not publish any memoirs. Thus this work on his life in the West provides insight into his mind shortly before his death. In this work Custer discusses his life and interactions with the Native Americans in the West. Topics range from camp life, to interactions and negotiations with the Native Americans, to the military campaigns against them. This account provides a unique perspective of a vibrant cavalry officer who as the quote above suggests was itching for the gallantry of the Civil War.
Do i need to explain who Custer is in the paragraph before the examination or is he famous enough to assume basic readers would know who he is?
The Cirrus tool in Figure 22 shows the top twenty five terms mentioned in Custer's My Life on the Plains , again the number of terms can be increased using the bar at the bottom of the tool. Both "Indian" and "Indians" are the two most used words in Custer's book. This was expected considering he was fighting them on the plains; however the frequency of which these two words were used shows just how large a role that the Native Americans played not only in Custer's life but also their importance in the American West. As the commander of the 7th Cavalry, Custer's service took him across the plains. He mentions his men and the various commands ordered around the plains numerous times. This includes the officers that led these men. Custer's work initially is different than the others examined in so far because of the frequently used words below the top five. He uses many words that reference times or places. Words like "time", "soon", "forts", and "villages" had not yet been seen used on this scale and play a large role in this book. While it is clear that Custer's work is influenced by the Indians and the men under his command, the Cirrus tool does not show enough detail of Custer's efforts on the plains.
Above Figure 23 shows the Collocates Graph tool for this work by Custer. "Collocates Graph" highlights selected terms in blue and shows how they connect to other words in the book that appear in orange. Hovering over each term shows how it connects to others around it. The orange terms are those that appear before or after the blue terms the most throughout the book. This tool focuses on the terms "Indians", "camp", "Sheridan*", and "Cavalry*" in blue. The word camp is connected to a variety of words including "soon", "Indians", "supply", "return", and "near". Besides "Indians", all of these terms would be used when discussing military operations from a camp. For example when they would return and what time, "soon". Also Camp Supply was a major post in the region for the U.S. Army and used in the Indian conflicts extensively. As a prominent location it is not surprising that Camp Supply is mentioned numerous times. Indians Camps on the other hand is most likely referring to locating or the quest to find Indian locations. The "Cavalry" are connected to "troops", "companies", "horses", "command", and "guard". Both cavalry troops/troop and companies refer to the size of the cavalry units Custer is discussing at various points in this book. Similarly cavalry command likely is followed by the officer leading the cavalry unit. Guard and horses are interesting terms to see without context. The phrase "cavalry guard" could refer to the action the cavalry were doing or refer to a assignment given to them to protect something like wagon roads, a town, or civilians. Similarly it is unclear why Custer said "cavalry horses" as often as he did. Was he asking for more horses or was he inspecting the various horses of the 7th? It is not clear why using this tool. "Sheridan" is linked to "command" as well as "report", "general", and "headquarters." These links are understandable because officers like Custer would often write reports that would be sent to General Sheridan at Sheridan's Headquarters or received reports from Sheridan commanding them to do a specific order. These links would imply that Sheridan is no longer in the field with the men like he was in 1868 since he now commanded the entirety of the West. It would be interesting to see if this change of position led to any negative views of Sheridan for not leading from the field any more.
Since Custer was the most famous cavalry officer who led men on the plains against the Native Americans, examining the context in which the terms "Cavalry" and "Mission" were used in Custer's book provide evidence to what Custer's opinions were of this mission. Figure 24 above shows these two terms in context through the Context tool. Figure 24 shows not only what Custer's mission was but what the Army's mission was in the West and how the cavalry were used to achieve those goals. While the Army is often villainized in secondary scholarship, Custer's book shows conclusions again that are similar to Sherry Smith's work. Custer states that their mission was a friendly one with the Native Americans. Custer also uses "mission" when referring to forces leaving the fort or camp and wishing them well on their "mission" which is understandable. However, other examples associate words like "danger" and "perilous" with the missions Custer was discussing in his book. This is interesting that Custer saw their mission on the plains as a friendly one but that they were put in dangerous and perilous situations in attempting to achieve this goal. At times missions could also be delicate which reflects how interactions with the Native Americans at this time were nothing but simple and the situation in the West were constantly changing. The term "cavalry" is mentioned quite often which is to be expected since Custer is a cavalry officer in the West. Many of the times the term cavalry is used is in the context of their exploits on the battlefield under Custer's command. He depicts them as a valiant and brave force on the battlefield, describing how they would attack in various battles and fire on the enemy. In one instance Custer describes their exploits on the field saying they were "left masters of the field" further showing their conquest of the Native Americans. These terms examined in context of Custer's book show how the cavalry were used in the West and the ways they conducted combat against the Native Americans. Custer shows that while they believed they were sent to befriend the enemies they often had to fight them as well. Custer is a biased source who will obviously prefer cavalry over infantry. However, despite this Custer provides an insight into what orders were being given and how the cavalry were expected to be used to achieve the Army's goals in the West. From Custer's perspective it is clear that they were a valuable tool for securing the West but is he just too biased of a source to be reflective of officer's opinions at this time?
Régis de Trobraind's Memoirs
This section will examine the life of Régis de Trobriand as presented in the book The life and memoirs of Comte Régis de Trobriand, major-general in the army of the United States edited and published by his daughter Marie Caroline Post after his death. Régis de Trobriand is not as well-known as George Custer, but had similar experiences to the famous cavalier. Régis de Trobriand was a French immigrant who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Trobraind was a regiment commander throughout the early years of the war and saw action in some of the bloodiest battles of the war including Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. By the end of the War Trobraind had earned himself the brevet rank of Major General of Volunteer forces in the Union Army. After the war he would be nominated by Grant to be the Colonel commanding the 31st U.S. Infantry but took a leave of absence to return to France to publish a book on his time in the Union Army. After this absence he returned to the U.S. in July of 1867 and fought in the West until 1874 when he was sent to New Orleans where he would later retire to (Memoirs of Régis de Trobriand). Looking into Trobraind's experience in the West provides insight into the views of an officer in the West that is not and was not as well-known and George Custer. This provides a balance between the opinions of a cavalry officer who favored war, Custer, and how typical infantry officer viewed things in the West.
This Cirrus word frequency tool in Figure 25 shows the twenty five most frequently used words in this chapter of Trobraind's memoirs. The two most frequently used words in this section are "general" which appears 196 times and Trobraind" which appears 124 times. At first glance it is interesting that the second most used word in this section of his memoirs is his own name. This is rather unusual considering memoirs are not typically written in the third person. When this work is examined in closer detail there is an understandable explanation for the frequency of his name. Throughout this chapter of the memoirs, Trobraind's correspondence and orders between himself and other officers is reprinted in this book. These letters and correspondence are then followed by Trobraind's notes putting these letters into larger context. The letters are also by Trobraind's opinion on the events taking place at this time. Since there are so many letters and orders reprinted here, it is understandable that his name appears this often considering he signs his name at the end of each letter and order issued. The term "general" similarly would be used in most of these letters as Trobraind addresses a variety of officers in these letters and includes their rank as well. As a Civil War veteran too, many officers received brevet ranks during the war and it was not uncommon for these veterans to address each other with these ranks. Brevet ranks were an honorary promotion given to an soldiers in recognition of gallant conduct or other meritorious service, often on the battlefield. At this time in the U.S. Army there were not medals awarded to recognize bravery on the battlefield and the brevet ranks served this purpose at the time. A brevet rank was relatively meaningless in terms of authority in the field in the regular army of the West. For example Trobraind was a Colonel in the Army but a brevet Major General. While he received a Colonel's pay and level of command (a regiment of men), Trobraind was allowed to use his brevet title in correspondence. Brevet ranks rarely came into play in the West when deciding authority but when they did it was in specific situations where U.S. Army and Volunteer forces were serving together. If a General of Volunteers and a Colonel in the Army disputed who should lead, the Colonel's brevet rank would be used to determine who was in command. If this were to happen to Trobraind, in many cases he would be in command having the brevet rank of Major General (unless a higher ranking U.S Army officer was present). In this work the term "general" was also used to reference officers leading different units and commanding different positions and locations. Something that further sets this work apart from Custer's is the frequency that the terms "snow" and "new" appear in this chapter. Each word appears around one hundred times in this work. These terms imply that during his time in the West Trobraind was exposed to numerous changes and a lot of snow. Being assigned to Fort Shaw in Montana, it is interesting to see how important the weather was in Trobraind's recollections of his time in the West. Compared to the other Army documents examined in this project, Trobraind's memoirs does not use the word "Indian" very often. Considering how many battles took place in Montana and the number of forts there , as can be seen on the forts and battles tabs of the story map on the Sheridan: Indian Fighter page, its is surprising how little Trobraind mentions the Native Americans. Since the armed conflicts seem to peak after 1874 it is possible that his time in the West was more peaceful.
Figure 26 shows the Terms tool for Trobraind's memoirs focuses on the terms "Indians", "cavalry", and "command" and how they were used in this chapter. The "cavalry" and "Indians" were selected to see how they are used in more detail and how their use in Trobraind's work compares to the others examined. "Command" was selected as it appears relatively frequently at 83 times in this chapter. How this term is used will show if Trobraind is descriptive in his recollections or if command is simply used frequently (like "Trobraind") because of the correspondence and orders reprinted in this work. Scrolling down the tool will allow you to see how these terms are used specifically. Unlike other documents, the Cavalry are only used 11 times. Since Trobraind was not a cavalry officer in the Civil War or in the West it would be understandable that he does not often references these forces when he recalls his experiences in the 31st U.S. Infantry. However, when he does mention the cavalry it is important to note that he complains that when the cavalry were taken from his post it left his position "ineffective" against the Native Americans. For a veteran officer to feel ineffective with his infantry against the Native Americans shows that officers in the West knew that the cavalry were the preferred unit to combat the Native Americans and that they desired cavalry to be stationed at the posts they commanded. This further highlights the change in military strategy and thinking that has been seen shifting since the Civil War. The term "command" is used for the expected military reasons, describing what officers were leading which units and who was in command of what thing. It is also used to describe the Native Americans and what forces were available to various tribes and chiefs. The forces available to these groups and leaders were reflective of their influence and importance on the plains at this time. "Indians" is the most frequent term examined, occurring 107 times in this chapter. However comparatively it is used much less than in other documents examined so far. It is interesting to see the context in which the Indians are used in this document because Trobraind frequently references the problems they had with communicating with them. There was an obvious language barrier between these people and while there were interpreters and translators it is interesting to see that this was noted by Trobraind. This could possibly be because of his foreign origins and reflective of the difficulties he experienced when he first came to the U.S.
Comparison
Initially each of these officers had different experiences on the plains. While Custer appeared to be fighting in the field with the 7th Cavalry in pursuit of the Native Americans, Trobraind was experiencing snow filled months at his Fort and was left without his cavalry to combat the Native Americans in the region. Each of the tools above show in detail how the officers both had unique experiences in the West but there were similarities. Each appears to have struggled with the Native Americans. Each offer mentions time and terms relating to it rather frequently in their works. By further examination of these works together using Voyant, a detailed view of their similarities and differences can be seen.
Figure 27: Custer and Trobraind Trends
Figure 27 uses the Trend tool to examine both the full text of Custer's book and a chapter of Trobraind's memoirs to show how often the terms "Indians", "Indian", "War", "Time", "Snow", "Cavalry", and "Sheridan" are used in each of these works respectively. Figure 27 shows which term was used most frequently in each work and connects it to the other work. It is interesting to use this tool with two sources because it shows how important a term can be in Custer's work and much less so in Trobraind's, or vice versa. Both "Sheridan" and "cavalry" are used far more frequently in Custer's work. Considering how many correspondences are placed in Trobraind's work, it is interesting that Sheridan does not appear more frequently since he was commanding the West from 1870-1874 which was half of Trobraind's years serving in the West. Comparatively "Snow" is used far more often in Trobraind’s work than Custer's. This is interesting because Custer was a part of numerous winter campaigns in which the snow played a crucial role in limiting Indian mobility. Trobraind was less active in the field comparatively but was stationed in a more northern and colder location than Custer. Possibly Trobraind's recollection of his time there was influenced by the cold weather he experienced. The remaining terms "time", "Indian", and "War" are used frequently in both works but as the visual shows they appear more often in Custer’s. It is important to consider that Custer's work is three times longer than Trobraind's chapter on his time in the West, as such these terms would be expected to appear more often. That being said both of these works place emphasis on these three words.
Custer and Trobriand: Two Perspectives on the West
These two officers served in the Civil War and the American West in different regions and branches of the service. As such they had very different experiences in both conflicts. Despite this their works, which both cover similar periods of their respective times in the West, are examples of the different opinions in the U.S. Army officer corps during the early 1870s. Custer shows how the mission of the Army and the Cavalry in the plains was intended to be a friendly one to the Native Americans. Comparatively Trobraind reflects similar opinions through his interactions with the Indians and the struggles he faced communicating with them. When these officers had to engage with the Native Americans, both the veteran infantry officer and veteran cavalry officer emphasized how important the cavalry were to effectively defending the West and pursuing the Native Americans. The cavalry were imperative to military success against the Native Americans in the West and this visible shift in opinion amongst front line officers shows a change in military thinking from the Civil War. How these sources compare to the articles from the ANJ will be examined in the next section.