Fort Phil Kearny: The Hated Post On The Little Piney

In an effort to control Wyoming's Powder River Country and, in particular, the Bozeman Trail, the U.S. Army set up Fort Reno, Fort C.F. Smith, and Fort Phil Kearny. Written and narrated by Jerry Keenan, this program examines the fate of one of these outposts, Fort Phil Kearny, which existed from 1866-1869, and seemed to be under attack from the Sioux and neighboring Indian tribes almost daily. The tape concentrates on two famous battles in the area: The Fetterman Fight, in which Captain Fetterman and his troops were virtually wiped out by the Sioux, and the Wagon Box Fight, in which over 1,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors descended on a woodcutting camp, and were repulsed thanks to the recent addition of a new Springfield rifle which could fire 16 times a minute. Keenan, along with Western historian Sterling Fern, examine the sites, and verbally reconstruct the battles that occurred. The video quality is alright, and the sound--which occasionally includes wind over the microphone--is passable. Libraries with large military and war collections will want to consider this; for others it's not a necessary purchase. (Available from: The Old Army Press, 2290 E. Prospect, Suite 4, Ft. Collins, CO 80525; 1-800-627-0079.)