The Fetterman Massacre occurred on December 21, 1866, at Fort Phil Kearny, a small outpost in the foothills of the Big Horns. The second battle in American history from which came no survivors, it became a cause célèbre and was the subject of a congressional investigation.

Dee Brown is the author of several novels in addition to his nonfiction books, which include Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, The Gentle Tamers: Women of the Old Wild West, and The Galvanized Yankees.

"This meticulously documented book . . . , based on Army records and firsthand reports, should stand as definitive. [It] is, by far, the best account yet of Fort Phil Kearny and the stirring events that took place. . . . A must for devotees of Western Americana."—Robert F. Hannon, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"For the first time we have the detailed story of all the little fights that preceded the major disaster. . . . It is one of the best studies that has been made of any sector of the Indian wars."—Don Russell, Chicago Sunday Tribune