Description
Book SynopsisRobert Aquinas McNally tells the wrenching story of the Modoc War of 1872–73, fought in south-central Oregon and northeastern California, this was one of the nation’s most dramatic conflicts against North American Indigenous peoples.
Trade Review"
The Modoc War is a devastating history of defiant indigenous resistance during the Gilded Age of the nineteenth century. McNally's fast-paced, blow-by-blow account chronicles the daring actions of Modoc freedom fighters, treacherous U.S. soldiers, genocidal American settlers, and hubristic military leaders that scarred the West during the "Indian Wars" of the post–Civil War era. But this is more than simply a long-overdue accounting of broken treaties, broken promises, and tragic removal in California. McNally also shines a mirror at us, demanding a reckoning for the demographic and cultural genocide that occurred in the Klamath Basin and across the American West."—Natale A. Zappia,
California History"McNally provides a brutally frank and damningly well-documented account of the war's sordid background."—Bradley A. Scott,
Foreword Reviews"General readers and scholars interested in an excellent, detailed narrative history of the Modoc War will be well served by McNally's work."—Brendan Lindsay,
Western Historical Quarterly"McNally is a strong storyteller with a conversational style and an eye for telling details. . . . This honest accounting of the cruelty, corruption, and savagery of the settlers—who believed their actions were smiled upon by God—takes a step forward in correcting a sanitized and muffled history."—
Publishers Weekly"Robert McNally's fresh perspective on the Modoc War will engage and inform both scholars and interested general readers."—Dwight S. Mears,
Michigan War Studies Review"The Modoc War was as much a media narrative as it was a historical event. What made and continues to make the Modoc War compelling in this sense is that it was among the first such narratives to be reported in real time through the then-novel technology of the telegraph, photography, and mass-produced newspapers—presaging much of our media landscape today."—Mark Axel Tveskov,
Oregon Historical Quarterly"McNally's
The Modoc War uses the power of hindsight to characterize historical subjects in thematic fashion, revealing deeper motivations behind the heartrending war in the Lava Beds."—Ishmael Elias,
News from Native California"McNally provides an excellent background to the events leading to the war. . . . This is a sad tale of stereotyping Indians as savages; bureaucratic insensitivity; and Indian resistance to injustice, well told in a compelling narrative."—Abraham Hoffman,
Roundup Magazine"This volume provides the historical and cultural context of the Modoc war in great detail."—Steven C. Haack,
Journal of America's Military Past"Robert Aquinas McNally's storytelling talent is on full display in this history of the Modoc War, a violent conflict on the Oregon-California border in 1872–1873. . . . [
The Modoc War deserves] a prominent place in the literature on frontier Indian wars and exemplifies a well-researched, engaging narrative technique."—William S. Kiser,
Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Duel at Lost River
Part 1. Holy Lands Here and There
1. Bad to Worse
2. Stone and Story
3. Running the Pagans Out of the Promised Land
4. Death Squads, Sex Slaves, and Knights of the Frontier
5. The Peace That Wasn’t, the Treaty That Was, Kind Of
6. The Bacon of Three Hundred Hogs
7. Gray-Eyed Rancher to the Rescue
Part 2. True Fog, Real War
8. Glove and Fist
9. Modoc Steak for Breakfast
10. A Look Inside
11. First Fog of War
12. Celebration and Postmortem
Part 3. Firing into a Continent
13. Give Peace a Chance
14. The News That Fits
15. Heroic Reporter Dens with Lions
16. Talking for Peace, Lying for War
17. The Warrior Takes Command
18. Squeeze Play
19. A Homeland to Be Named Later
20. Pride and Prejudice in the Peace Tent
21. Martyrs at Midday
22. The War Goes Cosmic
23. Girding for Battle
24. Half-Empty Victory
25. Scalps and Skulls
26. Into the Volcanic Valley of Death
Part 4. Things Fall Apart
27. The Center Cannot Hold
28. Hounds and Scouts
29. Hang ’em High
30. Varnishing Vengeance
31. Still Small Voices Swell
32. Strangled Necks, Severed Heads
33. Exile and Showbiz
34. Requiem
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Index
