Author Archives: Sam Russell

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About Sam Russell

I am a fifth-generation retired Army officer with three decades of commissioned service. I have been researching the frontier Army for over eighteen years and am interested in documenting the lives of the soldiers that participated in the battle of Wounded Knee using primarily official reports, diaries, letters, newspaper articles and other primary source documents. My interest in Wounded Knee stems from my kinship to one of the principal participants. I am the great-great-grandson of Samuel M. Whitside, who was a major and battalion commander at the battle. I welcome and encourage comments on posts and pages and am always interested in any new primary sources. If you have copies of letters, diaries, etc, from participants and are willing to share, please contact me. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are strictly my own, and should in no way be construed as official Army or U.S. Government positons.

1891 Annual Report of Major General Miles – Part 4


Major General Nelson A. Miles concluded his annual report of 1891 by detailing the affairs at Wounded Knee and Drexel Mission, the effect those two incidents had on the overall campaign, and the eventual surrender of all the hostile Indians. … Continue reading

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1891 Annual Report of Major General Miles – Part 3


In Part 3 of his Annual Report of 1891, Major General Nelson A. Miles details the arrest and death of Sitting Bull, the arrest of Hump, the disposition of the troops deployed to the region, and Brigadier General John R. … Continue reading

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1891 Annual Report of Major General Miles – Part 2


After detailing the cause of Indian disaffection at each of the reservations in Part 1 of his Annual Report, Major General Nelson A. Miles went on to discuss the origins of the Messiah “Delusion” and the ghost dance, and how … Continue reading

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