Conflict between American Indians and the U.S. Army happened throughout the West in the mid to late 1800s, but some of the most significant events occurred in Wyoming. This month, WyoHistory.org examines a few of these clashes. We also highlight some dashes: the 1950s rush to find uranium and the significance of its discovery here and throughout the world, and the political races and life led by a long-term early-day U. S. senator. In addition, we bring you splashes of color from an artist’s brush that continue to thrill with his romantic views of some of Wyoming’s most rugged landscapes.

The 1866 Fetterman fight and Crook’s 1876 campaigns
Near Fort Phil Kearny in December 1866 in what’s now northern Wyoming, Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors ambushed and killed Capt. William Fetterman and his entire command of 80 men. Fetterman’s arrogance has long been blamed for the disaster, but recent scholarship shows a more complex and nuanced story.
To learn more, read writer Shannon Smith’s “New Perspectives on the Fetterman Fight” at
www.wyohistory.org/essays/new-perspectives-fetterman-fight.
 
In the year of Custer’s defeat, Gen. George Crook led three expeditions into the Powder River country to subdue free-roaming Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne bands. The tribes defeated his troops twice and prevented them from linking up with Custer. On the third expedition, Crook’s soldiers destroyed Dull Knife’s village of Northern Cheyenne. Read more in WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt’s article “Crook’s Powder River Campaigns of 1876” at www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/crooks-powder-river-campaigns-1876.
 
Uranium: a continuing drama
 The story of uranium in Wyoming is a high-stakes drama whose cast includes fever-driven prospectors, ranchers defending their property rights, government officials intent on national security, entrepreneurs, engineers and world-class mining companies. To learn more, read “Wyoming’s Uranium Drama: Risks, Rewards and Remorse” by journalist Chamois L. Andersen and WyoHistory.org Assistant Editor Lori Van Pelt at
www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/wyomings-uranium-drama-risks-rewards-and-remorse.
 
U.S. Sen. Clarence Clark
 Clarence Don Clark was among the elite group of Wyoming politicians who rose to power in the 1880s and dominated territorial and state governmental affairs for decades. In background and temperament, Clark seemed an unlikely colleague to the flamboyant F. E. Warren and the contentious Joseph Carey. He was an attorney rather than a rancher or businessman, and his personal style was dignified and self-effacing. But like the other members of the “Warren machine,” he diligently served Wyoming as a staunch Republican. Between 1890 and 1917, he served briefly as a congressman, and then a much longer stint in the U.S. Senate. Historian Barbara Allen Bogart examines Clark’s life in “Clarence D. Clark, Longtime U.S. Senator” at
www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/clarence-clark.
 
Landscape artist Albert Bierstadt
 German-American artist Albert Bierstadt captured a transformative time in American history. His travels through Wyoming and the West gave Bierstadt a one-of-a-kind perspective for painting his best-known works in the 1850s and 1860s, and his grandiose landscapes and their idealized, pristine panoramas have sparked the imagination of generations. Read more of artist and art historian Maria Wimmer’s article at
www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/albert-bierstadt-landscapes-american-west.
 
Mark your calendars: Don’t miss the WSHS Trek in Jackson!
 The Wyoming State Historical Society’s annual trek is scheduled for June 20-22, 2014, in gorgeous and historic Jackson, Wyo. Registration deadline is June 2, 2014. If you’re planning to attend, however, remember that hotels fill quickly in Jackson in summer, so make your room reservations now.  For more information, visit the WSHS website at www.wyshs.org/programs/wyoming-state-historical-society-events.