Crook’s account of the Battle of the Rosebud is notable for its frank acknowledgment of the warriors’ effectiveness.

He described an enemy force that was tactically sophisticated — that used the terrain well, that coordinated its actions effectively, that refused to be drawn into the kind of set-piece engagement where the Army’s discipline and firepower would have been decisive advantages.

The warriors at the Rosebud — Cheyenne and Lakota, fighting together — demonstrated what Plains warfare at its most effective looked like: fluid, fast, responsive, exploiting terrain and the enemy’s tendency to form rigid defensive lines.

They attacked from multiple directions simultaneously, withdrew when pressed, reformed and attacked again.

They kept Crook’s column off-balance for six hours.

Among these warriors was Crazy Horse, who played a significant leadership role in the Rosebud fight as he would at Little Bighorn.

The tactical coordination at the Rosebud — the way the warriors anticipated Crook’s movements and positioned themselves to exploit his vulnerabilities — bore the marks of sophisticated leadership.

And somewhere in or near the fighting that day was Buffalo Calf Road Woman, watching for her brother, waiting for the moment when he needed her.

The moment came.

The accounts differ in small details — some say his horse was shot, some say he rode too far ahead, some say he was surrounded by soldiers — but the core event is consistent: Comes in Sight was in danger of being killed, and his sister came for him.