The forts were still isolated.

The trail was still effectively closed to civilian traffic.

The supply lines were still vulnerable.

The resistance was ongoing and showed no signs of breaking.

And the new administration in Washington was increasingly convinced that the entire enterprise needed to be reconsidered.

The Strategy That Wore Down the Army

Understanding how Red Cloud’s coalition sustained its campaign requires understanding something about how Indigenous warfare on the northern plains worked in this period.

The Lakota and their allies were not an army in the European or American sense — not a permanent fighting force organized hierarchically, with standardized equipment and central command, operating year-round.