Historical Perceptions
This is Steven Petrick writing once more.
I thought I would return to the issue once more on how the presentation of information can shade perceptions.
The History Channel's presentation of Custer's Last Stand reinforced its view of how poorly the troopers in the Seventh Cavalry were trained by noting that more than 250 troopers were killed by the American Indians, whereas there are only 50 American Indians buried there. The History Channel's presenters were unable to see the dichotomy of what they were saying. That the troopers were so poorly trained that they only managed to kill one Native American for every five of them that fell. However, the obverse is that the troopers were so well trained that every Native American they hit was killed outright.
The thing you have to understand is that the fight was a GUN BATTLE until near the end. In a gun battle there are typically two to four wounded men for every one man killed. If 50 Native Americans were killed, it means that somewhere between 100 and 200 were wounded. While 50 were buried on the battlefield, there is no accounting for the number of Native American wounded that subsequently died as they withdrew their camp.
The reason there are more than 250 dead Seventh Cavalry troopers is because the Native Americans, as per their custom, slaughtered the wounded, but this is carefully danced around in the History Channel presentation. After all, these two notes interfere with the presentation of the Native American Plains Tribes as the greatest warriors in history.
The above is not to say, by the way, that the Native Americans were not justified in trying to keep what was theirs. Whether it was the Seminoles, or the Aztecs, or the Incas, or the Apaches, or the Huron, or the Sioux, they had the right to defend themselves from European encroachment. Just as the different tribes and nations made war on each other to defend what each considered its own, or to take lands and property from each other. Europeans did not bring war to the Americas, but they did bring more advanced technology and better organization for waging war, and yes more virulent diseases.
I thought I would return to the issue once more on how the presentation of information can shade perceptions.
The History Channel's presentation of Custer's Last Stand reinforced its view of how poorly the troopers in the Seventh Cavalry were trained by noting that more than 250 troopers were killed by the American Indians, whereas there are only 50 American Indians buried there. The History Channel's presenters were unable to see the dichotomy of what they were saying. That the troopers were so poorly trained that they only managed to kill one Native American for every five of them that fell. However, the obverse is that the troopers were so well trained that every Native American they hit was killed outright.
The thing you have to understand is that the fight was a GUN BATTLE until near the end. In a gun battle there are typically two to four wounded men for every one man killed. If 50 Native Americans were killed, it means that somewhere between 100 and 200 were wounded. While 50 were buried on the battlefield, there is no accounting for the number of Native American wounded that subsequently died as they withdrew their camp.
The reason there are more than 250 dead Seventh Cavalry troopers is because the Native Americans, as per their custom, slaughtered the wounded, but this is carefully danced around in the History Channel presentation. After all, these two notes interfere with the presentation of the Native American Plains Tribes as the greatest warriors in history.
The above is not to say, by the way, that the Native Americans were not justified in trying to keep what was theirs. Whether it was the Seminoles, or the Aztecs, or the Incas, or the Apaches, or the Huron, or the Sioux, they had the right to defend themselves from European encroachment. Just as the different tribes and nations made war on each other to defend what each considered its own, or to take lands and property from each other. Europeans did not bring war to the Americas, but they did bring more advanced technology and better organization for waging war, and yes more virulent diseases.
posted by Federation Commander at 10:14 AM
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