GEORGE CROOK. 



243 



CROOK, GEORGE, soldier, born near Day- 

 ton, Ohio, Sept. 8, 1828 ; died in Chicago, 111., 

 March 1, 1890. He was graduated at the United 

 States Military Academy in 1852, and was as- 

 signed to the Fourth Infantry as brevet second 



GEORGE CROOK. 



lieutenant. In the regular .army he was pro- 

 moted second lieutenant, July 7, 1853, and rose 

 by successive gradations to major-general, April 

 6, 1888. In the volunteer service he was ap- 

 pointed colonel of the Thirty -sixth Ohio In- 

 fantry Sept. 13, 1861 ; promoted brigadier-gen- 

 eral Sept. 7, 1862, and major-general Oct. 21, 

 1864; and was mustered out of the service Jan. 

 15, 1866. He was brevetted major-general of 

 volunteers, July 18, 1864, for distinguished serv- 

 ices in West Virginia. 



Gen. Crook accompanied the Rogue river ex- 

 pedition in 1855, and that to the Pitt river re- 

 gion in 1857. During the latter he was engaged 

 in several actions with the Indians, and received 

 an arrow wound in the leg. In 1858 he marched 

 with his command from Fort Ter-waw to Van- 

 couver, Washington, and after accompanying the 

 Yakima expedition he returned to Fort Ter-waw, 

 and remained there till the outbreak of the civil 

 war. He was then ordered East, and after taking 

 command of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry was 

 sent into West Virginia, where he served till 

 May 1, 1862. On May 23 he participated in the 

 action at Lewisburg, Va., and was wounded. 

 He was in command of the Third Provisional 

 Brigade from May 1, till Aug. 15, 1862; took 

 part in the campaign in northern Virginia in 

 August and September, and in the Maryland 

 campaign in September, and rendered important 

 service at South Mountain and Aritietam. After 

 further service in West Virginia, he was trans- 

 ferred to Tennessee in February, 1863; com- 

 manded a division at Carthage, Tenn., from March 

 till June ; and was given command of the Second 

 Cavalry Division on July 1. He was in command 

 in the advance on Tal'lahoma, June, July ; was 

 present in the action at Hanover Gap, June 26, 

 and the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19 and 20 ; 

 engaged in the pursuit of the Confederates under 

 Gen. Wheeler, Oct. 1-10; was conspicuous in the 

 actions at the base of the Cumberland mountains, 

 Oct. 3, McMinnville, Oct. 4, and Farmington, 

 Oct. 7; and operated from Shelbyville, Tenn., to 

 Rome, Ga., in October and November. From 

 February till June, 1864, he was in command of 

 the Kanawha District, W. Va. ; and, besides 

 raiding the Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, 



he took part in the actions at Cloyd mountain 

 and New River Bridge. In July and August he 

 commanded the National forces in West Virginia, 

 and was in the engagements at Snicker's Ferry. 

 July 19, and Kernstown, July 24 ; and while co- 

 operating with Gen. Sheridan in his famous Shen- 

 andoah valley campaign, from August till Decem- 

 ber, was in the battles at Berryville, Opequan, 

 Fisher's Hill, Strasburg, and Cedar Creek. From 

 March 26 till April 9, 1865, he commanded the 

 cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. 



After the war Gen. Crook was in command at 

 Wilmington, N. C., till September, 1865. He 

 was mustered out of the volunteer service Jan. 

 15, 1866, appointed lieutenant - colonel of the 

 Twenty-third Infantry, and assigned to duty 

 among the hostile Indians in Idaho. He first 

 directed a campaign against the Snakes, and, 

 after service on the Retiring Board at San Fran- 

 cisco, was appointed commander of the Depart- 

 ment of Arizona, where, in 1872, on the refusal of 

 the refractory Apaches to return to their reserva- 

 tion, he attacked them in the Santo Basin and 

 forced them into submission. He then under- 

 took to teach them the ways of civilization, en- 

 couraged them to engage in agriculture, and 

 pledged them his influence as long as they re- 

 mained peaceable. In 1875 he led a successful 

 campaign against the Sioux and Cheyennes. de- 

 feating them in a battle on Powder river, Wyo- 

 ming. In March, 1876, he gained another victory 

 over them, and in June was again the victor on 

 Tongue and Rosebud rivers. After the massacre 

 of Gen. Custer's command in June, Gen. Crook 

 pursued the hostiles to Slim Buttes, Dakota, de- 

 feated them so severely there that in May, 1877, 

 the hostiles surrendered. In 1882 he resumed 

 command in Arizona. In the following spring 

 he made a campaign against the Chiracahua In- 

 dians, who had intrenched themselves on the 

 Mexican border. He captured their camp, and 

 then made prisoners of one party after another 

 as they returned from raids, capturing nearly 

 400. Early in 1886, the Apaches, under chief 

 Geronimo, resumed hostilities. Gen. Crook pur- 

 sued them to a camp near San Bernadino, Mex- 

 ico, and demanded an unconditional surrender. 

 In reply they proposed : 1, that they should be 

 sent East with their families for not exceeding 

 two years ; 2, or that they should all return to 

 the reservation with their old status ; 3, or that 

 they would return to the war-path. Gen. Crook 

 agreed to receive their surrender on the first 

 proposition, and, telegraphing to Washington 

 for further instructions, was notified by Gen. 

 Sheridan, on April 1, that his plans were disap- 

 proved, and that he should insist on uncondi- 

 tional surrender, with a pledge to spare their 

 lives. Gen. Crook reaffirmed his belief that his 

 plan was the most likely to succeed, and con- 

 cluded : " It may be, however, that I am too 

 much wedded to my own views in this matter, 

 and, as I have spent nearly eight years of the 

 hardest work of my life in this department, I 

 respectfully request that I may be relieved from 

 its command." His request was granted, and 

 Gen. Miles was appointed his successor. In 1888 

 he was appointed major-general, United States 

 Army, and from that time till his death was in 

 command of the Military Division of the Mis- 

 souri, with headquarters at Chicago. 



