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THBGeneral George Crook, Exceptionally Rare Cabinet Photograph by Mitchell & McGowan
About Seller
6270 Este Ave.
Cincinnati , OH 45232
United States
With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Denver, Cowan’s holds over 40 auctions each year, with annual sales exceeding $16M. We reach buyers around the globe, and take pride in our reputation for integrity, customer service and great results. A full-service house, Cowan’s Auctions specializes in Am...Read more
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About Auction
LiveNov 18, 2016 - Nov 19, 2016
Cowan's Auctions dawnie@cowans.com
View Full Catalog (475)
- Lot Description
Cabinet card featuring a studio portrait of General George Crook, with Mitchell & McGowan backmark. This rare photograph was likely taken in Northern Wyoming during the Indian Wars, ca 1878. Crook was moving between Omaha, Cheyenne, Red Cloud Agency and his troops. This photo could have been taken at any of those locations. Mitchell and McGowan were known to travel and were in Omaha, Cheyenne, and the Red Cloud Agency at that time.
The portrait graces the cover of The Gray Fox: George Crook and the Indian Wars, by Paul Magid, published in 2015.
Considered one of the greatest Indian fighters of all time, General George Crook graduated from West Point at the bottom of his class. His performance on the field was vastly better than at his desk. Soon after graduation, the Army stationed him in Northern California and Oregon. It was a valuable learning experience for Crook where he discovered how to survive under frontier conditions. The outbreak of the Civil War brought him back east for a short time. He was commissioned a captain in the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but soon took command of the Third Brigade of the Army of West Virginia. In 1862, he joined the Army of the Potomac and participated in the Battle of Antietam. Due to his heroism in the battle, Crook was appointed brigadier general by his superiors. The next year, he moved to the Army of the Cumberland under the command of General Rosecrans, where he continued to display extraordinary valor at the battles of Second Bull Run and Chickamauga. He continued to rise through the ranks, reaching the rank of major general in 1865. After the Civil War, he returned to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
After waging a successful two-year campaign against the Paiute in the Southwest, President Ulysses S. Grant personally placed Crook in charge of the Arizona Territory in 1871, with the responsibility of forcing rebellious Apache tribes onto reservations. However, he did not always live by the sword. He preferred to reach peaceful negations rather than resorting to violence. Unorthodox techniques, such as employing Apache scouts to guide his troops, brought peace to the region quickly and earned him a spectacular promotion from lieutenant colonel to brigadier general. Impressed by his success, Grant gave Crook the near impossible task of clearing miners out of the sacred regions of the Black Hills. By 1876, he was part of a coordinated attack designed to drive the defiant Lakota bands gathered around Sitting Bull back onto their reservations. He returned to Arizona in 1882 and attempted to quell a band of guerrillas under Geronimo. The campaign was not successful. He was relieved of his position and replaced by his haughty rival, General Nelson Miles, who successfully exiled Geronimo to Florida. Upon his promotion to major general, Crook took command of the Division of the Missouri, headquartered in Chicago.
A simple man, he was sober, abstained from cursing, and hated to wear his uniform, only wearing it when it was necessary. With a healthy respect for his former enemies, he fervently argued against corruption in the Indian Affairs office and white settlers encroaching on Indian lands, and advocated for the fair treatment of American Indians and granting them full citizenship. Lakota chief Red Cloud, a one-time adversary, said Crook "never lied to us. His words gave the people hope" (http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/crook.htm). Crook died on March 2, 1890 in Chicago.Condition
Albumen in overall near excellent condition. Warmly toned albumen photograph. Small imperfection in top left corner of albumen. Spotting is in the negative and not on surface of albumen. Very light corner wear to mount.
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