John Benton Hart
After 150 years, a new witness to some celebrated Civil War and frontier events steps forward. In the 1920s, my great-grandfather John Benton Hart dictated memories of fighting Confederates in Missouri in 1864 and Indians in Wyoming in 1865, followed by adventures along the ill-starred Bozeman Trail to Montana. “Johnny’s” lively accounts amplify a sparse record, sometimes challenging received knowledge. (Who carried the mail between embattled Forts C. F. Smith and Phil Kearny? Who really killed High-Backed Wolf?) Also striking are his pages on the life of the Crow Indians, allied with the government in the bitter Bozeman conflict. I’m deep into editing the memoir; University of Oklahoma Press will publish.