An Analysis of the Health Service Support to the Centennial Campaign of 1876

The Centennial Campaign of 1876 is a valuable example of warfare between the US and Native Americans. Originally conceived as a punitive campaign, three columns of combined cavalry and infantry units under the overall command of General Phillip Sheridan converged on the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian hunting grounds with the goal of subduing recalcitrant groups. The campaign included two of the largest battles fought during the Plains Indian Wars and consequently the largest casualty rates before its close in September of 1876. Supporting each column was a skeleton of the health service support system that evolved during the Civil War. This thesis evaluates the health service support provided to the Centennial Campaign units, primarily those engagements leading up to and immediately after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It also addresses how leadership decisions and philosophies influenced medical planning. The major aspects of health service support are analyzed from the viewpoint of current medical planning doctrine and assessed based on the health service support structure and techniques developed during the Civil War. This analysis provides a focused and holistic view of health service that is absent in the major studies of the Centennial Campaign of 1876.