General George Crook 1828-1890
Crook, George, 1828–90,
U.S. general, b. near Dayton, Ohio, grad. West Point, 1852. During the
Civil War, Crook commanded a regiment of Ohio volunteers as colonel. After
the war he operated so successfully against the Paiute and Snake in Idaho
and the Apache in Arizona that he was promoted (1873) to brigadier general
in the regular army. Made commander of the Dept. of the Platte in 1875,
he was engaged in the hard-fought Sioux War of 1876. In Arizona in 1883,
Crook led an expedition into the mountains against a Chiricahua band of
the Apache and finally succeeded in persuading Geronimo to return to the
reservation (1884). Later, Geronimo broke his pact and escaped, which
led to censure of Crook's policies and his voluntary resignation. From
1888 until his death Crook was major general and commander of the Division
of the Missouri. Although his fame rested upon his Native American campaigns,
Crook also had a reputation for enlightened patience and integrity in
dealing with Native American affairs, preferring negotiation to warfare.
See his autobiography (ed. by M. F. Schmitt, 2d ed. 1960) and contemporary
accounts by J. F. Finerty (1961) and C. King (rev. ed. 1964).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.