The period 1865-90 was one of unparalleled change in American frontier
history. This span of 25 years witnessed the end of the traditional
nomadic lifestyle of the plains Indians, the colonisation of the West by
white settlers, and the first experience of the US army in fighting a
form of irregular warfare for which its soldiers and commanders were
untrained, and its equipment unsuited. That they acquitted themselves so
well in the face of bureaucratic meddling, poor supply and appalling
climatic conditions, speaks highly of the tenacity and physical
toughness of the volunteers who served in the West during campaigns such
as the Comanche Campaign (1867-1875), the Red River War (1874-1875), the
Nez Perce War (1877), and the Ghost Dance War (1890-1891) among others.