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The Plainsmen #2
Red Cloud's Revenge
Seven months of small reprisals since the Fetterman massacre had passed.
Sergeant Seamus Donegan of the Army of the West had witnessed proud leaders--both Indian and White--steel themselves for the withering clashes to come.
And on two consecutive summer days, battle erupted--drowning the Dakota Territory in a dam-burst of bloodshed: the Hay Field Fight and Wagon Box Fight of 1867.
Sergeant Seamus Donegan of the Army of the West had witnessed proud leaders--both Indian and White--steel themselves for the withering clashes to come.
And on two consecutive summer days, battle erupted--drowning the Dakota Territory in a dam-burst of bloodshed: the Hay Field Fight and Wagon Box Fight of 1867.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 15, 1990
37 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Terry C. Johnston
77 books102 followers Terry C. Johnston was born January 1, 1947 in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
Nineteen publishers rejected Johnston's first novel, Carry the Wind, before it was printed in 1982. However, this first novel was to gain the honor of receiving the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer's Award for best first fiction. Johnston is known for his eye for historical detail, and he is a stickler for accuracy. He is known for traveling and exploring down known and unknown dusty roads during the hot summer months, and traversing slippery, muddy roads and hiking through snow to stand upon a historical sight that he would tell his readers in an upcoming book. "Parking in the lower lot, I trudged up the hill to reach the spot where Colonel John Gibbon's infantry waited out the last hours before their attack on the unsuspecting camp. Standing there in the icy snowstorm I was totally overwhelmed by the sight of those skeletal cones of lodgepoles standing stark against the low, gray sky . . ." Some of the sites that he would stand upon were known to the world like the Little Big Horn Battlefield and others would be obscure to the average reader like the Weippe Prairie north of Lochsa. He is known to combine "a roaring good tale with fascinating insights into the lives and times of his principal characters, generally managing to employ his extensive knowledge to enhance a story rather than intrude upon it" (Whitehead, 1991). Johnston would say that he considered himself "not a literary writer but a storyteller." His desire was to reach and teach thousands if not millions of readers about the early western frontier.
He accomplished part of this goal, not only through his books, but through discussions given to elementary children, lectures at symposiums, and historical one-week tours "during which you will re-live the grit and blood, the tears and tragedy of the great Indian Wars." He would blend historical fact with human emotion to re-create the past during his historical tours each summer. One presentation he gave to a fourth grade class was about the Plains Indian culture. He held a discussion with a Honors English class in Castle Rock middle school about "research, writing, and editing that goes into producing two historical novels each year, when compared to their "term papers." He gave keynote speeches at seminars and lectures at symposiums. He traveled all around Montana to sign books for fans, and he signed the books at the local Albertson's in each town. He held radio interviews that "took me into cities, talking before audiences, I never would have managed to reach otherwise."
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 8, 2012
There is quite a bit of action packed into book #2 as compared to #1. A little less background on the characters, but a few new characters tossed in.
Johnston goes into more detail of some of the Native Americans and their different customs. You may be offended at some of the stories, but this was a bloody time on the plains. This second book ends with vivid details of the Hay Field Fight and the Wagon Box Fight. Two battles that had drastic consequences for Red Cloud's warriors.
Johnston goes into more detail of some of the Native Americans and their different customs. You may be offended at some of the stories, but this was a bloody time on the plains. This second book ends with vivid details of the Hay Field Fight and the Wagon Box Fight. Two battles that had drastic consequences for Red Cloud's warriors.
August 15, 2018
Excellent action sequences which really made the book. And some interesting character developments about Donegan. Excellent.
September 1, 2020
2nd time reading this book. Loved it. Terry's telling of both the Hayfield and Wagon Box fights are intense as it gets. I'll read this again in another 20 years if I'm still alive.
September 13, 2021
Meh. Second in the series, the first of which also was a bit lackluster. The continuing story arc with Seamus made this one a bit more interesting. I only read these novels due to my interest in the historical events involved. I am interested in the events depicted later in the series, but I don't know if I will continue reading.
May 10, 2018
Very boring and the writing is very corny. Stomach wrenching at times. Mixing romance in a Western is not for me.
June 29, 2023
This western series which features the fictional character Seamus Donegan is about as good as historical fiction should be. Johnston researches the battles well and Seamus interacts with non-fictional characters like Jim Bridger. The Wagon Box fights were where large numbers of Indians attacked smaller groups of the Army along with civilian contractors. In this instance, great numbers of Indians were slain and the whites survived. This is an interesting story. I can’t wait for the next.
September 29, 2023
Read it!
Great story telling. Combining history and fiction to keep you reading from beginning to the end. The end...give me more!
Great story telling. Combining history and fiction to keep you reading from beginning to the end. The end...give me more!
September 13, 2010
The Plainsmen series, Book 2, continues. Again, easy read, lots of action and personalities/characters. The continued action of the fight for the Bozeman Trail.
March 31, 2013
Terry C. Johnston, the Stephen King of Westerns.
March 11, 2018
Un-romanticized, gritty, and real. Great book of the west by a great author. Couldn't put it down!
September 7, 2016
Will give an overall review when I have finished the series this year,2016.
Read
July 14, 2017Very exciting, great detail of events and characters.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews