Children of Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877

by Bruce Hampton

Book Overview

Although the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) Indians gave instrumental help to Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition, they were rewarded by decades of invasive treaties and encroachment upon their... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080501991X
• ISBN13: 9780805019919
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 407 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A Story you didn't learn in school.

Children of Grace is one of those books that tells a story to which most of us have never been exposed. Certainly, we learn early and often about our conflicts with the Souix and Cheyenne, but not the Nez Perce. These are the people that helped Lewis and Clark. How then did we end up fighting them? Bruce Hampton clearly shows the circumstances and humiliations that ultimately lead the Nez Perce to hit the warpath. One of the most revealing aspects of the ensuing conflict is that the U.S. Army's defeat by the Nez Perce as White Bird Canyon was as devastating as the Little Bighorn or the Fetterman Massacre. And yet how many of us, outside of Idaho, have heard of the battle fought at White Bird Canyon?? Sounds like a great script for a John Ford classic.(Maybe other reviewers can point out if this conflict has been made it onto film.) Bruce Hampton brings to life an incredible journey undertaken by the Nez Perce as they pass through a huge area pursued by three separate U.S. Army commands. It's an incredible American story and one that is well worth the knowing. You may have heard of Chief Joseph's famous quote, "...I will fight no more forever." Read this excellent volume to find out why this legendary figure of the American West said these words.