White River Massacre Author:Karl Lassiter On September 15, 1879, 140 soldiers under the command of Major T.T. Thornburg left Wyoming Territory for the White River Agency in the heart of the Ute Reservation. — Their mission: to protect a fanatical U.S. Indian Agent determined to "civilize" the Ute tribes. — As Thornburg and his troops passed beneath the shadow of the Shining Moun... more »tains - the Ute name for the Rockies - they could not guess that they were riding into a death trap.
For three days, Thornburg's men were plunged into a horrific battle for survival against 300 Ute warriors, who attacked them with a fierceness borne of fury.
Meanwhile, 65 miles away, at the White River Agency, a massacre had erupted, sweeping soldiers and civilians into a brutal siege.
Now, as the U.S. military scrambles to save its troops, and the divided Ute nation finds itself backed into a corner, fighters and innocents will meet and die - in one last, bloody stand...« less