''The Indian Wars Refought'' is a 1914 American silent

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film that depicts several historical battles of The Indian Wars. The film was directed by

Theodore Wharton Theodore Wharton (1875–1931) was an American film director, producer and writer. He directed 48 films in the 1910s and 1920s, including the 1915 '' The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford'' featuring Oliver Hardy. Biography Wharton was bo ...

and stars William F. Cody,

Nelson Appleton Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War (1861–1865), the later American Indian Wars (1840–1890), and the Spanish–American War, (1898). From 1895 to 1903 ...

and Charles King, all of whom participated in the actual battles depicted in the movie. The feature was produced by the Buffalo Bill Historical Picture Company and Essanay Film Mfg. Company. The film was released in August 1914, but according to modern sources, it only played in

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and

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because of pressure from the government, which disapproved of its content because it showed the Indians in a somewhat favorable light. It is now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. According to news sources from 1917, the original film was titled ''Wars of Civilization'', but other alternate titles for the feature include: ''The Last Indian Battles'', ''From the Warpath to the Peace Pipe'', ''The Wars for Civilization in America'', ''Buffalo Bill's Indian Wars'' and ''Indian War Pictures''.

Synopsis

The film recreates four battles – the

Battle of Summit Springs The Battle of Summit Springs, on July 11, 1869, was an armed conflict between elements of the United States Army under the command of Colonel Eugene A. Carr and a group of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers led by Tall Bull, who was killed during the engagem ...

, the

Battle of Warbonnet Creek The Battle of Warbonnet Creek was a skirmish characterized by a duel between "Buffalo Bill" Cody and a young Cheyenne warrior named Heova'ehe or Yellow Hair (often incorrectly translated as "Yellow Hand"). The engagement is often referred to as ...

, the Battle of the Mission and the Battle of Wounded Knee – which were fought by the

United States Cavalry The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The United States Cavalry was formally created by an act of United States Congress, Congress on 3 August 1861 and ceased as a dist ...

and various tribes of the

Sioux Indians The Lakota (; or ) are a Native American people. Also known as the Teton Sioux (from ), they are one of the three prominent subcultures of the Sioux people, with the Eastern Dakota (Santee) and Western Dakota (). Their current lands are in ...

. The movie also features re-enactments of the Campaign of the Ghost Dance or Messiah Craze War, and the capture of Chief Big Foot. The feature also depicted Indian war dances, burning of camps and tepees, horse rustling and scalping. The end of the picture included scenes of Indian children attending modern schools and Indian farmers bringing in their crops.

Cast

* William F. Cody *

* Jesse M. Lee * Frank D. Baldwin * Marion P. Maus * Charles King * H. G. Sickles * Short Bull *

Dewey Beard Dewey Beard or Wasú Máza ("Iron Hail", 1858–1955) was a Minneconjou Lakota who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn as a teenager. After George Armstrong Custer's defeat, Wasu Maza followed Sitting Bull into exile in Canada and then bac ...

Production and background

William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) approached

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Lindley M. Garrison and

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*Interior ministry ...

Franklin K. Lane about making this film. Garrison supplied Cody with the necessary troops from the 12th U. S. Cavalry and Lane authorized the participation of over 1,000 Sioux Indians. Lieutenant General Nelson Appleton Miles was hired as a technical consultant to make sure that the re-enactments were as accurate as possible, and was a cast member as well. Colonel H. G. Sickles and Charles King recreated their parts in the original battles of Wounded Knee and Warbonnet Creek, respectively. The film was shot at the sites of the original battles between September 1913 and November 1913 in the Bad Lands of South Dakota and the Black Hills of Wyoming. On February 27, 1914, the film was screened for Secretary Lane and other members of Woodrow Wilson's cabinet. After Cody's death in 1917, footage from the film was used in ''The Adventures of Buffalo Bill'', a tribute to the late Cody.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Wars Refought, The 1914 films 1914 Western (genre) films 1914 lost films American black-and-white films Battles involving the Arapaho Battles involving the Cheyenne Battles involving the Sioux Films directed by Theodore Wharton English-language Western (genre) films Lost American Western (genre) films Native Americans in popular culture Sioux in popular culture Silent American Western (genre) films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films