The Dakota War : The United States Army Versus the Sioux, 1862-1865 Book

This history by Clodfelter is a good example of what drives Dakota people crazy when white historians write about the Dakota War. There are many instances of thoughtless usage, but the more basic issue is the failure to read sources critically. Sometimes Clodfelter seems judicious, weighing the credibility and weight of alternative narratives, but then other times he seems thoughtless. Here is an offline example, that is, one not directly pertaining to the main action. Clodfelter recounts how following the Mexican War, Alfred Sully eloped with the fifteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy Hispanic family in California. Then,
Sully's teenage wife suffered the fate of so many women in the past; she died at the age of seventeen soon after the birth of their son. The son did not long survive the mother. He died in the embrace of love when we was accidentally smothered to death by his grandmother, who was sleeping beside him.And Clodfelter just lets this pass.

So, the work stands as a useful introduction to the campaigns of 1862-65, but it is not as critical or enlightening as it might be, and especially lacks considered treatment of Indian actions.