As railroad construction advanced through the central plains and more and
more wagon trains journeyed to Colorado and the Southwest, the Indians
became increasingly incensed at the destruction of their habitat and
hunting grounds.  In the spring of 1867, General Winfield Scott Hancock
tried to subdue a village of Sioux and Cheyenne near Fort Larned, Kansas,
with military force, inciting war.  For the remainder of the summer,
Indians raided whole settlements and ambushed travel routes.  George
Custer, then a lieutenant colonel, and his Seventh Cavalry campaigned
strenuously throughout Kansas and Nebraska that year in largely
unsuccessful efforts to corner and defeat the Indians.  Pictured above is
the Seventh Cavalry in battle with Cheyenne warriors near Fort Wallace on
June 26, 1867.