Ulysses Grant called Ranald Mackenzie (1840-89) "the most promising young
officer in the army."  After the reorganization of troops following the
Civil War, Mackenzie lead a black regiment stationed in Texas, where
Indian attacks were steadily increasing. Frustrated by reports of Comanche
Indians hiding in Mexico, he led several illegal raids across the border
in 1873, and after two years of fighting he broke the Indians' spirit in
the region.  After Little Bighorn, Mackenzie led the Fourth Cavalry
successfully against the Oglala Sioux and northern Cheyenne.  Though he
was demanding and irritable, Mackenzie was nonetheless one of the army's
most effective generals against the Indians.