Oliver Howard was a United States military General who was ordered to escort the Nez Perce to a reservation in 1877.
When Nez Perce Chief Joseph refused to relocate to the reservation, Howard mobilized his men, prompting Joseph to flee with his people to Canada.[1]
Joseph subsequently engaged in thirteen battles with Howard's forces. In August, Howard sent word to Colonel Nelson Miles, in awe of Joseph's implausible retreat to British Columbia and commanded Miles to intercept Joseph, who eventually surrendered on October 5.[1]
Howard ordered his adjutant, Captain Charles Erskine Wood, to take Joseph as a prisoner of war. When Chief White Bird escaped captivity, Howard felt this was a violation of the terms of surrender on Joseph's part, thus absolving the American government's responsibility to return the Native Americans to their land.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a United States Army officer who served in the Civil War and later commanded several campaigns against Native American tribes.
Chris Mulkey provided narration for Howard's dispatch for Colonel Miles in the audiobook version of The Secret History of Twin Peaks.
