As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
For most of us, we know little about the man who died at his sister's home in New Jersey, after being forced out of the army, into an insane asylum and abandoned by a woman he had proposed to, because Brig. Gen. Ranald Slidell MacKenzie was once a man of promise who faded into the American landscape.
MacKenzie in many ways mirrored George Armstrong Custer in both arrived at West Point, as they could not afford an education. George Custer in his exuberance graduated last in his class with the most demerits. MacKenzie graduated the top of his class, was destined to be a mathematics professor, but the Civil War called both to service for the Union.
MacKenzie was an engineer for most of the war, while Custer was in the cavalry gallantly showing the Custer dash, after thoughtful consideration to the attack. It was late in the war at Cold Harbor that MacKenzie who became a favorite of Grant, was given an artillery unit at Cold Harbor, and with that success, rode down the Shenandoah terrorizing his men as much as Jubal Early's.
MacKenzie suffered horrific wounds. He had both fingers on his right hand blown off, for which he wound in the Indian wars become known as Bad Hand. He was shot in the thigh, was shot through both shoulders, but still he persisted in combat, rising through the ranks as George Custer did.
When the remnants of the Comanche in Texas had not responded to President Grant's Quaker policy of loving the Indians, Grant sent in MacKenzie to do to the Indians, what he had done to Rebs.
Something in MacKenzie and these commanders is baffling though, in they learned nothing of the past Indian fighters like Jack Hayes or Charles Goodnight. MacKenzie in force of over 600, almost got killed by a buffalo stampede, then the Indians ran off a number of his horses, they ambushed one of his scouting parties, and then the Comanche laid false trails that had MacKenzie's command freezing in a Norther as he had not brought winter clothes along.
It became worse in MacKenzie once lost 3000 Indian horses he had gained possession of, as the Indians took them back. Nothing of the lessons of George Custer at the Washita educated MacKenzie. Custer had been astute at the Washita in striking the Cheyenne unaware in winter, securing his position, killing the Indian horses to prove the Americans were not engaged in this retaliation for profit and when more Indians appeared, Custer drove them off, and then in a feint to save his supply wagons, moved toward the other camps in the dark, which drove off the Indians, and let Custer retreat with his hostages to safety.
MacKenzie though in his acidic manner from his many wounds learned little, and had great problems finding Indians. It took him years in crossing the high prairie to find the trails and watering holes, with mostly scorched earth battles in camps burned, and a few bucks shot, which finally broke the Comanche by attrition.
He became a friend of Stinker Quanah Parker, and made another mistake in letting him and his band loose to hunt buffalo. There were no buffalo, but they did meat rancher Charles Goodnight who they almost murdered, along with killing a number of his cattle.
After George Custer with his command was led to slaughter by a humiliated President Grant, as Custer had testified before Congress about Grant's corrupt Indian Ring, after court martial of the President's son in 1875 on the Black Hills expedition, it was Grant who sent MacKenzie to fight the Sioux and Cheyenne. The "fight" was more the work of proven commanders in Nelson Miles and Richard Dodge who carried out the warfare which broke the Indians and drove them to Canada, but still MacKenzie was called upon time and again to deal with Indians, who by this time were terror groups who simply required in most cases to be issued terms to which they accepted as they had no alternatives.
MacKenzie degraded physically after this. The liberal champion of SC Gwynne of Texas, reasons why MacKenzie went crazy from pain of his wounds, to hitting his head, to drinking, but in forensics I believe the answer lies in MacKenzie went Mad as a Hatter. Hatter's went insane from mercury poisoning, which was part of the chemical process in making hats.
MacKenzie who was always short tempered, was also a man with many war wounds. It is highly possible that he suffered from lead poisoning, which was aggravated as he aged.
Yes, lead poisoning could really be a cause of violent crime ...
Jan 07, 2013 · George Monbiot: It seems crazy, but the evidence about lead is stacking up. Behind crimes that have destroyed so many lives, is there a much greater crime?
As lead would be released into his body, perhaps affected by different water PH or diet, MacKenzie became more eccentric in his character changed. He might have also just had a sort of brain swelling which triggered his irate emotions already in motion.
Whatever the reason, Ranald MacKenzie in being the most promising of leaders, died with a paragraph obituary, after showing overt bravery and never really vanquishing the Indian terrorists, but simply was the one in the field who was there when the Indians collapsed in natural devolution.
The lesson of Ranald MacKenzie though is not his life, but the political reality of Americans in government thought they could deal with Indian terrorists, and blamed the Americans in the West. They tried religions methods to love the Indians, as the same coddling of Jesuit and Muslim raping hordes being dumped into America for a new squatter population, failed.
It was then costly absolute war in not accomplished Southern Military Commanders leading it, which stopped the terror.
In the modern age the presidents of late have done nothing to protect Americans, but instead have brought in more criminal vermin to all of America in the millions to service the same Indian Ring for profits. Money was made from the Indians and money is made from the 21st century invasion, in the same rapes, robberies and murders are taking place again, and a war will foment in time, but this time the Americans will be the Indians as the Indian Ring will have the police state eradicating the Americans, while protecting the invaders.
It was a bad hand then and it is a bad hand now.
Nuff Said
agtG
