Looking Glass, and the others, had not died
in vain.
See also
Sitting Bull
Bibliography
Greene, Jerome A. Nez Perce Summer, 1977: The U.S.
Army and the Ne-Mo-Poo Crisis.Helena: Montana
Historical Society Press, 2000; Haines, Aubrey L. and
Jack R. Williams. An Elusive Victory: The Battle of the
Big Hole.West Glacier, MT: Glacier National History,
1999; Haines, Francis. The Nez Perces: Tribesmen of
the Columbia Plateau.Norman: University of Okla-
homa Press, 1955; Hampton, Bruce. Children of
Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877.New York: Henry
Holt, 1994; Isaacson, Forrest W. “Chief Looking Glass
and the Nez Perce War of 1877.” Unpublished master’s
thesis, Bemidji State College, 1970; Josephy, Alvin M.,
Jr. The Nez Perce and the Opening of the Northwest.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1979; Lavender,
David. Let Me Be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy.New
York: HarperCollins, 1992; McWhorter, Lucullus V.
Hear Me My Chiefs! Nez Perce History and Legend.
Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1983; Parks, Edward.
“Big Hole: Still a Gaping Wound to the Nez Perce.”
Smithsonian9, no. 2 (1978): 92–99; Scott, Douglas D.
A Sharp Little Affair: The Archaeology of the Big Hole
Battlefield.Lincoln, NE: J. and L. Reprint, 1994.LORING, WILLIAMWING
Loring, William Wing
(December 7, 1818–December 30, 1886)
Confederate General; Military Adventurer
I
n a military career spanning 53 years, the
one-armed Loring served three flags on
two continents. “Old Blizzards” was a ca-
pable officer with distinguished service rang-
ing from the Pacific Coast to the Nile River.
William Wing Loring was born in Wilming-
ton, North Carolina, and raised in Florida. His
military escapades began in December 1835
when he joined the militia to serve in the Sec-
ond Seminole War. Having fought at both
Black Point and Wahoo Swamp, he rose to a
second lieutenant by the time hostilities
ceased in 1842. Loring then studied law at
Georgetown College, was admitted to the
Florida bar, and gained election to the state
legislature. When the Mexican-American War
commenced in 1846, he was directly commis-
sioned a captain in the newly raised Regiment
of Mounted Rifles, and the following year he
made major. In this capacity Loring fought
under Gen. Winfield Scott during the advance
upon Mexico City and distinguished himself
at Contreras and Chapultepec. In this last en-
counter, Loring’s left arm was badly shattered
and had to be amputated. He allegedly sub-
mitted to the procedure without the benefit of
chloroform, never uttering a groan. After-
ward, the men of his regiment buried the sev-
ered limb on a hill, with a finger pointing to-
ward Mexico City. For such conspicuous
service Loring gained two brevet promotions
to lieutenant colonel and colonel, and—de-
spite the loss of a limb—was retained in the
postwar service.
Loring was stationed with his regiment at
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, when the famous
Gold Rush to the West Coast began. Accord-
ingly, he was tasked with marching his regi-
ment 2,500 miles to Oregon, providing secu-
rity for a wagon train of 600 vehicles and
thousands of settlers. So capably did Loring
execute his mission that upon arriving he was
appointed head of the newly created Depart-
ment of Oregon. In 1851, Loring and his men
were transferred to Texas and New Mexico,
where they conducted periodic skirmishes
against the Comanche and Kiowa Indians. In
September 1856, Loring transferred his head-