dodged pursuing troops under Maj. Eugene A.
Carr. Turning south, Tall Bull and his Dog Sol-
diers next opposed Gen. Philip H. Sheridan on
the Southern Plains during an exhausting win-
ter campaign.
The spring of 1869 saw the conflict begin to
draw to its inevitable conclusion. The Plains
Indians, magnificent fighters, were exhausted
yet confronted seemingly endless numbers of
heavily armed white soldiers. But Black Ket-
tle’s recent death at the hands of Gen. George
Armstrong Custer at Washita only steeled
their resolve to resist. Major Carr enjoyed
some success against the Sioux and
Cheyennes at Beaver Creek in Kansas, so Tall
Bull retaliated by hitting settlements along
the Kansas frontier. This prompted Carr to or-
ganize the Republican River Expedition to
corner and destroy Tall Bull and his trouble-
some band. In this he was assisted by a battal-
ion of Pawnee scouts under Frank North and
William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. After some pre-
liminary skirmishing, Tall Bull encamped at
Summit Springs, apparently intent upon at-
tacking the Americans on the following day.
Unfortunately, on July 11, 1869, Carr was
guided to the Cheyenne camp by his Pawnees
and launched a surprise attack at dawn. By
the time the fighting ended, 50 of the Dog Sol-
diers had been killed, with Tall Bull among
them. This encounter ended the dominance of
that noted warrior society on the Southern
Plains, although many survivors were subse-
quently absorbed into Quanah Parker’s Co-
manche band.See also
Red CloudBibliography
Afton, Jean, David F. Halas, and Andrew Masich.
Cheyenne Dog Soldiers: A Ledgerbook of Coups and
Combat.Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1997;
Berthong, Donald J. The Southern Cheyenne.Nor-
man: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963; Filipack,
Jack D. “The Battle of Summit Springs.” Colorado
Magazine41 (Fall 1964): 343–354; Mails, Thomas E.
Dog Soldier Societies of the Plains.New York: Mal-
one, 1999; Monnett, Howard W. The Battle of
Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867–1869.
Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1992; Powell,
Peter J. People of the Sacred Mountain: A History of
the Northern Cheyenne Chiefs and Warrior Soci-
eties, 1830–1879.2 vols. San Francisco: Harper and
Row, 1981; Weinert, Richard P. Sound the Charge:
The Western Frontier.Englewood, CO: Jacqueline
Enterprises, 1978.TANAKA, RAZIO
Tanaka, Razio
(1892–1969)
Japanese Admiral
“T
enacious” Tanaka was the most ac-
complished Japanese destroyer
leader of World War II. By skillful
tactics he inflicted heavy losses on larger
American forces at Tassafaronga in 1942, but
Tanaka’s outspoken criticism of Japanese
leadership led to his removal.
Razio Tanaka was born in Yamaguchi Pre-
fecture in 1892. He graduated from the Japa-
nese Naval Academy in 1913 before receiving
additional training as a torpedo specialist in- Promoted to lieutenant commander,
Tanaka returned to the Torpedo School as an
instructor, teaching there two years. Com-
mencing in 1930 he assumed a succession of
destroyer commands before rising to captain
five years later. Tanaka displayed excellent
seamanship and leadership qualities, traits that
distinguished his career throughout World War
II, so he took control of an entire destroyer