The Birthday of Eternity

George Crook, died March 21, 1890

 

Considered the army's greatest Indian fighter, General George Crook spent his last years speaking out against the unjust treatment of his former Indian adversaries. He protested against white encroachments on Indian land and attempted to persuade the Lakota to accept allotment of their reservation, which Crook believed would speed their entry into the American mainstream.

He died suddenly of a heart attack in Chicago on March 21, 1890 while serving as commander of the Division of the Missouri. He was 61 years old.

Red Cloud, a war chief of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux), said of Crook, "He, at least, never lied to us. His words gave us hope."

Crook was originally buried in Oakland, Maryland.  In 1898, Crook's remains were transported to Arlington National Cemetery where he was reinterred on November 11.

Crook and his wife, Mary

His wife, Mary Tapscott Dailey Crook, died at Oakland, Maryland in 1895, and is buried with him at Arlington National Cemetery.

George Crook Grave in Arlington National Cemetery

Bas-relief sculpture on tombstone

The sculpture is based on a photograph of Crook meeting with Geronimo and other Apaches in New Mexico.

Photograph of Crook with Geronimo

The Canon de los Embudos (Canyon of Funnels) was the meeting place where Geronimo and General Crook discussed Apache surrender terms in 1886. There was no surrender at this point, however, the event is important because of the photographs of Camillus Fly. Fly had a studio in Tombstone, Arizona. and was invited by the US army to accompany Crook on his mission to take Geronimo prisoner. He took a number of photographs of the “last hold-out” band of Chiricahua Apaches.