This is the story of the amazing and uncommon life of George Bent-a "halfbreed" born to a prominent white trader and his Indian wife-whose lifetime spanned one of the most exciting epochs in our nation's history. Raised as a Cheyenne but educated in white schools, George Bent fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, became a Cheyenne warrior and survived the horrific 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, rode and killed for revenge with the ferocious Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, and later became a prominent interpreter and negotiator for whites and adviser to tribal leaders. He hobnobbed with frontier legends Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill Hickok, and George Custer, and fought side-by-side with great Indian leaders. After a lifetime of adventures and misfortunes, accomplishments and failures, George Bent made a lasting contribution to the memory of his people by sharing with historians the story of the fighting Cheyennes.
Andrew E. Masich is the President of Pittsburgh's Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center and the Meadowcroft Museum & Rockshelter, Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, and Fort Pitt Museum. He is Chairman of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and serves on the American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Commission. David F. Halaas, now retired, is a former Library of Congress historian, Colorado State Historian, and Director of Library & Archives of Pittsburgh's Senator John Heinz History Center.