In September of 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led their Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River into country controlled by the Teton Sioux who acted, essentially, as river pirates. On the 23rd of the month, the Corps of Discovery made first contact with the tribe. Tension was high between the two groups and, on the 25th, came to a decisive head. From Clark's own account, regarding an altercation with one of the Sioux chiefs,
...his justures were of Such a personal nature I felt My self Compeled to Draw my Sword (and Made a Signal to the boat to prepare for action) at this Motion Capt. Lewis ordered all under arms in the boat, those with me also Showed a Disposition to Defend themselves and me,
...Most of the Warriers appeared to have ther Bows strung and took out their arrows from the quiver. as I (being surrounded) was not permited to return, I Sent all the men except 2 Inps. [Interpreters] to the boat, the perogue Soon returned with about 12 of our determined men ready for any event. this movement caused a no: of the Indians to withdraw at a distance, [emphasis added]
Sgt. Ordway, another member of the Corps, also kept a journal and, from his entry,
...they then began to act as if they were Intoxicated with Some difficulty Capt Clark got them to Shore. they then began to Show Some Signs of Stopping or attempting to Stop us. one of them Stayed on board the pearogue when Capt Clark & the chiefs went out of it. the head chief the Black Buffaloe, Siezed hold of the cable of the pearogue and Set down. Capt Clark Spoke to all the party to Stand to their arms Capt Lewis who was on board ordered every man to his arms. the large Swivel [was] loaded immediately with 16 Musquet Ball in it the 2 other Swivels loaded well with Buck Shot [and] each of them manned. Capt Clark used moderation with them told them that we must and would go on and would go. that we were not Squaws, but warriers. [emphasis added]
While the Corps of Discovery had immensely better weaponry than the Teton Sioux, they were also immensely outnumbered. A firefight would have likely generated significant casualties on their part but, since many of them were on boats, they probably would have been able to limp back to St. Louis. Some historians have suggested that the Teton Sioux were well aware they could have plundered the party, but when the Corps acted like warriors instead of squaws, the Sioux backed off, realizing that their losses would have also been great.
Two hundred years later, we find another group of American military personnel in a face-off with an Iranian platoon. The Americans fought back.
The recent capture of 15 British Marines and Sailors, by the Iranian military, and their subsequent release, has generated some questions regarding just why the Brits didn't fight back or, at least, make an attempt to take a stand. HotAir highlights the fact that the British Captain stated that "fighting back was not an option."
Whether or not these specific British troops acted like squaws instead of warriors remains to be seen, but perhaps the Teton Sioux would have rather encountered a softer adversary, that September day.
Update - see also:
Question: What ever happened to "Let's Roll?" Malkin
What ever happened to "Let's Roll" Barnett
The British Sailors: Stockdale Syndrome HotAir
Update 2:
"Fighting Back Was Not an Option" Revisited Barnett, in which Barnett shares some tactical analysis by Austin Bay, as well as comparisons to the Iranian takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
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