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Turned Injun, didn't ya?
~ Sergeant Bauer to John Dunbar.

Sergeant Lawrence Bauer is the main antagonist of Kevin Costner's 1990 film Dances with Wolves. He is a high-ranking U.S. Army sergeant who mistreats John Dunbar and plans to have him hanged.

He was portrayed by Larry Joshua.

Personality[]

Sergeant Bauer is a very sadistic, ruthless, cruel and egotistical soldier who takes great pleasure in mistreating former lieutenant Dunbar after he was accused of desertion. Like most other Americans, he harbors a prejudice against Native Americans. He also took good pleasure in shooting Two Socks for pure sport. When the other soldiers were under attack by the Lakota tribe who went to Dunbar from being transported back to Fort Hayes for his execution, instead of helping, he runs away, proving his great cowardice.

Biography[]

While Sergeant Bauer comes with the U.S. Army to Fort Sedgewick, Dunbar realizes that he left his journal back at the fort, so he heads over to retrieve it in on his horse, Cisco order to prevent the army from learning his whereabouts. Upon arriving at the fort, however, Dunbar notices the area occupied by the army. A group of soldiers spot Dunbar and immediately shoot Cisco, mistaking him for a hostile Indian. The soldiers then knock Dunbar unconscious and arrest him.

The soldiers take Dunbar to one of the bunkhouses, where Bauer and Spivey watch over him. As soon as Dunbar wakes up, Bauer orders Spivey to inform Major Grace and proceeds to taunt Dunbar. Lieutenant Elgin and the major arrive and Bauer interrogates Dunbar to reveal his language and identity. Dunbar answers in English and the soldiers ask him why he's dressed in his Sioux outfit. Dunbar tells them about the orders in his journal and Elgin asks Spivey if he has seen the journal, to which Spivey denies any awareness of the journal. Elgin heads out to search for the journal, while Bauer continues to taunt Dunbar for "turning Injun". Elgin returns to the bunkhouse with no evidence and he orders Bauer to take him outside.

The soldiers proceed to shove Dunbar and he retaliates by attacking one of the soldiers, but the others brutally knock him unconscious with their rifles and take him back to the bunkhouse. Dunbar wakes up and Elgin explains that they're charged with apprehending hostiles, to which Dunbar replies that there aren't any hostiles. Elgin and Grace offer to give Dunbar a second chance and guide him to the Sioux camps, but Dunbar refuses and announces his Sioux name in Lakota, shocking Spivey and frustrating the Major. Elgin orders Bauer to take Dunbar to the river to wash the blood off his face and he takes him over there, while Spivey and Edwards watch from the bushes, holding Dunbar's journal. Meanwhile, a pair of Sioux warriors sent by Kicking Bird arrive at the fort and notice Dunbar being held prisoner by the army, so they head out to inform the Sioux tribe.

Bauer takes Dunbar back to the bunkhouse, while Spivey comes in to feed him and checks to see Bauer off guard. Spivey tries to steal Dunbar's pendant off his breast plate, but Dunbar stops him. Dunbar calls for Bauer to help him and Spivey escapes his grasp as Bauer gets up laughing. Bauer proceeds to taunt Dunbar, to which he retaliates by kicking the bowl at him. Spivey charges at Dunbar, but Bauer stops him. Bauer decides to starve Dunbar, but realizes that it won't matter, because the army will hang him back at Fort Hayes for desertion and treason.

The soldiers toss Dunbar on a wagon and they head off to Fort Hayes for Dunbar's execution. On their way, Edwards notices Two Socks standing on a hill and the soldiers open fire. Dunbar wakes up and attacks Spivey in defense, but Bauer hits him with his rifle. The soldiers continue to shoot at Two Socks until Edwards manages to fatally wound the wolf. Edwards gets off to retrieve Two Sock's corpse, while Spivey beats Dunbar up. However, Elgin arrives and threatens to put Spivey in chains if he continues beating up Dunbar and prevents Edwards from going any further. On the other side of the hill, a war party of Sioux warriors led by Wind In His Hair watch the soldiers leave and are disgusted by what they witnessed.

The army stops at a river and one of the soldiers checks to see any ambushes, while Spivey and Edwards taunt Dunbar. The coast seemed clear and the soldiers continue moving, only to receive a surprise attack by the Sioux warriors. Elgin is fatally speared and the soldiers try to retaliate, but Dunbar knocks them off the wagon. One of the warriors throws a spear at Bauer, but misses. When Bauer realizes that the other soldiers are overwhelmed in the attack, he passes off as a corpse in order to make his escape. Edwards calls for Bauer to come to his aid, but Bauer runs away, while the rest of the soldiers are killed. As the Sioux warriors celebrate their victory, Bauer manages to escape the scene, only to run into Smiles A Lot. Bauer pulls out his gun to shoot Smiles A Lot, but it misfires. Bauer strikes Smiles A Lot with his pistol and tries to steal one of his horses to escape until he notices Wind In His Hair approaching him. Bauer tries to flee, but Smiles A Lot drives his tomahawk into his chest, killing him. Wind In His Hair congratulates Smiles A Lot for his act of bravery and rides off, while Smiles A Lot walks away distraught in his act of killing Bauer.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Bauer was originally named Murphy in the book.
  • Though Lt. Elgin and Major Grace are the commanders of their army, Bauer is the main antagonist of the film as he had bigger plans than anyone else and is much more ruthless than Elgin and the Major. Plus, Elgin was the only decent soldier of the army who actually treated Dunbar with kindness.
  • When Bauer tries to flee from the river battle, he is holding a Remington Model 1858 Revolver, but when he encounters Smiles A Lot, he is holding a Colt 1860 Army Revolver.
  • Despite being the main antagonist, he only appears in the climax.
  • Bauer is similar to that of Miles Quaritch in Avatar, which is sometimes labeled as an unofficial sci-fi remake of Dances with Wolves.
    • Both wanted to conquer a native tribe on foreign lands (the Sioux in Bauer's case and the Na'vi in Quaritch's case). However, unlike Quaritch, who admired Jake Sully, Bauer took sadistic delight in tormenting John Dunbar.

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