Why did Sheridan have hunters kill large number of buffalo during frontier wars?

General Philip Sheridan encouraged hunters to kill large numbers of buffalo during the frontier wars to undermine the Native American tribes that relied on buffalo for sustenance and livelihood. By depleting the buffalo population, he aimed to weaken their resistance and force them onto reservations, thereby facilitating westward expansion. This strategy was part of a broader military campaign to assert control over the Great Plains and to support the settlement of American territories. The mass slaughter of buffalo had devastating effects on Indigenous cultures and ecosystems.