Battle of Beecher Island
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was an armed conflict between elements of the United States Army
and several of the Plains native American
tribes in September 1868. Beecher Island
, on the Arikaree River
, then known as part of the North Fork of the Republican River
, near present-day Wray, Colorado
, was named afterwards for Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher, an army officer killed during the battle.
and Platte River
s in what was also the region of their best buffalo hunting, bands of Cheyenne
and Arapaho
Indians conducted raids against whites throughout the western Great Plains
in Kansas
. In addition, they found incentive in the warfare that had been waged specifically against their clans by the military in 1867, and by memories of such atrocities as the Sand Creek massacre
. Finally, the westward movement of the transcontinental railroad
had stretched all the way across Kansas, bringing with it with many permanent white settlements
During the 1867-1868, the Cheyennes were in schism, with those advocating peace (possibly a majority) retreating south out of Kansas, and the younger, intractable warrior societies continuing to raid. The latter during the summer of 1867 had successfully avoided a large expedition commanded by Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, and in the process had garnered sympathy from Americans in the East who supported peaceful negotiations after Hancock attempted to bully the Cheyennes to submit, and burned their abandoned villages when they did not.
In August 1868, General
Philip Sheridan
, replaced Hancock in command of the Department of the Missouri
, was asked by acting Governor Frank Hall of Colorado
for assistance after 79 settlers were killed in repeated attacks on farms, ranches, way stations, and travel routes. Sheridan's main effort was to be made south of the Arkansas, a winter campaign in the Indian Territory
, but he remained active in Kansas during the warmer weather, patrolling the Arkansas with the 7th Cavalry, and the area between the Republican
and Smoky Hill River
s using the 10th Cavalry.
George Alexander Forsyth
of the 9th Cavalry, a Civil War
veteran, to raise a company of "fifty first-class hardy frontiersmen, to be used as scouts against the hostile Indians." They were to seek out and engage the marauders using their tactics, rather than those of the traditional Army.
Forsyth hand-picked 48 men at Fort Hays
and armed them with Spencer repeating rifle
s. Forsyth's executive officer was Lieutenant
Fredrick H. Beecher of the 3rd Infantry, a decorated veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg
. His company marched west and reached Fort Wallace
the night of September 5 without finding any trace of Indians.
. This was at the time the railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railroad
. Brevet
Colonel
Forsyth and his group of scouts departed Fort Wallace with orders to counter the raid. Col. Forsyth took his command to investigate. They learned that a force of about 25 Indians had taken part in the attack. They followed their trail into what is now Yuma County, Colorado
.
; signs indicated that the opposing force considerably outnumbered the scouts, but the unit nonetheless pressed on. Around dusk on the 16th, Forsyth and his men arrived in the vicinity of the "Dry Fork of the Republican River" (reported at the time as "Delaware Creek"—now the Arikaree River) and made camp on the south bank. They camped only 12 miles (19.3 km) downstream from a large encampment of two Lakota villages, one of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers
and a few lodges of Arapaho.
, war leader of the Cheyenne, had planned a dawn raid to overrun the camp of 50 U.S. scouts, but the element of surprise was lost when a few eager warriors rushed the camp before the order to attack was given.
Forsyth gave orders to saddle the horses. Seeing that no escape route was open, he directed his men to take cover on a sand bar in the middle of the Arikaree. The numbers of attacking Indians
varies widely, with estimates including 200, 600 to 1,000.
The initial assault by the Indians was cut down by the accurate, quick-firing Spencer rifles
. The combined force of Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were surprised and changed their tactics.
During the early morning of the first day of battle, small parties of Indians dashed up to the sand bar on horseback several times, but they did little damage to the scouts. The scouts killed their horses for breastworks
and dug pits into the soft sand behind them. When the scouts opened fire, the Indians attacked the island on both sides. Later they crawled through the grass and shot through the grass. Several scouts who were killed or wounded were hit by the Indian snipers hidden in the grass. The Indians surrounded the island and repeatedly attacked the Scouts. Three scouts hidden in hole on the riverbank shot several Indians from the shore.
Roman Nose was shot on the riverbank at the west end of the sand bar. He jumped back into the grass where other warriors retrieved him. He died at 10 p. m. that night.
Many other warriors fell, while four of the scouts including Beecher, Acting Surgeon J.H. Mooers, George W. Culver, and William Wilson were killed. Another 15 scouts were wounded, including Colonel Forsyth. Forsyth received a mild head wound and his leg was fractured by a gunshot wound.
for assistance." Sharp Grover, who was chief of scouts, said "It is impossible to get out." Then Stilwell came forward and said, "Let me choose the man to go with me and I will go." Grover said, "Jack is too young and inexperienced, he can’t get through." Ft. Wallace was about 70 miles (112.7 km) to the south east. But Forsyth tore off the fly leaf out of his daybook, wrote a note to Col. Bankhead at Ft. Wallace, and gave it to Stilwell.
Simpson "Jack" Stilwell
chose Pierre Trudeau to come with him. They crawled for 3 miles (4.8 km) the first day before they took cover in the daylight. They were forced to evade Indians for four days during their journey. They had only horse meat for food and when it spoiled they got sick. Trudeau was so weak he could only stand with assistance, but after resting and traveling for four days they reached Fort Wallace. In the mean time, Forsyth and his men survived on muddy river water and rotting horse meat. Forsyth was wounded twice and others thought he would die of his wounds before they would be rescued.
Louis H. Carpenter
leading Troop H & I of the 10th Cavalry Regiment
(Buffalo Soldiers) with Captain Baldwin. Major Brisbin in command of two troops of the 2nd Cavalry took another route. Captain Bankhead, went with about 100 men of the 5th Infantry
, took a third route.
On September 25, Lt.Col. Carpenter's Troops H & I were the first to arrive and relieve Forsyth's unit. Carpenter later received the Medal of Honor
for his relief of Forsyth's command and for his actions during the battle on Beaver Creek.
Over fifty dead horses greeted them with their putrid smell. Forsyth’s command had been out of rations and forced to survive on the decaying horse flesh. Forsyth's 2nd in command, Lt. Fredrick H. Beecher, had been killed during the battle. Forsyth had been shot in the thigh, fracturing his leg, and wounded in the forehead. He was not expected to survive another day. The air around him was completely filled with a great stench and was swarming with black flies feasting on the rotting defensive line of dead horses. The square sandy hole, where Forsyth was lying was half encircled by dead mounts and would have become his grave if help had not arrived when it did. Other gun pits, interconnected, contained the living and the dead of his unit.
Carpenter immediately secured the area and pitched a number of tents up wind nearby. The wounded men were carefully carried there for more healthy air and the dead men were buried to reduce the stench and possibility of disease. Twenty-six hours later, Carpenter sent a detachment to look for Bankhead's unit. They found Stilwell and Trudeau several miles in advance of Bankhead. Captain Bankhead followed bringing with him the two troops of the 2nd Cavalry.
The following day, a fifth scout died of his wounds and was buried on the battlefield with the other four scouts. Walter Armstrong died in a hospital later. Beecher, Culver, Farley, Wilson and Doctor Moers were buried on the island. Sixteen others were wounded. On September 27, the Forsyth Scouts departed for Fort Wallace, escorted by the 10th Cavalry.
The next spring Captain Brown returned to retrieve the bodies. He found Culver and Farley's remains, but Beecher, Wilson and Doctor Moers' graves were empty, apparently removed by Indians. Culver and Farley were re-buried at Ft. Wallace.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and several of the Plains native American
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
tribes in September 1868. Beecher Island
Beecher Island
Beecher Island is a sandbar located along the lower course of the Arikaree River, a tributary of the North Fork of the Republican River near Wray in Yuma County, Colorado. The site is notable for having been the scene of an 1868 armed conflict between elements of the United States Army and several...
, on the Arikaree River
Arikaree River
The Arikaree River is a tributary of the Republican River that starts near Limon in Lincoln County, Colorado. The river flows east into Kansas, crossing the extreme northwestern corner of that state before entering Nebraska...
, then known as part of the North Fork of the Republican River
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, flowing through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.-Geography:...
, near present-day Wray, Colorado
Wray, Colorado
The City of Wray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Yuma County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,187 at the U.S. Census 2000. The school mascot is the Eagles for high school and Eaglets in the lower grades. School colors are purple and white and the Eaglets are...
, was named afterwards for Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher, an army officer killed during the battle.
Background
In the summer and fall of 1868, continuing their annual seasonal raiding activities between the ArkansasArkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
and Platte River
Platte River
The Platte River is a major river in the state of Nebraska and is about long. Measured to its farthest source via its tributary the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which in turn is a tributary of the Mississippi River which flows to...
s in what was also the region of their best buffalo hunting, bands of Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
and Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
Indians conducted raids against whites throughout the western Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. In addition, they found incentive in the warfare that had been waged specifically against their clans by the military in 1867, and by memories of such atrocities as the Sand Creek massacre
Sand Creek Massacre
As conflict between Indians and white settlers and soldiers in Colorado continued, many of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, including bands under Cheyenne chiefs Black Kettle and White Antelope, were resigned to negotiate peace. The chiefs had sought to maintain peace in spite of pressures from whites...
. Finally, the westward movement of the transcontinental railroad
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
had stretched all the way across Kansas, bringing with it with many permanent white settlements
During the 1867-1868, the Cheyennes were in schism, with those advocating peace (possibly a majority) retreating south out of Kansas, and the younger, intractable warrior societies continuing to raid. The latter during the summer of 1867 had successfully avoided a large expedition commanded by Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, and in the process had garnered sympathy from Americans in the East who supported peaceful negotiations after Hancock attempted to bully the Cheyennes to submit, and burned their abandoned villages when they did not.
In August 1868, General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
, replaced Hancock in command of the Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri
Department of the Missouri was a division of the United States Army that functioned through the American Civil War and the Indian Wars afterwards.-Civil War:...
, was asked by acting Governor Frank Hall of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
for assistance after 79 settlers were killed in repeated attacks on farms, ranches, way stations, and travel routes. Sheridan's main effort was to be made south of the Arkansas, a winter campaign in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
, but he remained active in Kansas during the warmer weather, patrolling the Arkansas with the 7th Cavalry, and the area between the Republican
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, flowing through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.-Geography:...
and Smoky Hill River
Smoky Hill River
The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through the U.S. states of Colorado and Kansas.-Names:The Smoky Hill gets its name from the Smoky Hills region of north-central Kansas through which it flows...
s using the 10th Cavalry.
Unit formation
As the Indians fought dispersed battles composed of small bands of warriors all over the frontier, U.S. Army troops and units were at a premium. General Sheridan decided to try an unusual tactic. He ordered his aide, MajorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
George Alexander Forsyth
George Alexander Forsyth
George Alexander Forsyth was a United States military officer most notable for his service in the cavalry.-Early life:Forsyth was born in Muncy, Pennsylvania...
of the 9th Cavalry, a Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veteran, to raise a company of "fifty first-class hardy frontiersmen, to be used as scouts against the hostile Indians." They were to seek out and engage the marauders using their tactics, rather than those of the traditional Army.
Forsyth hand-picked 48 men at Fort Hays
Fort Hays
Fort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in Hays, Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were...
and armed them with Spencer repeating rifle
Spencer repeating rifle
The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the...
s. Forsyth's executive officer was Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Fredrick H. Beecher of the 3rd Infantry, a decorated veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
. His company marched west and reached Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace
Fort Wallace was a US Cavalry fort built in Wallace County, Kansas to help defend settlers against Cheyenne and Sioux raids. All that remains today is the cemetery, but for a period of over a decade Fort Wallace was one of the most important military outposts on the frontier.-External links:* * *...
the night of September 5 without finding any trace of Indians.
The engagement
During the morning of September 10, the troops at Fort Wallace received information Indians had attacked a freighter's train 13 miles (20.9 km) east of Ft. Wallace near Sheridan, ColoradoSheridan, Colorado
Sheridan is a Home Rule Municipality in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,600 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sheridan is located at ....
. This was at the time the railhead of the Kansas Pacific Railroad
Kansas Pacific Railway
The Kansas Pacific Railway was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of Kansas in the 1870s,...
. Brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Forsyth and his group of scouts departed Fort Wallace with orders to counter the raid. Col. Forsyth took his command to investigate. They learned that a force of about 25 Indians had taken part in the attack. They followed their trail into what is now Yuma County, Colorado
Yuma County, Colorado
Yuma County is the 14th most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 9,841 at U.S. Census 2000...
.
Indians spotted
The scouts trailed the Indian raiding party from Sheridan into ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
; signs indicated that the opposing force considerably outnumbered the scouts, but the unit nonetheless pressed on. Around dusk on the 16th, Forsyth and his men arrived in the vicinity of the "Dry Fork of the Republican River" (reported at the time as "Delaware Creek"—now the Arikaree River) and made camp on the south bank. They camped only 12 miles (19.3 km) downstream from a large encampment of two Lakota villages, one of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers
Dog Soldiers is a 2002 British horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall, and starring Kevin McKidd, Sean Pertwee and Liam Cunningham. It was a British production, set in the highlands of Scotland, and filmed almost entirely in Luxembourg....
and a few lodges of Arapaho.
Indian surprise thwarted
At dawn on the 17th, Forsyth sensed trouble and spotted the silhouette of a feathered head against the skyline. He fired his weapon, instantly killing the Indian warrior. Simultaneously, other Indians, who, having moved nearer to where the scouts' horses were tied up, attempted to stampede them, but the scouts immediately responded to the sound of Forsyth's gunshot and only the pack mules were lost. Roman NoseRoman Nose
Roman Nose, a.k.a. Hook Nose , was a Native American of the Northern Cheyenne, and possibly the greatest and most influential warrior during the Plains Indian War of the 1860s...
, war leader of the Cheyenne, had planned a dawn raid to overrun the camp of 50 U.S. scouts, but the element of surprise was lost when a few eager warriors rushed the camp before the order to attack was given.
Forsyth gave orders to saddle the horses. Seeing that no escape route was open, he directed his men to take cover on a sand bar in the middle of the Arikaree. The numbers of attacking Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
varies widely, with estimates including 200, 600 to 1,000.
The initial assault by the Indians was cut down by the accurate, quick-firing Spencer rifles
Spencer repeating rifle
The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the...
. The combined force of Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were surprised and changed their tactics.
During the early morning of the first day of battle, small parties of Indians dashed up to the sand bar on horseback several times, but they did little damage to the scouts. The scouts killed their horses for breastworks
Breastwork (fortification)
A breastwork is a fortification. The term is usually applied to temporary fortifications, often an earthwork thrown up to breast height to provide protection to defenders firing over it from a standing position...
and dug pits into the soft sand behind them. When the scouts opened fire, the Indians attacked the island on both sides. Later they crawled through the grass and shot through the grass. Several scouts who were killed or wounded were hit by the Indian snipers hidden in the grass. The Indians surrounded the island and repeatedly attacked the Scouts. Three scouts hidden in hole on the riverbank shot several Indians from the shore.
Roman Nose was shot on the riverbank at the west end of the sand bar. He jumped back into the grass where other warriors retrieved him. He died at 10 p. m. that night.
Many other warriors fell, while four of the scouts including Beecher, Acting Surgeon J.H. Mooers, George W. Culver, and William Wilson were killed. Another 15 scouts were wounded, including Colonel Forsyth. Forsyth received a mild head wound and his leg was fractured by a gunshot wound.
Scouts sent for relief
Before dawn on the second day, Forsyth said, "Some one must go to WallaceFort Wallace
Fort Wallace was a US Cavalry fort built in Wallace County, Kansas to help defend settlers against Cheyenne and Sioux raids. All that remains today is the cemetery, but for a period of over a decade Fort Wallace was one of the most important military outposts on the frontier.-External links:* * *...
for assistance." Sharp Grover, who was chief of scouts, said "It is impossible to get out." Then Stilwell came forward and said, "Let me choose the man to go with me and I will go." Grover said, "Jack is too young and inexperienced, he can’t get through." Ft. Wallace was about 70 miles (112.7 km) to the south east. But Forsyth tore off the fly leaf out of his daybook, wrote a note to Col. Bankhead at Ft. Wallace, and gave it to Stilwell.
Simpson "Jack" Stilwell
Simpson E. Stilwell
Simpson Edwin Stilwell was a United States Army Scout, Deputy U.S. Marshal, police judge, and U.S. Commissioner in Oklahoma during the American Old West. He served in Major George A...
chose Pierre Trudeau to come with him. They crawled for 3 miles (4.8 km) the first day before they took cover in the daylight. They were forced to evade Indians for four days during their journey. They had only horse meat for food and when it spoiled they got sick. Trudeau was so weak he could only stand with assistance, but after resting and traveling for four days they reached Fort Wallace. In the mean time, Forsyth and his men survived on muddy river water and rotting horse meat. Forsyth was wounded twice and others thought he would die of his wounds before they would be rescued.
Relieved
Three rescue parties departed following different routes due to the uncertainty of the Scout's location. The first was Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Louis H. Carpenter
Louis H. Carpenter
Louis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars....
leading Troop H & I of the 10th Cavalry Regiment
U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment
The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish-American War in Cuba and in the...
(Buffalo Soldiers) with Captain Baldwin. Major Brisbin in command of two troops of the 2nd Cavalry took another route. Captain Bankhead, went with about 100 men of the 5th Infantry
5th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 5th Infantry Regiment is the third-oldest infantry regiment of the United States Army, tracing its origins to 1808...
, took a third route.
On September 25, Lt.Col. Carpenter's Troops H & I were the first to arrive and relieve Forsyth's unit. Carpenter later received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his relief of Forsyth's command and for his actions during the battle on Beaver Creek.
Over fifty dead horses greeted them with their putrid smell. Forsyth’s command had been out of rations and forced to survive on the decaying horse flesh. Forsyth's 2nd in command, Lt. Fredrick H. Beecher, had been killed during the battle. Forsyth had been shot in the thigh, fracturing his leg, and wounded in the forehead. He was not expected to survive another day. The air around him was completely filled with a great stench and was swarming with black flies feasting on the rotting defensive line of dead horses. The square sandy hole, where Forsyth was lying was half encircled by dead mounts and would have become his grave if help had not arrived when it did. Other gun pits, interconnected, contained the living and the dead of his unit.
Carpenter immediately secured the area and pitched a number of tents up wind nearby. The wounded men were carefully carried there for more healthy air and the dead men were buried to reduce the stench and possibility of disease. Twenty-six hours later, Carpenter sent a detachment to look for Bankhead's unit. They found Stilwell and Trudeau several miles in advance of Bankhead. Captain Bankhead followed bringing with him the two troops of the 2nd Cavalry.
The following day, a fifth scout died of his wounds and was buried on the battlefield with the other four scouts. Walter Armstrong died in a hospital later. Beecher, Culver, Farley, Wilson and Doctor Moers were buried on the island. Sixteen others were wounded. On September 27, the Forsyth Scouts departed for Fort Wallace, escorted by the 10th Cavalry.
Aftermath
The "Forsyth Scouts" arrived back at Fort Wallace on September 30. General George Custer later proclaimed that the Arickaree fight was "…the greatest battle on the plains." To the Cheyenne, the engagement would be remembered as "The Fight when Roman Nose was Killed." In actuality, the fight was a minor engagement of no lasting import whose greater significance, as a model for tactics in successfully combating the Indians, was largely ignored. The location of the battle became a National Historic Site in 1976.The next spring Captain Brown returned to retrieve the bodies. He found Culver and Farley's remains, but Beecher, Wilson and Doctor Moers' graves were empty, apparently removed by Indians. Culver and Farley were re-buried at Ft. Wallace.
Historic designations
- National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
#NPS–76000569 — "Beecher Island Battleground Memorial" site - Colorado State Register Property
Additional reading
- John H. Monnett, The Battle of Beecher Island and the Indian War of 1867-1869, University Press of Colorado (May 1, 1994), Trade paperback, 248 pages, ISBN 0870813471 ISBN 978-0870813474
External links
- Beecher's Island Battlefield Monument
- Carpenter's Recollections, an eyewitness account written in 1912 by L. H. CarpenterLouis H. CarpenterLouis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars....
, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Retired), leader of the 10th United States Cavalry rescue party.