Eli S. Ricker
Encyclopedia
Eli Seavey Ricker was a corporal in the 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
during the American Civil War, who took part in Sherman's March to the Sea
. After the war he became a newspaper reporter and editor in Nebraska
as well as a county judge. He is most well known for his progressive views on Native Americans and the more than fifty interviews he did with various Native Americans, as well as scouts and settlers, recording various eyewitness accounts on events during the Indian Wars in the west, such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn
and the Wounded Knee Massacre
. He recorded this information for a book he planned on writing on more than 1,500 pages on ruled tablets which came to be known as "Ricker Tablets". He never got around to writing his book but the information he gathered, many first hand accounts of historical events, is considered an invalauble historical resource for documenting the history of the American West. These tablets are now in the archives of the Nebraska State Historical Society
.
When the white man landed on the shores of the New World, an eclipse blacker than any that ever darkened the sun, blighted the hopes and happiness of the native people, races then living in tranquility on their own soil." Eli S. Ricker
102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 102nd Illinois Infantry was organized at Knoxville, Illinois and mustered in for three years service on September 1, 1862....
during the American Civil War, who took part in Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
. After the war he became a newspaper reporter and editor in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
as well as a county judge. He is most well known for his progressive views on Native Americans and the more than fifty interviews he did with various Native Americans, as well as scouts and settlers, recording various eyewitness accounts on events during the Indian Wars in the west, such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
and the Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre
The Wounded Knee Massacre happened on December 29, 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, USA. On the day before, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M...
. He recorded this information for a book he planned on writing on more than 1,500 pages on ruled tablets which came to be known as "Ricker Tablets". He never got around to writing his book but the information he gathered, many first hand accounts of historical events, is considered an invalauble historical resource for documenting the history of the American West. These tablets are now in the archives of the Nebraska State Historical Society
Nebraska State Historical Society
The Nebraska State Historical Society is a Nebraska state agency, founded in 1878 to "encourage historical research and inquiry, spread historical information .....
.
When the white man landed on the shores of the New World, an eclipse blacker than any that ever darkened the sun, blighted the hopes and happiness of the native people, races then living in tranquility on their own soil." Eli S. Ricker