Gustavus Cheyney Doane
Encyclopedia
Gustavus Cheyney Doane was a U.S. Army Cavalry Captain, explorer, inventor and Civil War soldier who played a prominent role in the exploration of Yellowstone as a member of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
.
, the oldest of six children of Solomon Doane and Nancy Davis Doane. After a move to St. Louis, Missouri in 1844, the Doanes, with their one son Cheyney traveled west to Oregon Territory
settling in Oak Grove, Oregon
south of Portland in 1846. In May, 1849, the Doanes, now with two sons, moved to Santa Clara, California
to take up farming there. As a young boy growing up in California during the 1850s, Doane was heavily influenced by the exploits and writings of General John C. Fremont
, explorer, Mexican-American War hero and California statesman. Gustavus C. Doane entered college at the newly created University of the Pacific in Santa Clara in 1857, graduating first in his class in Latin, Greek and mathematics on June 13, 1861.
, in October, 1862 after unsuccessful attempts at gaining an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a 22 year old Doane volunteered at San Francisco for the 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers
known as the California 100. This group of volunteers, after paying their own way to Boston by ship from California, were inducted into the U.S. Army in January 1863. A month after his enlistment, Doane was made a Sergeant and began seeing combat in actions around Washington, D.C. against forces of Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby
, also known as the Gray Ghost.
In March 1863, Doane was transferred to the Mississippi Marine Brigade
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
as a First Lieutenant. Although Doane's unit did see action with the enemy, he did not distinquish himself during this assignment. When it was dissolved in August 1864, Doane was transferred to an infantry regiment. Doane was honorably discharged from the Army in January 1865.
After a brief post-war stint in Illinois, Doane and some of his wartime associates returned to Yazoo City, Mississippi
to establish a merchandising business. Initially successful because of the post-war boom, by late 1866 the sour post-war economy and poor business decisions resulted in bankruptcy. It was during this period that Doane met and married Amelia Link, the daughter of a wealthy southern landowner. Although Doane tried to make a living from Amelia's father's land, that too failed. In 1867, Doane tried his hand at politics in Mississippi, becoming Justice of the Peace and Mayor of Yazoo City for a short period of time. However, local politics and Reconstruction policies proved too much for Doane and he left Mississippi in May 1868 for Illinois abandoning his business and political ambitions in Mississippi.
After his business and political failures in Mississippi, Doane again became a military officer. In the summer of 1868, through the good offices of a California senator, John Conness
, Doane earned a commission in the U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment as a Second Lieutenant. After a year of un-eventful, training and scouting assignments at Fort McPherson, Nebraska and Fort Russell, Wyoming, Doane's cavalry unit was transferred to the newly created Fort Ellis
, Montana Territory
near Bozeman, Montana
. On July 1, 1869 Doane and his wife, Amelia arrived at Fort Ellis. By the fall of 1869, Doane was given command of Company F, 2nd Cavalry at Fort Ellis.
In January, 1870, Doane's Company along with others under the overall command of Major Eugene M. Baker led a successful attack on a Blackfoot Indian
camp on the Marias River
in response to the alleged murder of a white fur trader. This engagement became known as the Marias Massacre
.
In reality, Doane spent little time at Fort Ellis with his wife Amelia. By 1877 the frontier life at Fort Ellis and Doane's constant absence, had severely strained their relationship. Gustavus and Amelia were eventually divorced in September 1878.
Doane wasted little time in re-marrying. In December 1878, Gustavus and 19 year old Mary Lee Hunter of Hunter Hot Springs, Montana were married in Helena, Montana
in a well attended ceremony including the Territorial Governor, Benjamin F. Potts
. Mary Lee was the daughter of Dr. Andrew Jackson Hunter, formerly the camp physician at Fort Ellis. They remained married and together until Doane's death in 1892.
In early August 1870, Henry Washburn in preparing for his Yellowstone exploration formally requested General Winfield Scott Hancock
, Commander, Department of Dakota, provide a military escort from Fort Ellis. The request was granted on August 14, 1870 and Doane with five other soldiers were selected to provide the escort. As the leader of the U.S. Army escort of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
into Yellowstone in August–September 1870, Lt. Gustavus C. Doane became a significant contributor to the process that ultimately resulted in the creation of Yellowstone National Park
on March 1, 1872. Although he was skillful and resourceful throughout the expedition, it was his thorough and detailed report to the Secretary of War in February 1871 of the natural phenomenon in Yellowstone that played a convincing role in the efforts to convince the U.S. Congress to create the National Park. The following excerpt is typical of Doane's detailed descriptions contained in his report:
General Washburn named a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range
for Lt. Doane that later became known as Colter Peak
. In 1871, however, Hayden named another peak nearby Mount Doane
in his honor.
In his The Yellowstone National Park-Historical and Descriptive (1895), Hiram M. Chittenden
praised Doane's expedition report:
and Henry M. Stanley's adventures in Africa, proposed a Nile Survey to the Smithsonian. Of course Doane would lead this expedition. Throughout the winter of 1874-75, Doane sought support in Washington from both private and government entities. However, in February 1875, when the proposal reached Secretary of War William W. Belknap
, it was turned down. Doane was deeply disappointed, but Belknap had been impressed by Doane the man and explorer. In July 1875 Belknap and a party of dignitaries visited Yellowstone for a two week tour of the park. Belknap chose Doane from Fort Ellis to make the arrangements and guide the party through Yellowstone. They followed a course very similar to the Washburn expedition. This was Doane's third foray into the Yellowstone region.
of Yellowstone under the leadership of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden
. This was Doane's second major foray into the Yellowstone region. Although Doane's pathfinding skills were praised by Hayden, the fact that the Hayden explorations, not the Washburn-Doane explorations of Yellowstone got most of the credit for the creation of the park caused a long lasting resentment by Doane. This resentment clouded Doane's judgement for years and was a direct contributor to the failed 1876 Snake River Expedition.
for the Grand Canyon explorations
. Although he had permission to make the exploration from his superiors Colonel John Gibbon
and General Alfred Terry
whom he had courted during the summer campaign, Doane did this over the head of his immediate commander, Major James Brisbin, the post commander at Fort Ellis.
By all accounts, Doane's 1876 Snake River Expedition was ill-advised and an aborted failure. Doane planned to take his troop of soldiers over the Yellowstone plateau in early winter to begin the trip down the Snake River. With an ingeniously disassembled wooden boat on pack mules, Doane and his party traveled up the Yellowstone River from Fort Ellis eventually reaching Yellowstone Lake on October 24, well behind schedule because of deep snows and brutal cold. The boat proved difficult on Yellowstone Lake because of high winds and was partially wrecked and supplies were lost. The party did not get the boat to Heart Lake
until November 7. The weather and cold were brutal and Doane's party did not make the next 20 miles down the Snake to Jackson Lake until December 7, 1876. By this time, they were critically short of supplies and began killing their stock for food. The boat proved unworthy in the Snake's whitewater and was eventually completely wrecked and abandoned. On December 15, 1876, Doane and his troop were near starvation and death when they arrived at a trapper's cabin on the Snake River. Eventually, they made Keenan City, Idaho and then Fort Hall
, Idaho by January 4, 1877. By this time however, word of their condition had reached Major Brisbin at Fort Ellis and with permission from General Terry, Brisbin recalled Doane and his troops to Fort Ellis against Doane's wishes. They finally arrived there on February 2, 1877. Doane had put his troops in harms way for his own ambition and almost created a tragedy. This was Doane's last foray into the Yellowstone plateau.
of the U.S. Army Signal Corps was mounting an Army sponsored expedition to explore the North Pole. When Doane learned of this he applied for an assignment with the Howgate expedition which the Army granted. The 1880 Howgate Arctic Expedition was tasked with scientific and geographical exploration of Greenland in preparation for an 1881 International Polar Year expeditionary force and Arctic colonization. However, the Army and Navy decided, in June 1880, to withdraw support of the Howgate Arctic Expedition as the expeditionary vessel, the steamship Gulnare, was unseaworthy. Howgate, not to be deterred, found private funding. The expedition was to be based at Ellesmere Island
off the coast of Greenland in preparation for further explorations of the polar regions.
The Gulnare departed in July, captained by Lt. Doane. On August 3, in a heavy gale
, the Gulnare was damaged, but worse yet, it lost a deck boat and the entire deck load. The steamer reached Disko
on August 8 and steamer repairs lasted through August 21 and the expedition was scrapped. Lt. Doane placed expedition failure upon the Gulnare and reported:
. Working with the Crows, Doane was instrumental in gaining their allegiance to the U.S. Army during the Nez Perce campaign. Immediately after the ill-fated Battle of the Little Bighorn
, Doane and his troop were instrumental in moving survivors of Major Marcus Reno
's forces to safety and medical care. In June 1877, a year after the battle, Doane along with his troop of Crow Indian scouts and Lt Colonel Michael Sheridan visited the battleground to recover remains. Of the remains recovered was that of Colonel George Armstrong Custer
, who was later buried at West Point.
and the Nez Perce during the Nez Perce War
. Shortly after Chief Joseph's escape from the Battle of the Big Hole
, the Nez Perce moved into Yellowstone. Doane and his scouts blocked their retreat down the Yellowstone River
and forced Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce to escape East via the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River
. This ultimately put the Nez Perce within striking distance of Colonel Miles forces. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce surrendered to Miles near the Canadian border in October 1877.
Apache, Geronimo
had gone off-reservation and began causing trouble in southern Arizona Territory
. In December 1885, the Army needing additional troops in the territory, assigned Doane's Company A from the Presido and others to Fort Bowie
, near present day Wilcox, Arizona under the overall command of General George Crook
and later in 1886, under command of General Miles of the Plains campaigns. Doane's Company A eventually wound up at an outpost in the Dragoon Mountains
near the Cochise Stronghold. From there, his Company under the command of Second Lieutenant Lloyd M. Brett, got involved in an epic pursuit of Geronimo's forces. Doane did not participate because of personal reasons. In September 1886, Geronimo surrendered to General Miles and the campaign was over. By mid-October, Doane's company was back at the Presidio.
Doane's personal amibitions for involvement in the administration of Yellowstone were one of the casualties of this campaign. In August 1886, the Secretary of the Interior asked the U.S. Army to take over administration of the park to curb poaching and vandalism. Doane has long lobbied for such administration and had hoped he would be an intimate part of it. However, because of funding reasons, the U.S. Army chose a troop from close-by Fort Custer to take over the park on August 1886. Because he was in Arizona, Doane or his company were not considered for the job.
Throughout 1890 and 1891, Doane, while assigned to the Presidio in San Francisco and at Fort Bowie, Arizona Territory, made extensive personal and literary appeals to U.S. Army and Montana authorities for him to be given the Superintendency of Yellowstone National Park. The U.S. Army never supported him in this endeavor to his deep disappointment.
In February 1892, Doane returned to Bozeman, Montana on six months medical leave awaiting his official retirement from the U.S. Army. He fell sick during an influenza epidemic in April and eventually died in his sleep from heart failure on May 5, 1892 in his Bozeman home. He was buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in downtown Bozeman. He was mourned by hundreds of Gallatin Valley citizens who knew him as the explorer who discovered Yellowstone. He was survived by his second wife Mary who lived as a widow in Bozeman until her death in June 1952.
Summarized from Bonney (1970).
Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
The Washburn Expedition of 1870, explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry Washburn, Nathaniel P. Langford and under U.S. Army escort led by Lt. Gustavus C...
.
Early life
Gustavus Cheyney Doane was born in Galesburg, IllinoisGalesburg, Illinois
Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....
, the oldest of six children of Solomon Doane and Nancy Davis Doane. After a move to St. Louis, Missouri in 1844, the Doanes, with their one son Cheyney traveled west to Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
settling in Oak Grove, Oregon
Oak Grove, Oregon
Oak Grove is an unincorporated community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Oak Grove as a census-designated place . The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with...
south of Portland in 1846. In May, 1849, the Doanes, now with two sons, moved to Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
to take up farming there. As a young boy growing up in California during the 1850s, Doane was heavily influenced by the exploits and writings of General John C. Fremont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, explorer, Mexican-American War hero and California statesman. Gustavus C. Doane entered college at the newly created University of the Pacific in Santa Clara in 1857, graduating first in his class in Latin, Greek and mathematics on June 13, 1861.
Civil War and Reconstruction experiences
Desiring to participate in the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
, in October, 1862 after unsuccessful attempts at gaining an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a 22 year old Doane volunteered at San Francisco for the 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers
2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers
The 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers was a regiment of cavalry troops in the Union army during the American Civil War. It consisted primarily of men from the states of California and Massachusetts, and served in the Eastern Theater, despite its western roots.-History:Politicians at...
known as the California 100. This group of volunteers, after paying their own way to Boston by ship from California, were inducted into the U.S. Army in January 1863. A month after his enlistment, Doane was made a Sergeant and began seeing combat in actions around Washington, D.C. against forces of Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby
John S. Mosby
John Singleton Mosby , nicknamed the "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War...
, also known as the Gray Ghost.
In March 1863, Doane was transferred to the Mississippi Marine Brigade
Mississippi Marine Brigade
The Mississippi Marine Brigade was a Union Army unit raised during the American Civil War as part of the United States Ram Fleet. These soldiers acted as Marines aboard United States Army rams patrolling the Mississippi River...
, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
as a First Lieutenant. Although Doane's unit did see action with the enemy, he did not distinquish himself during this assignment. When it was dissolved in August 1864, Doane was transferred to an infantry regiment. Doane was honorably discharged from the Army in January 1865.
After a brief post-war stint in Illinois, Doane and some of his wartime associates returned to Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
to establish a merchandising business. Initially successful because of the post-war boom, by late 1866 the sour post-war economy and poor business decisions resulted in bankruptcy. It was during this period that Doane met and married Amelia Link, the daughter of a wealthy southern landowner. Although Doane tried to make a living from Amelia's father's land, that too failed. In 1867, Doane tried his hand at politics in Mississippi, becoming Justice of the Peace and Mayor of Yazoo City for a short period of time. However, local politics and Reconstruction policies proved too much for Doane and he left Mississippi in May 1868 for Illinois abandoning his business and political ambitions in Mississippi.
Assignment to Fort Ellis
John Conness
John Conness was a first-generation Irish-American businessman who served as a U.S. Senator from California during the American Civil War and the early years of Reconstruction. He introduced a bill to establish Yosemite National Park and voted to abolish slavery...
, Doane earned a commission in the U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment as a Second Lieutenant. After a year of un-eventful, training and scouting assignments at Fort McPherson, Nebraska and Fort Russell, Wyoming, Doane's cavalry unit was transferred to the newly created Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis
Fort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
, Montana Territory
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
near Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
. On July 1, 1869 Doane and his wife, Amelia arrived at Fort Ellis. By the fall of 1869, Doane was given command of Company F, 2nd Cavalry at Fort Ellis.
In January, 1870, Doane's Company along with others under the overall command of Major Eugene M. Baker led a successful attack on a Blackfoot Indian
Blackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
camp on the Marias River
Marias River
The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Medicine River...
in response to the alleged murder of a white fur trader. This engagement became known as the Marias Massacre
Marias Massacre
The Marias Massacre was a massacre of Piegan Blackfeet Indians by the United States Army which took place in Montana during the late nineteenth century Indian Wars.-Background:...
.
In reality, Doane spent little time at Fort Ellis with his wife Amelia. By 1877 the frontier life at Fort Ellis and Doane's constant absence, had severely strained their relationship. Gustavus and Amelia were eventually divorced in September 1878.
Doane wasted little time in re-marrying. In December 1878, Gustavus and 19 year old Mary Lee Hunter of Hunter Hot Springs, Montana were married in Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
in a well attended ceremony including the Territorial Governor, Benjamin F. Potts
Benjamin F. Potts
Benjamin Franklin Potts was a lawyer, politician, and soldier from the state of Ohio who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a postbellum Governor of the Montana Territory from 1870 to 1883...
. Mary Lee was the daughter of Dr. Andrew Jackson Hunter, formerly the camp physician at Fort Ellis. They remained married and together until Doane's death in 1892.
Yellowstone exploration
Winfield Scott Hancock
Winfield Scott Hancock was a career U.S. Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service in the Mexican-American War and as a Union general in the American Civil War...
, Commander, Department of Dakota, provide a military escort from Fort Ellis. The request was granted on August 14, 1870 and Doane with five other soldiers were selected to provide the escort. As the leader of the U.S. Army escort of the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition
The Washburn Expedition of 1870, explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that a couple years later became Yellowstone National Park. Led by Henry Washburn, Nathaniel P. Langford and under U.S. Army escort led by Lt. Gustavus C...
into Yellowstone in August–September 1870, Lt. Gustavus C. Doane became a significant contributor to the process that ultimately resulted in the creation of Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
on March 1, 1872. Although he was skillful and resourceful throughout the expedition, it was his thorough and detailed report to the Secretary of War in February 1871 of the natural phenomenon in Yellowstone that played a convincing role in the efforts to convince the U.S. Congress to create the National Park. The following excerpt is typical of Doane's detailed descriptions contained in his report:
General Washburn named a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range
Absaroka Range
The Absaroka Range is a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. The range stretches about 150 mi across the Montana-Wyoming border, forming the eastern boundary of Yellowstone National Park and the western side of the Bighorn Basin. The range borders the Beartooth Mountains...
for Lt. Doane that later became known as Colter Peak
Colter Peak
Colter Peak el. is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in the southeastern section of Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for mountain man John Colter, reputedly the first white man to visit the Yellowstone region. Colter Peak was first ascended in 1870 by Lt. Gustavus Cheyney Doane...
. In 1871, however, Hayden named another peak nearby Mount Doane
Mount Doane
Mount Doane el. is a mountain peak in the Absaroka Range in Yellowstone National Park. The peak is named for Lieutenant Gustavus Cheyney Doane, a U.S. Army cavalry officer who escorted the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition into Yellowstone in 1870. During that expedition, Doane and Nathaniel P....
in his honor.
In his The Yellowstone National Park-Historical and Descriptive (1895), Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram Martin Chittenden was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington, were named.-Early Life:...
praised Doane's expedition report:
His part in the Expedition of 1870 is second to none. He made the first official
report upon the wonders of the Yellowstone, and his fine descriptions have never been surpassed by any subsequent writer. Although suffering intense physical torture during the greater portion of the trip, it did not extinguish in him the truly poetic ardor with which those strange phenomena seem to have inspired him. Dr. Hayden says of this report: "I venture to state, as my opinion, that for graphic description and thrilling interest it has not been surpassed by any official report".
Other explorations
Doane was an explorer at heart and participated in or led several explorations while assigned to Fort Ellis and other posts. In September 1874, Doane the explorer, inspired by the reports of David LivingstoneDavid Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
and Henry M. Stanley's adventures in Africa, proposed a Nile Survey to the Smithsonian. Of course Doane would lead this expedition. Throughout the winter of 1874-75, Doane sought support in Washington from both private and government entities. However, in February 1875, when the proposal reached Secretary of War William W. Belknap
William W. Belknap
William Worth Belknap was a United States Army general, government administrator, and United States Secretary of War. He was the only Cabinet secretary ever to have been impeached by the United States House of Representatives.-Birth and early years:Born in Newburgh, New York to career soldier...
, it was turned down. Doane was deeply disappointed, but Belknap had been impressed by Doane the man and explorer. In July 1875 Belknap and a party of dignitaries visited Yellowstone for a two week tour of the park. Belknap chose Doane from Fort Ellis to make the arrangements and guide the party through Yellowstone. They followed a course very similar to the Washburn expedition. This was Doane's third foray into the Yellowstone region.
Hayden Geological Survey of 1871
During the summer of 1871, Doane participated in the military escort supporting the Hayden Geological Survey of 1871Hayden Geological Survey of 1871
The Hayden Geological Survey of 1871 explored the region of northwestern Wyoming that later became Yellowstone National Park in 1872. It was led by geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden...
of Yellowstone under the leadership of Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden
Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden
Dr. Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden was an American geologist noted for his pioneering surveying expeditions of the Rocky Mountains in the late 19th century. He was also a physician who served with the Union Army during the Civil War.-Early life:Ferdinand Hayden was born in Westfield, Massachusetts...
. This was Doane's second major foray into the Yellowstone region. Although Doane's pathfinding skills were praised by Hayden, the fact that the Hayden explorations, not the Washburn-Doane explorations of Yellowstone got most of the credit for the creation of the park caused a long lasting resentment by Doane. This resentment clouded Doane's judgement for years and was a direct contributor to the failed 1876 Snake River Expedition.
1876 Snake River Expedition
In the fall of 1876, after a tedious summer dealing with the aftermath of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Doane returned to Fort Ellis, restless for more exploration. All summer he had been planning an exploration of the Snake River regions south of Yellowstone. Doane believed this exploration would gain him the same type recognition that had been bestowed on Hayden for Yellowstone and on John Wesley PowellJohn Wesley Powell
John Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...
for the Grand Canyon explorations
Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869
The Powell Geographic Expedition was a groundbreaking 19th century U.S. exploratory expedition of the American West, led by John Wesley Powell in 1869, that provided the first-ever thorough investigation of the Green and Colorado rivers, including the first known passage through the Grand Canyon...
. Although he had permission to make the exploration from his superiors Colonel John Gibbon
John Gibbon
John Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
and General Alfred Terry
Alfred Terry
Alfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.-Early life and career:...
whom he had courted during the summer campaign, Doane did this over the head of his immediate commander, Major James Brisbin, the post commander at Fort Ellis.
By all accounts, Doane's 1876 Snake River Expedition was ill-advised and an aborted failure. Doane planned to take his troop of soldiers over the Yellowstone plateau in early winter to begin the trip down the Snake River. With an ingeniously disassembled wooden boat on pack mules, Doane and his party traveled up the Yellowstone River from Fort Ellis eventually reaching Yellowstone Lake on October 24, well behind schedule because of deep snows and brutal cold. The boat proved difficult on Yellowstone Lake because of high winds and was partially wrecked and supplies were lost. The party did not get the boat to Heart Lake
Heart Lake (Wyoming)
Heart Lake el. is a large backcountry lake, nestled at the base of Mount Sheridan in Yellowstone National Park. Heart Lake is in the Snake River drainage and is drained by the Heart River.-History:...
until November 7. The weather and cold were brutal and Doane's party did not make the next 20 miles down the Snake to Jackson Lake until December 7, 1876. By this time, they were critically short of supplies and began killing their stock for food. The boat proved unworthy in the Snake's whitewater and was eventually completely wrecked and abandoned. On December 15, 1876, Doane and his troop were near starvation and death when they arrived at a trapper's cabin on the Snake River. Eventually, they made Keenan City, Idaho and then Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
, Idaho by January 4, 1877. By this time however, word of their condition had reached Major Brisbin at Fort Ellis and with permission from General Terry, Brisbin recalled Doane and his troops to Fort Ellis against Doane's wishes. They finally arrived there on February 2, 1877. Doane had put his troops in harms way for his own ambition and almost created a tragedy. This was Doane's last foray into the Yellowstone plateau.
1880 Howgate Arctic Expedition
In May, 1880 Captain Henry W. HowgateHenry W. Howgate
Capt. Henry W. Howgate was Chief Disbursing Officer in the United States Army Signal Corps and responsible for major Arctic explorations...
of the U.S. Army Signal Corps was mounting an Army sponsored expedition to explore the North Pole. When Doane learned of this he applied for an assignment with the Howgate expedition which the Army granted. The 1880 Howgate Arctic Expedition was tasked with scientific and geographical exploration of Greenland in preparation for an 1881 International Polar Year expeditionary force and Arctic colonization. However, the Army and Navy decided, in June 1880, to withdraw support of the Howgate Arctic Expedition as the expeditionary vessel, the steamship Gulnare, was unseaworthy. Howgate, not to be deterred, found private funding. The expedition was to be based at Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
off the coast of Greenland in preparation for further explorations of the polar regions.
The Gulnare departed in July, captained by Lt. Doane. On August 3, in a heavy gale
Gale
A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots of sustained surface winds. Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are...
, the Gulnare was damaged, but worse yet, it lost a deck boat and the entire deck load. The steamer reached Disko
Qeqertarsuaq
Qeqertarsuaq is a port and a town in Qaasuitsup municipality, located on the south coast of Qeqertarsuaq Island, an island on the west coast of Greenland. Founded in 1773, it is home to a campus of the University of Copenhagen...
on August 8 and steamer repairs lasted through August 21 and the expedition was scrapped. Lt. Doane placed expedition failure upon the Gulnare and reported:
"The cruise of the Gulnare is the first acknowledged failure in Arctic annals. We did but little, but left a great many things undone requiring some moral courage to refrain from doing. We did not change the names of all the localities visited, as is customary, nor give them new latitudes to the bewilderment of the general reader. We do not dispute anyone's attained distance not declare it impossible that he should have been where he was. We did not hunt up nameless islands and promontories to tag them with the surnames... We did not even erect cenotaphs... We received no flags, converted no natives, killed no one... The object of this report is to expose a few of the specious pleas, fallacious reasonings, and ill-grounded conjectures which are called scientific, and to place the subject of circumpolar exploration on a basis of facts and reasonable probabilities. One cannot explore the earth's surface from an observatory, nor by mathematics, nor by the power of logic. It must be done physically.
Indian campaigns
Although Doane was involved with various Indian affairs and events for most of his U.S. Army career, he did play a role in two major Indian campaigns and a peripheral role in the aftermath of another.Battle of the Little Bighorn
In early 1877, Doane was placed in command of the Crow Indian scouts under the command of Colonel Nelson A. MilesNelson A. Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles was a United States soldier who served in the American Civil War, Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.-Early life:Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on his family's farm...
. Working with the Crows, Doane was instrumental in gaining their allegiance to the U.S. Army during the Nez Perce campaign. Immediately after the ill-fated 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...
, Doane and his troop were instrumental in moving survivors of Major Marcus Reno
Marcus Reno
Marcus Albert Reno was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne...
's forces to safety and medical care. In June 1877, a year after the battle, Doane along with his troop of Crow Indian scouts and Lt Colonel Michael Sheridan visited the battleground to recover remains. Of the remains recovered was that of Colonel George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
, who was later buried at West Point.
Nez Perce War
In August and September 1877, Doane and his Crow Indian scouts played a key role in the ultimate capture of Chief JosephChief Joseph
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, popularly known as Chief Joseph, or Young Joseph was the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain band of Nez Perce during General Oliver O. Howard's attempt to forcibly remove his band and the other "non-treaty" Nez Perce to a reservation in Idaho...
and the Nez Perce during the Nez Perce War
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict between the Nez Perce and the United States government fought in 1877 as part of the American Indian Wars. After a series of battles in which both the U.S. Army and native people sustained significant casualties, the Nez Perce surrendered and were relocated...
. Shortly after Chief Joseph's escape from the Battle of the Big Hole
Battle of the Big Hole
The Battle of the Big Hole was a costly battle in the Montana Territory between the Nez Percé and United States army during the Nez Perce War of 1877.-Background:...
, the Nez Perce moved into Yellowstone. Doane and his scouts blocked their retreat down the Yellowstone River
Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Yellowstone National...
and forced Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce to escape East via the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River
Clarks Fork Yellowstone River
The Clarks Fork Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, 150 mi long in the U.S. states of Montana and Wyoming....
. This ultimately put the Nez Perce within striking distance of Colonel Miles forces. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce surrendered to Miles near the Canadian border in October 1877.
Geronimo campaign
In September 1884, Lieutenant Doane was finally promoted to Captain Doane and transferred from Fort Maginnis, Montana to the Presidio, San Francisco. Life was good, relative to Montana, for the Doanes in California. However, in early 1885, a ChiricahuaChiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
Apache, Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
had gone off-reservation and began causing trouble in southern Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
. In December 1885, the Army needing additional troops in the territory, assigned Doane's Company A from the Presido and others to Fort Bowie
Fort Bowie
Fort Bowie was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona.Fort Bowie was established in 1862 after a series of engagements between the U.S. Military and the Chiricahua Apaches. The most violent of which was the...
, near present day Wilcox, Arizona under the overall command of General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
and later in 1886, under command of General Miles of the Plains campaigns. Doane's Company A eventually wound up at an outpost in the Dragoon Mountains
Dragoon Mountains
Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox.- Geography :...
near the Cochise Stronghold. From there, his Company under the command of Second Lieutenant Lloyd M. Brett, got involved in an epic pursuit of Geronimo's forces. Doane did not participate because of personal reasons. In September 1886, Geronimo surrendered to General Miles and the campaign was over. By mid-October, Doane's company was back at the Presidio.
Doane's personal amibitions for involvement in the administration of Yellowstone were one of the casualties of this campaign. In August 1886, the Secretary of the Interior asked the U.S. Army to take over administration of the park to curb poaching and vandalism. Doane has long lobbied for such administration and had hoped he would be an intimate part of it. However, because of funding reasons, the U.S. Army chose a troop from close-by Fort Custer to take over the park on August 1886. Because he was in Arizona, Doane or his company were not considered for the job.
Inventor
Yellowstone Superintendency campaign and death
In February 1892, Doane returned to Bozeman, Montana on six months medical leave awaiting his official retirement from the U.S. Army. He fell sick during an influenza epidemic in April and eventually died in his sleep from heart failure on May 5, 1892 in his Bozeman home. He was buried in Sunset Hills Cemetery in downtown Bozeman. He was mourned by hundreds of Gallatin Valley citizens who knew him as the explorer who discovered Yellowstone. He was survived by his second wife Mary who lived as a widow in Bozeman until her death in June 1952.
Post Civil War assignments
- Fort McPherson, Nebraska - Boot Camp (August 1868)
- Fort Russell, Wyoming - Scouting (1868–1869)
- Fort EllisFort EllisFort Ellis was an early United States Army outpost established August 27, 1867 to the eastern side of present-day Bozeman, Montana. The fort was established to protect and support settlers moving into the Gallatin Valley. The post was named for Civil War Colonel Augustus van Horne Ellis who was...
, Montana - Indian battles, scouting and explorations (June 1869-June 1879); Exploration reporting (September 1880 - June 1881)- Detached - St Paul, Minnesota - Department of Dakota headquarters (1871)
- Detached - Fort Pease, Montana - Rescue operation (1876)
- Detached - Fort HallFort HallFort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
, Idaho - Exploration (1877) - Detached - Fort KeoghFort KeoghFort Keogh is located on the western edge of Miles City, Montana. Occasionally spelled Fort Keough. Originally a military post, today it is a United States Department of Agriculture livestock and range research station. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
, Montana - Scouting (1877–78) - Detached - Fort Custer, Montana - Staked out new fort (June 1877)
- Detached - Camp Mulkey, Idaho - Bannock Uprising (1878)
- Fort AssinniboineFort AssinniboineFort Assinniboine, a fort in Montana and within the military Department of Dakota, was built in 1879, in the aftermath of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 and the disastrous defeat of U.S. Army forces led by General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876. The fort is located in...
, Montana - Scouting (June 1879 - May 1880); (June 1881 - November 1882) - Fort Maginnis, Montana - Scouting (November 1882 - September 1883)
- Jefferson Barracks, St Louis, Missouri - Recruiting - (1883–1884)
- PresidioPresidio of San FranciscoThe Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, California (September 1884 - September 1885); (October 1886 - June 1890) - Fort BowieFort BowieFort Bowie was a 19th century outpost of the United States Army located in southeastern Arizona near the present day town of Willcox, Arizona.Fort Bowie was established in 1862 after a series of engagements between the U.S. Military and the Chiricahua Apaches. The most violent of which was the...
, Arizona TerritoryArizona TerritoryThe Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
- GeronimoGeronimoGeronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
Campaign - (September 1885 - October 1886); Scouting (June 1890 - December 1891)
Summarized from Bonney (1970).
Further reading
- Gustavus C. Doane Papers (1860–1939), Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections Library, Montana State UniversityMontana State University - BozemanMontana State University – Bozeman is a public university located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's land-grant university and primary campus in the Montana State University System, which is part of the Montana University System...
Collection website