Kansas Historical Quarterly
The Kiowa and Comanche Campaign of 1860
as Recorded in the Personal Diary of Lt. J. E. B. Stuart
Edited by W. Stitt Robinson
Winter, 1957 (Vol. XXIII, No. 4), pages 382 to 400
Transcription and HTML composition by Larry E. & Carolyn L. Mix;
digitized with permission of The Kansas Historical Society.
NOTE: The numbers in brackets are links to footnotes for this text.
I.
Introduction
THE duties of
the United States army on the frontier were many and varied
during the decade preceding the Civil War. There were both
military and nonmilitary services to perform. The military
involved primarily campaigns against hostile nomadic
Indians, campaigns which were on the whole limited to minor
skirmishes and which can hardly be classified as wars.
Nonmilitary duties involved the army as policeman rather
than soldier and as the builder of forts which ringed the
frontier area. Both military and nonmilitary services were
vital parts of the mission of the army on the eve of the
Civil War.
Greatest
attention in the writing of American military history has
been devoted to the fighting role. [1]
Even with this emphasis, the story is not complete as
evidenced by the lack of printed material concerning some of
the campaigns on the frontier. The diary reproduced here has
only recently come to light and supplies new and detailed
information on the Kiowa and Comanche campaign of 1860.
[2]
The record was kept by Lt. James Ewell Brown Stuart who is
best known to history as "Jeb," the dashing cavalry leader
of the Southern Confederacy. The military units included
Companies F, G, H, and K of the First regiment of cavalry
with some attention to the two attached companies of the
Second dragoons, Companies C and K. As an appropriate
background to the diary of the 1860 campaign, a brief resume
will be given of Stuart's early military career which
involved mainly his service with the First
cavalry.
A
Virginian by birth, Stuart received an appointment to the
United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated
in the class of 1854. His first assignment as an officer was
with the regiment of mounted rifles under the command of
Maj. J. S. Simonson, who was then carrying out orders for
both military and nonmilitary services along the Texas
frontier from Fort McIntosh near Laredo to Fort Davis and El
Paso. [3]
Federal troops were responsible for protecting the area from
Indian raids, securing the emigrant routes, fortifying the
Mexican border, supporting the enforcement of revenue laws,
and curbing the activity of bandits and murderers.
[4]
Stuart's service in Texas was cut short by his appointment
to the First regiment of cavalry which along with the Second
cavalry was organized in March, 1855, by act of congress to
expand the number of mounted troops in the army. Command of
the First cavalry was assigned to Col. Edwin V. Sumner and
Lt. Col. Joseph E. Johnston.
Stuart
reported in June, 1855, to Colonel Sumner at Jefferson
Barracks in Missouri where the regiment was being organized,
and before the end of the month the unit moved on to Fort
Leavenworth in Kansas. Colonel Sumner assumed command of the
post and appointed Stuart to his staff as regimental
quartermaster and as assistant commissary of subsistence of
the post. [5]
While organization was still under way, orders were issued
for the First cavalry to participate in the campaign against
the Sioux Indians in August and September, 1855. The major
skirmish of the expedition involved Bvt. Brig. Gen. William
S. Harney and Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke of the Second
dragoons in an attack on the Sioux on Blue Water creek near
Ash Hollow along the North Platte river in Nebraska
territory. [6]
But for the First cavalry, the venture was little more than
an exercise in organization and an orientation to the
Plains, for on the march to Fort Kearny and beyond toward
Fort Laramie, no Sioux were encountered.
[7]
Upon
return from the Sioux campaign, Lieutenant Stuart completed
plans for his marriage to Flora Cooke, daughter of Lt. Col.
P. S. G. Cooke of Virginia, plans which had been tentatively
made after a whirlwind courtship following their first
meeting at Fort Leavenworth. The event was solemnized on
November 14 at Fort Riley where Lieutenant Colonel Cooke was
stationed with the Second dragoons. [8]
The
increased tensions of the Kansas struggle in late 1855 and
1856 resulted in the call for military personnel for a wide
variety of assignments, more as policemen than as soldiers.
Commanders of federal troops were ordered by the Secretary
of War to assist the territorial governor in enforcing the
law and maintaining the peace. While many of the assignments
were common for normal frontier conditions, the number
increased for such missions as the following: preventing
bloodshed between Proslavery and Free-State factions;
guarding the polls and land sale offices; stopping the raids
of freebooters and bandits; providing military escorts for
the mail, for Indian agents delivering annuities to the
tribes, and for visiting or local officials; and prohibiting
white encroachment upon the land reserves of friendly
semisedentary Indians. Calls were made upon the First
cavalry for all these tasks. [9]
Preoccupied
during 1856 with these problems, the First cavalry was not
able until 1857 to undertake a campaign against the Cheyenne
Indians. Although signers of the treaty at Fort Laramie in
1851, [10]
the Cheyenne had been guilty of raiding Western trails and
murdering whites. The purpose of the campaign, therefore,
was to punish the tribe for depredations and at the same
time so to overawe them by a show of force that peace would
be maintained. Two moving columns led by Col. E. V. Sumner
and Maj. John Sedgwick were employed from May until August,
the major encounter with the Cheyenne occurring on July 29
on Solomon's fork of the Smoky Hill river.
[11]
Lieutenant Stuart began the expedition as regimental
quartermaster officer, but was relieved during the campaign
by Colonel Sumner because of a difference of opinion over
the question of signatures for responsibility of government
property. [12]
Continuing as a company officer, Stuart was in the thick of
the fight with the Cheyenne on July 29; and while attempting
to save a fellow officer, he was wounded in the chest by a
pistol shot of an attacking Indian. [13]
Further
expeditions against the Cheyenne were prevented by the order
for federal troops to join the forces being organized in
1857 for the Utah campaign. The Mormons were reported to be
in rebellion against the United States; and only two U. S.
officials, both being Indian agents, remained in Utah.
Alfred Cumming was appointed as new governor of Utah
territory, and orders were issued to organize some 2,500
troops at Fort Leavenworth to accompany the governor and
other new officials to the Mormon country.
[14]
Companies of the First cavalry were assigned to various
columns that were to march at designated intervals. Stuart
was a member of the column under Major Sedgwick and served
as quartermaster officer of the expedition. However,
agreements worked out by negotiators in the Mormon country
ended the campaign without fighting; and Stuart's column,
not leaving Fort Riley until May 29, 1858, went beyond Fort
Laramie only as far as the Valley of the Sweetwater in
present Wyoming before returning to Fort Riley on August 29.
[15]
Following
a winter in quarters at Fort Riley, the First cavalry
received assignments for field duty for the summer of 1859
to protect the emigrant route along the Arkansas river.
Stuart obtained a six months' leave and returned to
Virginia. While on leave he completed his invention for a
sabre attachment devised in Kansas. By means of "a stout
brass hook" Stuart made it possible for the mounted soldier
to leave his sabre on the pommel of the saddle when
dismounting to fight; when remounting, he could easily
return the sabre to his belt. Stuart patented the invention
(patent number 25684 dated October 4, 1859)
[16]
and he was successful in selling to the United States
government the right to use the improvement for mounted
troops. [17]
While
in Washington on October 17 waiting outside the office of
the Secretary of War for a conference about his invention,
Stuart was asked to deliver a message to Lt. Col. Robert E.
Lee across the Potomac at his Arlington home. Learning that
the mission involved quelling the uprising at Harpers Ferry,
Stuart volunteered his services and accompanied Lee as his
aide to the scene where John Brown was captured on October
18. Writing to his mother on January 31, 1860, after
returning to Fort Riley, Stuart stated that one of his
greatest services was the recognition from his experience in
Kansas, that the insurgent leader Smith was actually "Old
Brown." [18]
Back
in Fort Riley, Stuart rejoined the regiment and assumed
command of Company G on December 15, 1859, until Capt.
William S. Walker returned from leave. [19]
Orders from army headquarters were received in March to
begin preparations for a campaign against the Kiowa and
Comanche Indians. These two tribes along with the Apaches
had signed the treaty in 1853 at Fort Atkinson on the
Arkansas river (near present Dodge City). The agreement was
made to maintain "Peace, friendship, and amity" with the
United States and to preserve peace among the signatory
Indian tribes. The right was provided for the United States
to build roads or highways and military or other posts in
territories occupied by the Indians. The three tribes also
promised "to make restitution or satisfaction for any
injuries done by any band or any individuals of their
respective tribes to the people of the United States"
legally residing in or traveling through their territories,
and not to molest them in any way but rather to aid them if
possible. In return the United States was to pay $18,000
annually in annuities for ten years and to protect the
tribes from depredations by people of the United States.
Violation of the treaty, it was agreed, could result in the
withholding of annuities; and if at a later date it seemed
desirable to establish farms among the Indians, the United
States could use the annuities for that purpose.
[20]
By
1857 the Kiowas and Comanches were reported in large numbers
for extended periods of time on the Arkansas river, and by
1859 were residing permanently in the area between the
Canadian and Arkansas rivers. [21]
Indian Agent Robert Miller (or Millar) met the Comanches,
Kiowas, and other tribes on July 19, 1858, at Pawnee Fork
and found the Comanches unwilling to treat with the United
States, threatening to annul the treaty of 1853. The Kiowas
were more amenable, but parties from both tribes had been
guilty of attacking and robbing two Mexican trains in sight
of the agent's camp. Miller found both Kiowas and Comanches
arrogant and confident of their superiority over U. S.
forces, an opinion held by them, he thought, because of
their lack of knowledge of the size and resources of the
United States. In his report to the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, he concluded that "Nothing short of a thorough
chastisement, which they so richly deserve, will bring these
people to their proper senses." [22]
A
few weeks later Colonel Sumner en route from Fort Kearny to
the Arkansas river met a band of Kiowas under Little
Mountain, one of the leaders with whom Miller had conferred.
Sumner found the leaders of the Kiowas desirous of peace,
although they indicated great "difficulty in restraining
their turbulent young men." Pledges were made to Sumner to
exert every effort to keep the young braves off the warpath.
[23]
The
Kiowas and Comanches were "encountered" the following year
on September 16, 1859, at the mouth of Walnut creek by Agent
W. W. Bent, who reported their number as 2,500 warriors. As
to conduct, they appeared peaceable in the presence of
federal troops; but when troops returned to Fort Riley,
Agent Bent stated that they "assumed a threatening attitude,
which resembles the prelude of predatory attacks upon the
unprotected whites" along the Santa Fe road. Bent was
convinced that a "smothered passion for revenge agitates
these Indians"; and he recommended the establishment of two
additional military forts along the Arkansas river to
provide the "perpetual presence of a controlling military
force." Because of the pressure of white settlement, he
foresaw a war of extinction unless the federal government
provided for the reduction of the nomadic tribes to an
agricultural and pastoral way of life. [24]
Orders
from army headquarters of March 10, 1860, ordered "active
operations" against the hostile Comanches and Kiowas with
instructions to hold no intercourse with them until
punishment had been inflicted by military attack. Columns of
troops, operating independently, were organized to begin the
march in May. Six companies of the First cavalry (A, B, C,
D, E, and I) were dispatched under Capt. S. D. Sturgis. The
other four companies of the regiment (F, G, H, and K) along
with Companies C and K of the Second dragoons were assigned
to the column commanded by Maj. John Sedgwick.
[25]
Writing to his sister in April about the command
appointment, Sedgwick stated that "I have no desire for it,
but if I have it I shall do my best to bring it to a
successful issue." [26]
Special
instructions of May 9 were forwarded to Major Sedgwick from
Colonel Sumner at headquarters of the Department of the West
in St. Louis. Drawing upon his varied experience as an
Indian fighter, Sumner advised that in order to be able to
pursue, overtake, and attack the enemy, it was necessary to
leave the wagon train at Pawnee Fork and to make the
expedition from there with supplies conveyed by pack mules
and beef cattle on foot. In pursuing Indians traveling with
their families, a "steady determined march" would overtake
them and when closely pressed, the warriors would separate
themselves to protect the families. This, according to
Sumner, was an excellent time to strike them; and in case
the Comanches and Kiowas should unite to pose a strong
threat, efforts should be made to turn their flanks for
"Indians can never stand that." One further suggestion from
Sumner reflected the problem of the military in
distinguishing friendly from hostile Indians and the
tendency of Federal troops to make little or no distinction
within one tribe when punitive expeditions were under way.
When "proffers of peace and disclaimers of all connection
with the hostiles" approach you, stated Sumner, it is
impossible to make distinctions; therefore, "whenever
Comanches or Kiowas are found they must give the character
to the whole party." [27]
Lieutenant
Stuart accompanied Major Sedgwick's column as a company
officer in Company G, and he was appointed journalist of the
expedition. In addition to keeping an official record of
events, [28]
he recorded a more informal and personal impression of the
expedition in a "Daily Miniature Diary for 1860" which had
been printed by the New York concern of Kiggins and Kellogg.
There are gaps in the personal diary, mainly in July. But it
is valuable for giving new information of the 1860
expedition and the terrain over which it was made, as well
as affording some insight to the personal reaction of Stuart
and other military personnel to the events of the
campaign.
The
Stuart diary presented here is a literal transcription from
photographic reproductions of the diary in the possession of
the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia and is
reproduced with the permission of that institution. Raised
letters in the manuscript have been uniformly lowered and
deletions by the diarist have been omitted. All other
changes have been indicated by the usual square
brackets.
Stuart's
references to the streams of western Kansas are of
considerable interest since history has recorded 1860 as a
year of Great Drought for Kansas and adjacent Plains
area.
II.
The Diary, May 15-August 15, 1860
MAY,
TUESDAY, 15, 1860. Left Fort Riley on Kiowa campaign, take
route up Smoky Hill for Pawnee Fork of Arkansas. camped
first night on chapman's creek. comd. composed of cos F G H
& K 1st. cav. under Mai Sedgwick. [29]
We expect a 5 mos arduous campaign principally with
packmules having our grand depot at Pawnee Fork. Walker
[30]
& I mess together the 2d Lt absent I like co duty far
better than staff. Detailed in camp to get wagons over
chapman's creek. Hard work. Some ladies came to cr from Fort
R[iley] but could nt cross
MAY,
WEDNESDAY, 16, 1860. I am the Journalist of the Expedition,
continue up Smoky Hill 16. miles camp just beyond Sand creek
& spring, on bank of Smoky Hill. Water of this stream
salt-- banks boggy. passed settlements all the way-- farm
houses with wells and springs. Rock Sp and a cluster called
7 springs opposite Kansas Falls. [31]
Soil very rich in Smoky Hill bottom Miles 16
MAY,
THURSDAY, 17, 1860. Crossed Solomons Fork at Ferry-- 8 miles
farther camped on Saline Fork days march. 13. miles-- Smoky
Hill Fork all day in sight to our left. solomons Fork has
good water st Cloud [32]
on east bank thriving settlement-- caught a fine cat in
Saline water of saline salt
MAY,
FRIDAY, 18, 1860. Passed up Saline to Ferry two miles above
During delay here I caught another fine cat. Advanced 4
miles through town on Smoky Hill called Salina-- thriving
place. Houses weather boarded with clapboards-- belongs
principally to one Phillips [33]
of Laurence [Lawrence] K. T. Much corn raised in
vicinity. This is the last settlement. 2 miles crossed Dry
cr. with water (?) in it. 1-1/2 miles pond to right. 2-1/2
miles to camp on Spring creek
MAY,
SATURDAY, 19, 1860. Country from here west barren &
unproductive. passed up Spring creek and its tributaries
through country broken & hilly camp on clear creek--
days march.
miles-- clear creek is tributary to
Smoky Hill
MAY,
SUNDAY, 20, 1860. Pass at 1-1/2 miles from camp fine Spring
in ravine to left of road. peculiar formation supposed to be
a buffalo lick. come in sight of Smoky Hill in front 5 miles
from camp cross Smoky Hill at Bryans bridge
[34]
of which only foundation is left at rocky bottom ford. camp
on south bank Jo. Taylor's [35]
horse Roderick took French Leave of camp to day-- not
recovered.
MAY,
MONDAY, 21, 1860. Passed several creeks where water was
expected now all dry. passed in afternoon to our left
immense lake thought at first to be the Arkansas-- but found
to be lake of good water-- in centre of a very large basin
of parched soil passed through myriads of buffalo lassooed a
calf at head of column. & put it in wagon. at 42 miles
strike Walnut creek. having passed 3 tributaries of cow cr.
all now dry.
MAY,
TUESDAY, 22, 1860. spent to-day in camp resting after the
long march yesterday caught a small cat. Thunder storm in
afternoon-- very refreshing shower.
MAY,
WEDNESDAY, 23, 1860. At 12 miles march to-day strike Santa
Fe route at Pawnee rock. Many wagons on route to Santa Fe
& Pike's Peak-- 6 miles on Santa Fe road bring us to Ash
creek-- a ranch-- and here turning to right 7 miles farther
reach Pawnee Fork cross it at Bell's bridge. Substantial
structure built by Bell D. & mail agent. Camp Alert
[36]
on west bank and above. Called on Maj Wessells.
[37]
comd. camped just below bridge.
MAY,
THURSDAY, 24, 1860. Moved camp to-day 5 miles lower down, to
Arkansas for better grass. Went up to Camp Alert & dined
with Maj Wessells Lt W. F. Lee [38]
& lady treated me with marked kindness also Maj W &
wife. I gave the calf to Maj W's boys. Visited camp of 2d.
Drags. Squadron under Capt Steele. [39]
Cos C & K. Armstrong [40]
& Sol Williams [41]
with it. In afternoon got odometer Lt Lee Mrs L & Mrs
Wessells went down to camp in Wing's ambulance. The young
officers rather on frolic. Armstrongs horse in leaping pole
in Newby's [42]
hands shyed & knocked N. senseless. I serenaded ladies
at night.
MAY,
FRIDAY, 25, 1860. Pack mules & saddles distributed this
morning generally gentle-- the day was consumed in adjusting
saddles & packing experimentally. Walker went to Camp
Alert to-day-- six miles off.
MAY,
SATURDAY, 26, 1860. To-day Maj Sedgwick determined to sent a
party of 30 men, south of Arkansas to reconnoitre & if
expedient attack the enemy if there. a smoke having been
seen the night previous I go in command also Jo Taylor &
Sol Williams. go S. E. 25 miles & arrive at Otter cr.
[43]
at 9 P. M. no Indians, camp without cooking. having 2 days
rations on our horses-- suffered some from cold.
MAY,
SUNDAY, 27, 1860. Continued at 4.30 AM up creek N. E. for 32
miles halting 2 hours at noon to graze & rest-- then
left creek & went nearly due north reach 20 miles to the
Arkansas just before sun down. & camped. Having a fine
roast of buffalo on sticks Saw no trace to day of Indians.
Otter creek has no timber, good grass, thousands of buffalo
Saw also antelope, duck, curlew, plover, snipe, sand hill
cranes otter & muskrat to say nothing of prairie dogs.
& such ilk.
MAY,
MONDAY, 28, 1860. Proceeded at 4.30 AM up Arkansas-- south
bank over waste of barren sand hills full of gofer holes
& recrossed river opposite camp days march 25. Whole
march 102 miles in 48 hours. Men & horses in fine
condition. Find letters & package from wife. Bless her
heart. Who with my experience could live without a wife.
heightening every joy, lightening every sorrow. Mrs. Ruff
[44]
in camp near here visit her. She is en route to
M.
MAY,
TUESDAY, 29, 1860. Camp at Pawnee Fork. Saw D W Scott. Sent
letter to wife by Mrs. Ruff. & list of
Distances.
MAY,
WEDNESDAY, 30, 1860. In camp reading "what will he do with
it" [45]
Officer of the Day. Dine with Lee at Fort.
["]Be joyous at forebodings of evil but tremble at
day-dream of happiness."
MAY,
THURSDAY, 31, 1860. In camp preparing for departure tomorrow
on pack mules. Bayard [46]
& Merril] [47]
arrived about 11 at night in the outward bound
mail.
JUNE,
FRIDAY, 1, 1860. Marched about 8. o'clock up Arkansas. Recd.
letters of mail, 1 from wife-- no news Camp on Arkansas.
[blank] miles beyond crossing of coon cr. several of
the ladies go out as far as coon creek in Capt Hayden's
ambulance. I never commenced a march with more buoyant
feelings. Everything smiles auspiciously notwithstanding
Friday Scott came this far with us & took back
our last dispatches for home. I gave Gaffner a strong
recommendation for wagon mr at Pawnee. days march 15.33/100
miles
JUNE,
SATURDAY, 2, 1860. Marched up Arkansas & camped on its
bank Bayard has dubbed Merrill "Gig Lamps," a very
appropriate soubriquet, taken from Verdant green.
[48]
Merrill is mounted on a mule wears spectacles & a
citizen's dress! 20. 20/100 miles
JUNE,
SUNDAY, 3, 1860. March up River along Santa Fe road. Coon
creek is very little to our north. Camp about 18 miles
farther 5 [?] miles above Jackson's Island. Bright
Sabbath day. A few Arrappahoe lodges on river in sight. In
afternoon their chief came in bearing aloft on a pole the
stars and stripes which he rightly conjectured was the
surest passport through our lines. He was dressed in a
dressing gown and wore a[n] Infantry Cap 18 43/100
miles
JUNE,
MONDAY, 4, 1860. Forded the Arkansas & without
difficulty sending back all the wagons but a Light
ammunition wagon & sick ambulance [49]
at 3-1/2 miles reach Mulberry cr. which empties into
Arkansas a few miles below our camp. -1/2 mile above cross
its dry bed. Cross near waters of Nuscatunga R
[50]
& camp. plenty of timber & water grass in timber. S.
17 45/100 miles
JUNE,
TUESDAY, 5, 1860. Travelled down the dry bed of stream, 15
miles & camped in wide valley groves of cottonwood. Last
year this valley must have been thronged with Indians Camped
at holes of water. grass tolerable, water unpleasant &
boggy to the taste. Citric acid corrects it sufficiently
Bayard caught some fine perch here. S. E. 15
miles
JUNE,
WEDNESDAY, 6, 1860. March East 3 miles then S. E. at 5 miles
from last camp a tributary running S W joins the one we
follow, & after junction their course is nearly South.
[51]
Camp on it. water scarce wood plenty, grass sufficient for a
squadron only. E & S. E. 14 68/100
JUNE,
THURSDAY, 7, 1860. Leaving valley of streams Cross S W 8
miles to another which must be the main Nuscatonga now dry--
pools deep & clear of fresh water full of fish in a
beautiful grove of timber. Quail & deer abound here.
birds singing at the greatest rate. Some horse shoes
gems of Civilization found here. fine grass. Then S
for 12 miles then S. E to camp on small tributary of Cimaron
Cimarone is here dry-- water in tributary stagnant grass
very bad water & soil worse S W & S. & S. E. 25.
42/100
JUNE,
FRIDAY, 8, 1860. Crossed dry bed of Cimaron & going
south 1-1/2 miles crossed distinct wagon trail. probably Col
Johnstons 1857 outward route [52]
days march over very rough & broken country. find dry
bed of stream with holes of water impregnated with salts,
incrustations on ground of Gypsum. Scarcely any grass. Soil
red & barren. this is probably the Red Fork of Cimaron.
[53]
S 10. 17/100 miles
JUNE,
SATURDAY, 9, 1860. Cross directly South for 7 miles. country
intersected by deep & rugged ravines with a few clumps
of cedar & cottonwood. Two streams in full view. cross
the first above their junction. It is the north Fork of
Canadian the other Middle R. Both well-timbered. 4 bear
& several deer & buffalo killed. water slightly salt
but clear Grass better than since left Arkansas. Col J's
return trail found near camp. S & S. E. 9.
91/100
JUNE,
SUNDAY, 10, 1860. Ly by in camp on north Fork of Canadian.
[54]
just above junction with it. majority of officers are
inclined to make scout towards Antelopes Hills on Main
Canadian. But Maj S. is going up the north Fork of Canadian
but will take Middle River as we afterwards
ascertain
JUNE,
MONDAY, 11, 1860. Marched up what we believed to be north
Fork of Canadian (Middle River) at 10 miles enter a very
extensive bottom of fine grass. Remains of Indian camps
passed. Timber & grass fine. water good. Camp on south
bank S. S. W. 26. 81/100
JUNE,
TUESDAY, 12, 1860. Continued the march. This stream abounds
in bear deer & turkey. Cross & recross several times
finally camp on north bank. after reaching camp we were so
fortunate & [as] to find a surveying party
Boundary commission, one of whom Mr Weyss
[55]
was with Col Johnston in 57. We get a copy of Col J's map
find that we are in Middle fork or River. main canadian dry.
No Indians. our Long is 100°. Lat 36°. 16° W
S W 17. miles
JUNE,
WEDNESDAY, 13, 1860. To-day we left the Boundary party who
follow up 100°degree of Longitude. we continue up
Middle R. our camp on 10th. was on north Fork now about 30
miles north of us. This stream gives indications of
continuing very little farther up. West 21.
70/100
JUNE,
THURSDAY, 14, 1860. up Middle River. Timber scarcer. Bluffs
bolder & valley narrows. Passed remains of Indian camp 2
months old. abrupt cedar bluffs. water now in detached holes
banks very steep & high. Evidence of great freshet on
the banks early in spring. Camp the last time on Middle R. a
very romantic & picturesque camp. bird serenade at night
also thunderstorm-- West 13. 50/100
JUNE,
FRIDAY, 15, 1860. Struck across from Middle River 5°
[ 15°?] west of north to north Fork of
Canadian. 34 miles about 10 AM a large herd of mustangs to
the N. W. are pronounced by the Delawares
[56]
Kiowas. We make preparations for battle-- marching by
squadrons in two columns All are eager for the fray Dragoons
too far behind to join us. But Armstrong co trotted up.
Steele was ordered to remain behind with the pack mules. we
were sadly fooled. This ended mustang battle. north 24
75/100
JUNE,
SATURDAY, 16, 1860. Went up north bank of stream Camp on N.
Fork Canadian [57]
march 19. Finished the Disowned [58]
JUNE,
SUNDAY, 17, 1860. Camp on north Fork of Canadian, march 14.
miles.
JUNE,
MONDAY, 18, 1860. Marched up N. F. Canadian 19. miles &
camped on good grass no fuel.
JUNE,
TUESDAY, 19, 1860. Lay by to-day. took bath ponds full of
cat & sunfish. fish for every meal. Dr. Madison's
mustang potatoes [?]
JUNE,
WEDNESDAY, 20, 1860. Lie [?] by to reconnoitre for
water volunteered to go on march with 2 men to see if water
is 40 miles ahead. start at 5 am. find water at 40 miles at
2-1/2 P. M. rest 1-1/2 hours & starting back reached
camp at 1¼ at night. slept 1-1/2 hours and marched at 5
am back with command over the 40 miles. Walker characterizes
my reconnaisance as very successful & creditable
service.
JUNE,
THURSDAY, 21, 1860. Arrived at camp 4.10 P M. I have marched
120 miles in 35 hours during all which time I have slept but
1-1/2 hours.
JUNE,
FRIDAY, 22, 1860. March n. n. W. by compass cross Santa Fe
road about 20 miles, & reach Cimaron at Aubrey's
crossing. [59]
Finish letter to wife, to send by Express to Pawnee Fork
tomorrow. Express sent for provisions.
JUNE,
SATURDAY, 23, 1860. Went up stream 4 miles & camped on
better grass. Lay by remainder of day.
JUNE,
SUNDAY, 24, 1860. Lay by till 4 P. M. March on Aubreys trail
N. E. till 10-1/2 A M [P. M.] Halt picket out on
prairie. Saddle up & resume march early-- without
breakfast on 25th. Reach Bear river (two Butte) River, whole
march 45 miles Last night Walker at Sedgwick. Water of Bear
river plenty & good in large pools. Reuben killed 2
ducks at one shot.
JUNE,
MONDAY, 25, 1860. See preceding page. Found Otis
[60]
here, who had been sent forward to reconnoitre for
water.
JUNE,
TUESDAY, 26, 1860. Fine antelope killed by Johnny Williams
(Delaware). I got the antlers -- a superb pair. -- to
present to P W H of N C. Lay by till about 4 P. M. when
saddling up we go down Bear river about 18 miles & find
water & large cottonwoods. about 10 P. M. camp by
moonlight. take cold lunch & to-bed.
JUNE,
WEDNESDAY, 27, 1860. Lay by till P. M. Loll in the shade of
the gigantic cottonwoods. all day. At 4 P. M. saddle up
& march on aubrey's trail 21 miles, picket out about 10
P M on roadside, & with cold lunch to-bed. N E 21
miles
JUNE,
THRSDAY, 28, 1860. At first dawn saddle up & continue
march warming some cold coffee we brought in a canteen,
& after 15 miles march N. E. reach the long wished for
arkansas. How comparative all our joys are. That stream upon
which I have heaped so much abuse, appears now -- lovely
& most welcome to view. Fall Leaf's rifle burst today
mangling his face a good deal. I crossed with McI.
[61]
& Lom [62]
to a train no news no nothing N E 15 miles
JUNE,
FRIDAY, 29, 1860. Yesterday the same Arrapahoe visited us,
now on his way to Bents Fort [63]
with one of Bents trains on the other side. Crossed to north
bank of arkansas & camped. aubreys crossing.
[64]
a very extensive bottom-- many islands with brushwood in the
river. And some large trees on an island above.
JUNE,
SATURDAY, 30, 1860. Muster at 8 A M-- Horses & mules
inspected. G has best horses but worst mules. Our ration
period expires to-day.
JULY,
SUNDAY, 1, 1860. In camp. Col. St. Vrain
[65]
the old trader passed in ambulance P. M. Says our supply
train left Pawnee Fork on 28th, & ought to be here
tomorrow. Pegram [66]
has passed en route to New Mexico. Kiowas reported to be on
cow creek & south Platte Randall & Reuben kill six
ducks.
JULY,
MONDAY, 2, 1860. In camp
JULY,
SATURDAY, 7, 1860. Marched up Arkansas & camped just
below Big Timbers. 20. 00/100 miles
JULY,
SUNDAY, 8, 1860. Contind march up River passing Boon of Mo
& several other Pike's Peak trains. Scattered trees
continuation of Big Timbers, soil sandy & poor grass
good in bottoms. 22. 40/100
AUGUST,
WEDNESDAY, 1, 1860. Left at 6 A M on scout Merrill & 36
men Fall Leaf Wms. & Wilson-- at 8-1/2 AM reached
trib[utary] to Smoky Hill. Signs-- halt half hour--
march at 9 AM 10 degrees 176; E of N, halt at dry bed half
way to skin anteelope-- pack it and at 11.20 reach another
creek same signs. go down it at 12.20
AUGUST,
SUNDAY, 5, 1860. Crossed northward and taking ridge several
miles from river marched generally East parallel to gen'l
course of river. No grass buffalos have devoured all--
timber at intervals water in bed in holes. Emigrant road
coincides generally with our course-- Do grass arr. 2.20 P.
M. feed on cottonwood 24-1/2 miles [profile sketch
included]
AUGUST,
MONDAY, 6, 1860. Gen course East coinciding with Emigrant
road. crossed many ravines springs of del. water oozing from
banks & sinking immediately no grass. Camp on Smoky Hill
march 20.95 miles I killed fine antelope buck, at spring
named antelope spring. no grass fed horses on cottonwood
& elm & grape vine. ar 12.20 [profile sketch
included]
AUGUST,
FRIDAY, 10, 1860. Travelled S. W. from Sarcoxie spring &
after 12 miles came to walnut cr. halted & grazed. then
crossed S. W. the Santa Fe road and camped on arkansas. Here
we met Sedgwick's guides who informed us that Sedgwick had
preceded us several days at Fort Larned and that the
Expedtn. was broken up-- 4 cos of cav ordered to Bent's Fort
to winter & build post. Startling news. 2 cos 2d Drags
to take post at Fort Larned. Wms & I left camp about
sundown & went up to Larned 18 miles that night. Lee
told me I had a fine son. [67]
AUGUST,
SATURDAY, 11, 1860. Steele's command came in about 11 a. m.
McIntyre is going in to Riley for co property. I apply for 7
days leave to go with him. granted. We are to leave
tomorrow, with 6 wagons & 4 sergts. Every body is blue
& disgusted.
AUGUST,
SUNDAY, 12, 1860. Start for Fort Riley. Go by Larned-- take
in my two mules. They follow. I ride my roan Kiowa, leaving
Beppo[?] with Lee at Larned. camp on Walnut
creek.
AUGUST,
MONDAY, 13, 1860. Travelled pretty briskly reaching the
Smoky Hill & camp.
AUGUST,
TUESDAY, 14, 1860. Marched beyond crossing of Saline. Left
the train late in afternoon on our ponies to make Riley
tomorrow. About dark reach Solomon's Fork where Col
Crittenden [68]
with an encampment of 20 or 30 families & 700[?]
recruits horses &c. for New Mexico. Spent the night
there. Saw Dr. Webster, Forney, McNally, Kelly, Moore
[?], I. N. McRane [?], Wheeler of N. Y.
[?], Gibbs, Lane, Whitall.
AUGUST,
WEDNESDAY, 15, 1860. Early this morning left Crit's camp
& after 40 miles jog arrived with joyous tramp at our
own doors at Fort Riley, taking our families completely by
surprise. This page need not be filled out.
III.
Epilogue
Stuart's
personal diary falls silent during most of July except for
the few entries printed here. During this time the command
continued the march up the Arkansas river as indicated for
July 8 and went a little beyond Bent's New Fort near present
Prowers, Colo. The return march was then made along the
Arkansas to the vicinity of present Garden City where a turn
was made to the northeast with three companies proceeding
along the Smoky Hill river, the other three along Walnut
creek. Stuart marched with the Smoky Hill group which
continued to present Ellsworth county before turning back to
the southwest to join the remainder of the command about 18
miles south of Fort Larned. [69]
From there Stuart returned to Fort Riley.
By
August 11 when orders were received to break up the
expedition, Sedgwick's column had marched 1,404 miles. The
only skirmish for the command involved Lieutenant Stuart and
a detachment of 20 men who pursued a small body of Kiowas
near Bent's New Fort on July 11 and combined with forces
under Capt. William Steele to kill two warriors and take
prisoner 16 women and children. [70]
In
the same campaign the column of six companies of the First
cavalry under Capt. S. D. Sturgis encountered a large group
of Kiowas and Comanches along the Republican fork on August
6. Reporting on all of the summer's expedition, Sturgis
claimed 29 of the enemy killed. [71]
These
skirmishes of 1860 along with the appearance in force of U.
S. troops on the Plains contributed to the restoration of
peace with the Kiowas and Comanches and to the security of
the emigrant route. Indian Commissioner William P. Dole
reported in November, 1861, that recently the two tribes had
"manifested a disposition" to resume friendly relations with
the U. S. government and to be "restored to its confidence."
[72]
NOTES
Dr.
W. Stitt Robinson, a graduate of the University of
Virginia at Charlottesville, is associate professor of
history at the University of Kansas, Lawrence.
The
author acknowledges the aid of a research grant from the
General Research Fund of the University of Kansas for
investigation at the National Archives, Washington, D.
C., of materials relating to this
publication.
- Francis
Paul Prucha's Broadax and Bayonet: The Role of the
United States Army in the Development of the Northwest,
1815-1860 (Madison, Wis., 1953) is a recent study
that concentrates on the nonmilitary services of the
army.
- Brief
accounts of the campaign are given in George A. Root,
ed., "Extracts From Diary of Captain Lambert Bowman
Wolf," The Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 1 (May,
1932), pp. 206-210, and in Merrill J. Mattes, ed.,
"Patrolling the Santa Fe Trail; Reminiscences of John S.
Kirwan," ibid., v. 21 (Winter, 1955), pp. 585,
586.
- "Regimental
Returns," Regiment Mounted Rifles, February and March,
1855, National Archives.
- Averam B.
Bender, The March of Empire: Frontier Defense in the
Southwest, 1848-1860 (Lawrence, 1952), pp.
34-36.
- "Post
Returns," Fort Leavenworth, July, 1855; "Regimental
Returns," First cavalry, August, 1855. Both in National
Archives.
- "Report
of the Secretary of War," Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1,
34th Cong., 1st Sess. (1855-1856), v. 2, Pt. 2, pp.
49-51; ibid., Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 58, 34th Cong., 3d
Sess. (1856-1857).
- "Regimental
Returns," First cavalry, September and October, 1855,
National Archives.
- Letter of
J. E. B. Stuart, November 25, 1855, Confederate Museum,
Richmond, Va.
- Examples
of these assignments are given in my essay on "The Role
of the Military in Territorial Kansas," Territorial
Kansas: Studies Commemorating the Centennial (University
of Kansas Social Science Studies, Lawrence, 1954),
pp. 84-98.
- Charles
J. Kappler, ed., Indian Aiffairs, Laws and
Treaties (Sen. Doc. No. 452, 57th Cong., 1st Sess.),
v. 2, pp. 440-442.
- "Governor
Walker's Administration," Collections of the Kansas Historical Society, Topeka, v. 5, pp.
299-301.
- F. J.
Porter to J. E. B. Stuart, August 11, 1857, "Letters
Sent," Department of the West, National Archives;
"Regimental Returns," First cavalry, June, 1857, National
Archives.
- H. B.
McClellan, The Life and Campaigns of Major-General J.
E. B. Stuart (Boston and New York, 1885), pp.
20-22.
- LeRoy R.
Hafen and Francis Marion Young, Fort Laramie and the
Pageant of the West, 1834-1890 (Glendale, 1938), pp.
284-299.
- Summary
of the marches of the regiment, "Regimental Returns,"
First cavalry, 1858, National Archives; "Muster Rolls,"
Company G, First cavalry, June-August, 1858, National
Archives.
- The
patent may be found in "Records of the War Department,"
Office of the Chief of Ordnance, Ordnance Special File,
Inventions Section, National Archives.
- Receipt
for the sale is in special files of the Ordnance
Department, Record Group 156, Box 46, National
Archives.
- The
original of this letter is owned by Stuart B. Campbell of
Wytheville, Va. Most of it has been reproduced in
substance in McClellan, op. cit., pp. 29,
30.
- "Muster
Rolls," Company G, First cavalry, October, 1859, to
April, 1860, National Archives.
- Kappler,
op. cit., v. 2, pp. 445-447.
- "Report
of the Secretary of the Interior," Sen. Ex. Doc. No.
2, 36th Cong., 1st Sess. (1859-1860), v. 1, p.
506.
- Ibid.,
Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, 35th Cong., 2d Sess.
(1858-1859), v. 1, pt. 1, pp. 448-452.
- "Report
of the Secretary of War," House Ex. Doc. No. 2,
35th Cong., 2d Sess. (1858-1859), v. 2, pt. 2, p.
425.
- "Report
of the Secretary of the Interior," Sen. Ex. Doc. No.
2, 36th Cong., 1st Sess. (1859-1860), v. 1, pp. 506,
507.
- Sumner to
Sedgwick, May 9, 1860, "Letters Sent," Department of the
West, National Archives; "Report of the Secrctary of
War," Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, 36th Cong., 2d Sess.
(1860-1861), v. 2, pp. 19-22.
- John
Sedgwick, Correspondence of John Sedgwick,
Major-General (New York, 1903), v. 2, pp. 10,
11.
- Sumner to
Sedgwick, May 9, 1860, loc. cit.
- A copy of
the official journal kept by Lt. J. E. B. Stuart is in
the Coe Collection, Yale University library; microfilm
copies are in the libraries of the University of Kansas
and the Kansas Historical Society.
- John
Sedgwick, a graduate of the military academy at West
Point in 1837, was assigned to the First cavalry as a
major in March, 1855. During the Civil War he remained
with the Union and attained the rank of major general
before being killed on May 9, 1864, at the battle of
Spotsylvania, Va. -- George W. Cullum, Biographical
Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S.
Military Academy (New York, 1879), v. 1, pp. 533,
534; Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and
Dictionary of the United States Army (Washington,
1903), v. 1, p. 872.
- William
Stephen Walker served as a first lieutenant in the
Mexican war and in March, 1855, was assigned as captain
to the First cavalry in command of Company G. He resigned
from the U. S. army in May, 1861, and served as brigadier
general in the army of the Southern Confederacy. --
Heitman, op. cit., v. 1, p. 997; Thomas H. S.
Hamersly, Complete Army and Navy Register of the
United States of America (New York, 1888), p.
837.
- Kansas
Falls was located on the Smoky Hill river six miles west
of Junction City. It was organized in September, 1857,
and incorporated by the territorial legislature in 1858.
-- George A. Root, "Farries in Kansas," The Kansas
Historical Quarterly, v. 4 (February, 1935), p. 17.
Its location was marked on "New Map of Kansas and the
Gold Mines" by O. B. Gunn (Wyandotte, K. T., 1859), and
"Map of Kansas and the Cold Mines" by O. B, Gunn and D.
T. Mitchell (Lawrence, 1866).
- St. Cloud
was a small settlement on the left bank of Solomon's
fork. Its location was also marked on the two maps listed
in Footnote [31].
- Wiliam
Addison Phillips, a native of Scotland, emigrated to the
United States about 1838 and in 1855 came to Kansas as a
correspondent of the New York Tribune. Active as
an antislavery journalist and politician, he also, along
with four associates, founded the town of Salina in 1858
and later served in the United States congress as a
representative from Kansas. -- Dictionary of American
Biography, v. 14, pp. 548, 549.
- Lt.
Francis T. Bryan, Corps of Topographical Engineers,
arranged in 1855 for the construction of bridgcs along
the Santa Fe trail at crossings of Solomon's fork, the
Saline, and Smoky Hill rivers. Contract for construction
was awarded to J. O. Sawyer, and the bridges were
accepted by Bryan for the United States government. -- W.
Turrentine Jackson, "The Army Engineers as Road Surveyors
and Builders in Kansas and Nebraska, 1854-1858," The
Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 17 (February, 1949),
pp. 40-44.
- Joseph
Hancock Taylor was a graduate of West Point in 1856 and
was assigned to the First cavalry. He later reached the
rank of colonel in the United States army. -- Cullum,
op. cit., v. 2, pp. 436, 437; Heitman, op.
cit., p. 947.
- Camp
Alert was established on the Santa Fe trail about six
miles west of present Larned. The camp was renamed Fort
Larned in honor of Col. B. F. Larned.
- Henry
Walton Wessells was a graduate of the, military academy
at West Point in 1833 and was assigned to the Second
infantry. He served in the Mexican war and in 1860 was
still a member of the Second infantry with the rank of
brevet major. He remained with the Union and later
attained the rank of brigadier general. -- Cullum, op.
cit., v. I, p. 437; Heitman, op. cit., p.
1019.
- William
Fitzhugh Lee, of Virginia, was a lieutenant in the Second
infantry. He resigned from the U. S. army in April, 1861,
and served as a captain in the Confederate army before
being fatally wounded at the first battle of Bull Run in
July, 1861. -- Heitman, op. cit., p. 626.
- William
Steele was a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy in
1840 and was assigned to the Second dragoons in which he
was serving as captain in 1860. He resigned his
commission in May, 1861, and served as brigadier general
in the Confederate army. -- Cullum, op. cit., v.
1, p. 613; Heitman, op. cit., p. 919.
- Francis
C. Armstrong was a first lieutenant of the Second
dragoons in 1860. He resigned from the Union army in
August, 1861, and served as brigadier general in the
Confederacy. -- Heitman, op. cit., p. 169;
Hamersly, op. cit., p. 265.
- Solomon
Williams was a graduate of West Point in 1858 and was
assigned to the Second dragoons. Having resigned his
commission in May, 1861, he served as colonel in the
Confederate army before being killed in action at Beverly
Ford, Va., in June, 1863. -- Cullum, op. cit., v.
2, p. 472; Heitman, op. cit., p. 1042.
- Edward W.
B. Newby served in the Mexican war and in March, 1855,
was assigned to the First cavalry as captain. He retired
from the U. S. army in September, 1863, with the rank of
major. -- Heitman, op. cit., p. 744; Hamersly,
op. cit., p. 661.
- Present
Rattlesnake creek in Stafford county.
- Probably
the wife of Charles F. Ruff, graduate of the U. S.
Military Academy in 1838. Ruff was stationed in New
Mexico in 1860 and participated in the Comanche
expedition as a major in the Mounted Rifles. -- Cullum,
op. cit., v. 1, pp. 570, 571.
- A novel
by the English writer Edward George Earle Lytton,
Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (1803-1873). The work was
originally published in Blackwood's Edinburgh
(Scot.) Magazine in 1857 and 1858.
- George
Dashiell Bayard was a graduate of West Point in 1856 and
was assigned to the First cavalry. On the 1860 expedition
against the Kiowas and Comanches, he received a severe
arrow wound in the face on July 11. During the Civil War
he served as brigadier general in the Union army before
being fatally wounded at the battle of Fredericksburg,
Va., in December, 1862. -- Cullum, op. cit., v. 2,
p. 425; Heitman, op. cit., p. 200.
- Lewis
Merrill was a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy in
1855 and was assigned to the Second dragoons. He served
in the Kiowa and Comanche campaign in 1860 as a second
lieutenant and later attained the rank of brevet
brigadier general in the United States army. -- Cullum,
op. cit., v. 2, pp. 406, 407; Heitman, op.
cit., p. 705.
- The
reference is to the writing of Cuthbert Bede, pseudonym
for Edward Bradley (1827-1889): The Adventures of Mr.
Verdant Green, an Oxford Freshman (1853); The
Further Adventures of Mr. Verdant Green, an Oxford
Under-Graduate . . . (1854); and Mr. Verdant Green
Married and Done for . . . (1857).
- The
ambulance as used by the army at this time was a
four-wheeled vehicle similar to a wagon. In the 1857
Cheyenne expedition after part of the ambulance had
broken down, J. E. B. Stuart was transported on the "sick
wagon" which he described as "the two hind wheels of the
ambulance, with a tongue attached, the cushions being
fastened on the spring." -- McClellan, op. cit.,
pp. 21, 22.
- It is
obvious that there was a lack of exact knowledge of
streams on maps being used by the military at this time.
On the map of "Kansas, Texas, and Indian Territory, With
Parts of Colorado and New Mexico" issued by the Engineer
Office of the U. S. army, division of the Missouri, 1868,
Crooked creek flows into the Nescutunga river which then
becomes the Little Arkansas river (present Salt fork of
the Arkansas) Crooked creek, as is now known, flows into
the Cimarron river. A map containing the errors of the
1868 sketch was probably being used by the expedition of
1860.
- Probably
Bluff (or Buff) creek and its tributaries in present
Clark and Comanche counties.
- The
reference is to the 1857 route of Lt. Col. Joseph E.
Johnston in command of the surveying party for marking
the southern boundary of Kansas from May through October.
Johnston's private journal is in Nyle H. Miller, ed.,
"Surveying the Southern Boundary Line of Kansas," The
Kansas Historical Quarterly, v. 1 (February, 1932),
pp. 104-139. Other journals on the expedition maybe found
in ibid., v. 6 (November, 1937), pp. 339-377, and
in Ralph P. Bieber, ed., Frontier Life in the
Army, 1854-1861, by Eugene Bandel (Glendale, 1932),
pp. 121-211.
- Probably
Buffalo creek and its tributaries in present Harper
county, Oklahoma.
- The camp
was on Middle river rather than the North fork of the
Canadian. See diary entry for June 13. Middle
river is now identified as Wolf creek which flows from
Texas into Oklahoma and empties into the North Canadian
river in Woodward county, Oklahoma.
- John E.
Weyss was surveyor with the party for the southern
boundary line of Kansas in 1857 and was a member of the
Texas and United States Boundary Commission in 1860. For
a map of the survey and a discussion of the Texas
boundary, see Marcus Baker, The Northwest
Boundary of Texas (Bulletin of the United States
Geological Survey, No. 194, Washington, 1902).
- Colonel
Sumner requested permission for use of 12 Delaware
Indians as guides for Major Sedgwick's command, but
Secretary of War J. B. Floyd approved the request only
for six. -- Sumner to Headquarters of the Army, April 16,
1860, "Letters Received," A. G. O., National Archives.
Stuart's personal diary lists six Delawares by the
following names: Fall Leaf, Sarcoxie, John Williams,
Bascom, Wilson, and Bullit.
- The march
of Major Sedgwick's column from Middle river to the North
fork of the Canadian is shown on the map of the Texas
boundary in Baker, op. cit., facing p. 11, and
also on the map of "Kansas, Texas, and Indian Territory,
With Parts of Colorado and New Mexico" issued by the
Engineer Office of the U. S. army, Military Division of
the Missouri. 1868.
- Another
novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton published in 1828-1829. As
an explanation of the Disowned, Bulwer-Lytton
stated in 1832 that out of his study of metaphysics and
ethics "grew the character of Algernon Mordaunt . . . as
a type of the Heroism of Christian Philosophy -- an union
of love and knowledge placed in the midst of sorrow, and
laboring on through the pilgrimage of life, strong in the
fortitude that comes from belief in heaven." -- The
Complete Works of Edward Bulwer-Lytton (New York, n.
d.), v. 2.
- Aubrey's
crossing of the Cimarron river was in present Cimarron
county, Oklahoma. Aubrey's crossing and Aubrey's trail
were named for Francis X. Aubrey (also spelled Aubry), a
Santa Fe trader. In an effort to shorten the Santa Fe
trail, he selected a route that left the trail near Cold
Springs in Cimarron county, Oklahoma, and ran northeast
across the Cimarron river, along Bear creek, and then to
the Arkansas river at Fort Aubrey near the boundary line
of present Hamilton and Kearny counties, Kansas.
- Elmer
Otis was a graduate of West Point in 1853 and was
assigned to the First cavalry in March, 1855. He later
attained the rank of colonel in the U. S. army. --
Cullum, op. cit., v. 2, p. 358; Heitman, op.
cit., p. 762.
- Probably
James B. McIntyre, West Point graduate of 1853. Assigned
to the First cavalry in March, 1855, he was serving as
regimental quartermaster officer in 1860 and later served
as brevet lieutenant colonel before his death at Fort
Larned in 1867. -- Cullum, op. cit., v. 2, pp.
364, 365; Heitman, op. cit., p. 669.
- Lunsford
Lindsay Lomax was a graduate of the U. S. Military
Academy in 1856 and was assigned to the First cavalry. He
resigned his commission in April, 1861, and served as a
major general in the Confederate army. -- Cullum, op.
cit., v. 2, pp. 430, 431; Heitman, op. cit.,
p. 639.
- The
reference is to Bent's New Fort which was built on the
north bank of the Arkansas river in the area of the Big
Timbers near present Prowers, Colo., in 1853 by Col.
William Bent. The New Fort was located about 38 miles
downstream from Bent's Old Fort. William Bent leased the
New Fort to the War Department in 1859 and in the
following year additional fortifications were built and
it was named Fort Wise (later Fort Lyon). In 1860 William
Bent was still active in the Indian trade. -- See
George Bird Grinnell, "Bent's Old Fort and Its Builders,"
in Collections of the Kansas Historical Society, v. 15 (1919-1922), pp. 28-91.
- Aubrey's
crossing of the Arkansas river was at Fort Aubrey. -- See
Footnote 59.
- The
reference may be to Ceran St. Vrain who had been engaged
in the Indian trade with the Bents and was still active
in 1860. -- Grinnell, loc. cit., pp. 81 and
passim.
- John
Pegram was a graduate of West Point in 1854 and was
assigned to the First dragoons. In March, 1855, he became
a member of the Second dragoons where he was serving as
first lieutenant in 1860. He resigned his commission in
May, 1861, and became a major general in the Confederate
army. He was killed in February, 1865, at the battle of
Hatchers Run, Va. -- Cullum, op. cit., v. 2, p.
374; Heitman, op. cit., p. 780.
- James
Ewell Brown Stuart, Jr. There is some evidence that the
son was originally named for his grandfather, Col. Philip
St. George Cooke, but the name was changed when the
grandfather did not resign from the U. S. army to join
the Confederacy. -- John W. Thomason, Jr., Jeb
Stuart (New York, 1941); see, also, Bingham
Duncan, ed., Letters of General J. E. B. Stuart to His
Wife, 1861 (Emory University Publications, Sources and
Reprints, Ser. 1, Atlanta, 1943), pp. 21, 23, 26,
27.
- George
Bibb Crittenden, a West Point graduate of 1832, was
serving as lieutenant colonel in the Mounted Rifles in
1860. He resigned from the U. S. army in June, 1861, and
served as major general in the Confederacy. -- Cullum,
op. cit., v. 1, pp. 409, 410; Heitman, op.
cit., p. 338.
- "Report
of the Secretary of the Interior," Sen. Ex. Doc. No.
1, 36th Cong., 2d Sess. (1860-1861), v. 2, p.
18.
- Ibid.,
pp. 15-17.
- Ibid.,
pp. 19-22.
- Ibid.,
Sen. Ex. Doc. No. 1, 37th Cong., 2d Sess.
(1861-1862), v. 1, pt. 1, p. 634.
Home | Kansas Historical Quarterly List of Articles, 1931-1977
|