"New Perspectives on the Fetterman Fight" Topic

"As the Civil War drew to a close, the U. S. Army was called upon to protect civilians traveling on the Bozeman Trail to gold mines in Montana Territory from a growing number of so-called hostile American Indians led by Red Cloud. Grossly underestimating the strength and determination of the Indian forces, the army sent Col. Henry B. Carrington, a lawyer who spent the Civil War far removed from battle, in command of the partially recruited 18th Infantry Regiment to guard the trail.

In the spring of 1866, General William T. Sherman, commander of the region, met with Carrington before his expedition departed and encouraged officers to take their wives and families along, assuring them "a pleasant garrison life in the newly opened country, where all would be healthful, with pleasant service and absolute peace."

By mid-July 1866 Carrington had established three posts on the Bozeman Trail, with headquarters at Fort Phil Kearny on the east flank of the Bighorn Mountains near present Story, Wyo., about 230 miles northwest of Fort Laramie. While the troops went about cutting wood and building their fort, Red Cloud's followers gathered a few miles north of the post in a camp of as many as 2,000 warriors and their families—larger than the city of Omaha at the time…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Thanks Armand. A nice article that I missed. I visit that area every summer.

Tom

Yes, thank you a very good article.

Thanks

Literally 10 miles away. Very powerful to see the site on the anniversary date (cold too)

A votre service mes amis! (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Great article,wonderful battlefield and Park.

The only part of this story deals with the mutilations inflicted on Fetterman's dead. I don't believe it was primarily in retaliation for Sand Creek; rather the Sioux routinely inflicted such wounds on their dead enemies to hinder them should they meet those enemies again in the next world.

My Favorite part of this engagement was the ride of

John Phillips , He was hired to be a water-hauler at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. When, on December 21, 1866, a group of soldiers getting firewood some five miles away from Fort Kearny were ambushed by more than two thousand members of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes and the relief force was obliterated, leaving Fort Kearny with few men and supplies, the civilian Phillips volunteered to ride for help. Leaving in the middle of a blizzard, he rode the 190 miles to Horseshoe Station by night, hiding by day, and arrived on Christmas morning. He sent a telegraph to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and headed on to the fort after only a short rest. The telegraph station was burned, but Phillips had the good fortune of sending his message before the attack. After riding 40 miles farther in another blizzard, he arrived at Fort Laramie, which sent adequate reinforcements. Phillips remained in the hospital at Fort Laramie for several weeks before returning to work.

Interesting.

Glad you enjoyed it too my friend!.

Amicalement
Armand

To Wackmole 9:
As to the killing of the 80 men with Fetterman "leaving Fort Phil Kearny with few men and supplies", I guess "few" leaves a lot of wiggle room, but according to John Monnett's "Where a Hundred Soldiers were Killed" and Robert Murray's "MIlitary Posts in the Powder River Country of Wyoming", even after the massacre there were still well over 300 soldiers and over 150 armed civilian males at Phil Kearny. While it may be true that only 119 armed men were left in Phil Kearny while the relief force under Capt. Ten Eyck (composed of the original 76 men plus 30 dismounted cavalrymen plus 42 civilians, about 148 total) were outside the fort's proximity, there were also an additional 120 men which were in the day's wood train and escort and the wood cutters and their guard at the pinery. Until the men under Ten Eyck returned and the men with the wood train and those who had been a the pinery returned, the fort was indeed in danger. The next danger period was the next day (Dec.22nd) when Carrington led another party of 80 volunteers out to recover the 30 or so remaining bodies; the Sioux, however, had returned to their villages and no Indians were seen.

Carrington's hysterical message which Phillips carried on his epic ride reflected the shock Carrington felt after returning the mutilated bodies, brought reinforcements of 2 companies of cavalry and 3 companies of infantry (about 275 men) being dispatched from Ft Laramie to Phil Kearny in some of the worst weather imaginable. The journey took almost two weeks to cover the 150 miles. However, the reinforcements, while increasing the size of the Phil Kearny force to over 650 men, posed a serious problem of food and forage for the garrison since they had brought little with them.

Ritualized post-mortem (hopefully for the victim) mutilations were not the exclusive bailiwick of the Sioux after 1864, nor were the whites the sole recipients. Many of the Plains tribes inflicted trauma upon the corpses of any vanquished enemy. It was observed quite often in Minnesota in August 1862.