History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 51

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198

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Yankton Sioux

Pah-dah-uah-pah-pe, or One Who Strikes the Ree, His X mark. Me-ah-ko-ne, or Feather In The Far, Ilis X mark. Obe-shi-wash-ta, or The Pretty Boy, His X mark. Palı-teuk-kate-weet-ko, or Mad Bull, His X mark. Spank-daw-sop-pah, or Black Horse, His X mark. Yah-tah-kah-hoo, or Sailing Hawk, Ilis X mark. Witnesses J. B. Hoffman, United States Indian Agent. John Springer, Interpreter for Pawnees. Alexis Young, His X mark, Interpreter for Poncas. Wah-gah-seep-pe, or Whip, His X mark. Ash-naw-e-ka-ga-he, or Lone Chief, His X mark.

J. A. LEWIS, JOSEPH S. HILL.

The Pawnees were at this time a remnant of an Indian nation that had been quite prominent among the original inhabitants of the West. The small nation had its local abode in Northeastern Nebraska. The treaty between this nation and the Yanktons was of value to the whites in this way. The warriors of either party would go forth on an expedition against their enemy, traversing the borders of the white settlements on their marches to and fro, and it frequently happened that after wreaking vengeance upon the foe, they would proceed to some mild but very annoying depredations upon the fields and herds of the white settlers, which they were pleased to regard as the spoils of victory, justifying their con- sciences in taking these trophies from the pale face on the ground that the enemy whom they had defeated had nothing of any value, and they were obliged to defray the expense of their campaign from the property of the whites.

CHAPTER XXVII

GENERAL SULLY'S CAMPAIGN-BATTLE OF WHITE STONE HILLS

1863

GENERAL ALFRED SULLY-HIS MILITARY CAREER-GENERAL COOK HAD MADE PREPA- RATION FOR THE CAMPAIGN-SULLY'S FORCES-LOW WATER AND SLOW STEAM- BOATS HINDER-PROTECTION FOR TIIE SETTLEMENTS-ADVANCE TOO LATE TO CO- OPERATE WITH SIBLEY ; BUT HE FINDS HOSTILES-BATTLE OF WHITE STONE JIILLS -IIOSTILES ROUTED AND WINTER SUPPLIES CAPTURED-THE RETURN MARCH- ONE HUNDRED PRISONERS-FIRST FORT SULLY BUILT-TROOPS STATIONED FOR WINTER-IIOSTILE TRIBES AND THEIR NUMBERS-SULLY'S OFFICIAL REPORT.

Before General Sully came into the field as commander of the military district of Dakota, which was about the ist of June, 1863, the district had been for about half a year under the command of Brig. Gen. John Cook, of Springfield, Illinois, one of the most promising of the volunteer generals, who had won fame at Fort Donelson and had been rewarded by rapid and deserved promotion in the Union armies cast and south by the exercise of military abilities of a high order. He was assigned to the command of this military division, embracing a portion of Northwestern Iowa in addition to Dakota, by Maj. Gen. John Pope, in command of the department, November 25, 1862. Sioux City was made headquarters of the division. Milwaukee was headquarters of the department. General Cook was an enterprising commander, high-minded and very popular with soldiers and civilians ; but he was entirely without experience in frontier warfare, and by the War Department considered an unsafe commander to entrust the sole manage- ment and leadership of the Indian campaign to. The general visited Dakota in December following his assignment and held a consultation with Acting Governor Hutchinson at Yankton regarding protection to be afforded the settlements. Ile then went on to Fort Randall and thence as far up the river as Fort LaFromboise, near old Fort Pierre, then abandoned and removed, returning in January, 1803. His trip had been made for the purpose of becoming personally acquainted with the condition of affairs and the "lay of the land." He claimed to have no impor- tant information from the hostile Indians, whom he had located in the neighbor- hood of Devil's Lake, and who numbered about five thousand. Little Crow had been reported killed.

General Cook expected to lead an expedition against the hostile Indians early in the spring of 1863 in cooperation with General Sibley, of Minnesota, and intended to give his attention to preparation for that event during the remainder of the winter. Ile had never had experience in Indian warfare, and for that rea- son grave misgivings were felt that he would not be able to conduct a successful campaign. He had, however, assembled a portion of his army which was then in camp on the Big Sioux River, had chartered and was prepared to load his steamboats, and was just about ready to start his columns and fleet toward the Indian country, when an order came relieving him, and appointing Gen. Alfred H. Sully to succeed him.

General Sully was a graduate of West Point. class of 18441, and had seen twenty years of arduous service, nearly all on the frontier. Ile fought the Semi-

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noles in Florida, went through the Mexican war under Taylor, and was promoted to a captaincy ; was in Oregon five years engaged in duties that familiarized him with the Indian mode of warfare. Was stationed at Fort Ridgely on the Minnesota River in 1856, was ordered from that fort to Fort Pierre in that year, marching across the country with two companies of infantry. He remained at Fort Pierre until 1858 when the fort was abandoned by the Government, Sully removing with his command to Fort Abercrombie. When the Civil war broke out he was tendered the colonelcy of the First Minnesota, which he ac- cepted, and went to Virginia; was in the famous but disastrous Battle of Bull Run, and remained under Mcclellan and others until ordered to take com- mand of this military district. His promotion to a brigadier generalship had been made in the volunteer service and was fairly earned. He was a rough and ready soldier, who talked little but acted rapidly. More than any other general officer available, he seemed to possess the peculiar qualifications for leading an expedition against the hostile Indians.

The change was unquestionably a wise one and prompted by the best of motives such as should govern in the public service. The lives of 2,000 men, to say nothing of the other interests involved, might be sacrificed in such a war by the inexperienced rashness of the commanding officer, and as this campaign developed it was made plain that General Sully's experience saved his army from being trapped and possibly destroyed.

Sully lost no time in preparations. At Camp Cook he found his army ren- dezvoused and in the best of spirits, ready to move. His force consisted of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, Colonel Wilson; the Second Nebraska Cavalry, Colonel Furnas; Companies A and B, Dakota Cavalry. A battalion of the Sixth Iowa had moved up to Yankton about the last of May. commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Pollock, a quarter-blood Indian, but a relentless foe of the hostiles. These would join Sully at Fort Randall.

About the 20th of June General Sully got away from Sioux City, which at that time was headquarters of this military district, and reached Yankton cross- ing on the evening of the 24th, remaining in camp below town until the morning of the 29th, in the meantime arranging with Governor Hutchinson the plan for the protection of the settlements during the absence of the expedition.

His army and equipments by land consisted of four companies of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry (the one battalion under Colonel Pollock having preceded the main body to Fort Randall) ; seven companies of the Second Nebraska Cavalry ; one company of the Seventh Iowa Cavalry, Captain Millard of Sioux City; three companies of the Forty-fifth Iowa Infantry and one eight gun battery. Also 200 army wagons, 1,200 mules and 200 civil employes and a large herd of beef cattle. The expedition got away from Yankton on the morning of the 26th of June.

Four steamboats were a part of the expedition carrying quartermaster and commissary supplies. A battalion of four companies of the Thirtieth Missouri Infantry, one company to each steamer, accompanied the fleet.

Prior to leaving the general issued the following order, No. 25, which was based on reliable reports that a number of small war parties had been sent south to harass the settlements during the absence of the troops :

General Order No. 25 Headquarters First Military District, Department of Northwest. Yankton, Dakota Territory, June 25, 1863.

Company B, Dakota Cavalry, during the absence of the expedition will be stationed at Yankton, Dakota Territory, and Company A, Dakota Cavalry, will be stationed at Ver- million during the same time. The companies are stationed here for the protection of the settlements of the territory, and they will recollect that they will consider themselves, during my absence, as much in the field and on active duty as the rest of the troops of the district are. It is therefore enjoined on the commanders of these companies to keep their troops actively engaged during the period in patrolling outside the settlements in order to give confidence to the settlers; to pursue and punish any hostile bands of Indians whom they may find lurking about in the vicinity. In order to carry this order into effect they will have their commands divided into three equal parts and they will patrol as follows :

SIOUX JERKING VENISON

BUCKSKIN LODGE, SHOWING ENTRANCE

PONCA WARRIOR

UNCAPAPA SQUAW. SIOUX NATION

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Company B, each morning early, will send a patrol, one-third of the command, from Yankton to Turkey Ridge, where they will encamp over night and return the next morning. Company A, in the same way, will send a patrol, one-third of the command, to Brule Creek and the Big Sioux River, where they will encamp over night and return the next morning.

The commanders of these detachments, should they discover on their patrol duty, fresh signs of Indians, they will follow their trail as far as they may deem it prudent-not to separate themselves too far from the section they have to guard, and not to overtake a party too large for them to successfully oppose. Should they meet any Indians in their tours, they will take them prisoners and bring them in for future investigation. Should the Indians run from them they will be considered as hostile and treated accordingly.

The commanders of troops at these two points, Yankton and Vermillion, will use sound discretion in sending troops to different points where they may hear or have reason to believe there are Indians lurking about, and will immediately report all the facts to the temporary commanding officer of this district at Sioux City, Lieutenant Colonel Pattee.

The command stationed at Vermillion will be considered as only temporarily stationed there, as their duty of patrolling that section of country will be performed by a company of the Seventh lowa Cavalry, to be stationed on the Upper Big Sioux River as soon as they may arrive in that section of the country. Company A, as soon as relieved by the Seventh lowa, will be stationed in the upper country above Yankton, and at such points as the temporary commander of the district may judge best suited for the interest of the service. A. H. SULLY, Brigadier General.

The year 1863 was one of the dryest seasons Dakota had ever experienced since white men settled here. There was an interval of fifty days without rain. Sully's steamboats were literally hanging on sand bars one-half of the time be- tween Fort Randall and Fort LaFromboise near where the state capitol now stands. The Shreveport and Belle Peoria were in the advance and did not reach LaFromboise until the first of August. The other boats came later. At this time Sibley had completed his Indian campaign and returned to Minnesota. Some of the boats had been compelled to leave a part of the cargo at Crow Creek, and after unloading at LaFromboise were obliged to make a second trip. Two of the originally chartered boats proved utterly worthless in the upper river and were · abandoned, Sully having recourse to the law of necessity, took forcible possession of a number of light draft steamers returning from the mountains and with them he finally got all his supplies up to Pierre about the 12th of August, and had started the steamer Shreveport and Alone with supplies for a depot at Swan Lake, 100 miles ahead, where it was expected the army would find them. The forward movement was made the next day. So much time had been consumed that but a short campaign could be expected. Couriers from up the river had brought some meager information regarding Sibley's fight and the further information that the Indians were expecting Stilly and would give him a hot reception. Sully's fight- ing force numbered about fifteen hundred men and he had reduced his wagon transportation to seventy-five. In fifteen days he had reached Long Lake Creek. Here Sully learned from an old decrepit Indian, that was found on the prairie. that Sibley had met the Indians only a short distance from the camp, and a detachment of troops were at once dispatched to ascertain whether the old Indian's narrative was reliable. The detachment found Sibley's camp and the battlefield just as described and learned further that the Indians had been driven across the Missouri, but had recrossed three days after Sibley left, opened the caches where their goods were stored, and had gone east probably to overtake and harass Sibley's rear. Sully immediately started in pursuit. This was on the Ist of September, and on the 3d, late in the afternoon, his scouts discovered one encampment of eight hundred to one thousand hostiles. The troops were then hurried forward, leaving a suitable guard for the supply train, and after a sharp ride of eight miles came upon a recently deserted Indian camp, the occupants having fled upon the approach of the troops ; another mile brought the fugitives in full view; the troops galloped forward, and the battle opened without any for- malities, our soldiers pouring in a deadly fire upon the enemy, which was valiantly returned. The Indians appeared to the soldiers in the twilight of evening as a dark struggling mass of beings, yelling, shouting, shooting and groaning. The Vol. 1-19

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Indians were now mainly concentrated in a narrow ravine, quite shallow, each side of which was flanked by the troops, who kept up a galling and destructive fire as long as it was possible to distinguish an Indian from a soldier. Orders then came to cease firing fearing the troops might fire into their own ranks, so intense was their fighting ardor, and the men bivouacked on the field. At daylight the following morning Sully expected to resume the battle but the enemy had quietly faded away during the night, abandoning everything that would impede his flight. The battlefield presented a soul-sickening sight. All the slain soldiers, nineteen in number, were horribly mangled and scalped, some of them tomahawked, indi- cating that they had been helplessly wounded, and some killed with the merciless hatchet during the night. Intermingled with our dead were the bodies of the Indians and horses, all a ghastly field to look upon, while for miles were tepee poles, folded lodge skins and thousands of packs of dried buffalo meat. No attempt was made to follow the fugitives, as they had evidently scattered in every direction, but a scouting party was sent out as a measure of precaution, and dur- ing the day Big Head, the chief, was captured and a large number of squaws and children and quite a number of braves. This scouting party was surprised on one occasion by running into a numerous body of fugitives, who came very near surrounding them, and were able to kill four of the cavalrymen before the cap- tain was able to extricate his command from its perilous situation. Sully had lost twenty-three in killed and thirty wounded, one of the wounded of the Nebraska Second dying a little later. A force of 200 men was detailed to gather up and burn the abandoned supplies of the Indians, saving what was necessary to subsist and shelter the Indian prisoners. Two entire days were consumed in this work, which shows the large quantity of stores, lodges, etc., destroyed. Sully esti- mated that the Indian loss would reach one hundred and fifty as learned from his prisoners, and the wounded were much more numerous.

This fight was called the battle of White Stone Hills, and in its sanguinary aspect was one of the bloodiest ever fought between our troops and the Indians. The additional destruction of the lodges and robes and provisions was a calamity that meant great suffering and possibly starvation for many of the hostiles. It occurred at a point on the Coteau de Missouri, about one hundred and fifty miles from Fort Pierre and sixty-five miles east of the Missouri-measured in a direct line.

Sully's command began their homeward march on the 5th of September. Rations were nearly exhausted, and fuel was difficult to obtain. Indian lodge poles were packed along to supply this latter, and with what could be gotten in the prairies, furnished a scant supply until the command struck the river. On the 14th of September the expedition reached Farm Island, three miles below Pierre, where a fort was constructed on the mainland and completed before winter. This fort was situated on the east side of the Missouri about eighty rods from the river and just below Farm Island. The north and south walls, 270 feet long, were composed of cottonwood pickets fifteen feet long, twelve feet above ground, while the soldiers' barracks and other buildings occupied the east and west sides and furnished the walls for those extremities. These were also 270 feet long. The buildings were of unhewn logs, about eight feet high, log and brush roof, covered with earth, which served every purpose as it was known that the rainfall was light. There were bastions in the southeast and northwest corners, where can- nons were placed. It was not intended as a permanent post, but to furnish quar- ters for the winter to a few companies of volunteers, and a depot where the Government stores could be safely deposited and protected. It was named Fort Sully and was garrisoned by three companies of infantry and one of cavalry.

The commanding general soon after his return issued a proclamation to the people of the territory which is here given :

I feel it my duty, in order that you may be prepared against any dangers, to warn those who have settled in localites far removed from any neighbors, against any depredations of hostile Indians, and therefore to advise you so located, to be on your guard, or else remove

LITTLE CROW

Leader of the Indian revolt and war of 1562

WHITE STONE BATTLEFIELD MONUMENT. DR KEY COUNTY. SOUTH DAKOTA

Battle occurred in September, 1563. General Sully in command

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your families to points where two or more can be together for mutual protection. At the same time I do not wish to cause any unnecessary alarm. The late battle I had with the Indians near the headwaters of the James River, has scattered them in all directions. We destroyed all their camps, provisions, ponies, etc., and they must necessarily starve or steal this winter. Had not the low stage of water in the Missouri prevented me from having supplies, I would have been able to follow those murderers up and so end all troubles. As it is, no danger can be apprehended of any considerable number of Indians committing overt acts, and yet a few now and then, if they find you not on your guard, may rob and even do worse. t have already sent part of my command down the river. As soon as I can make arrangements for the establishment of a fort here I will be down with more of my troops, and will give you all the protection in my power.

ALFRED SULLY, Brigadier General.

This campaign appears to have satisfied the Indians that the Great Father could spare soldiers enough to chastise them severely, notwithstanding the great war for the Union then pending, and it destroyed the redmen's confidence in the strength of the southern emissaries who the winter previous had promised to expel the whites from the Missouri Valley. The beneficial effects of the campaign were not realized until the following and subsequent years, when it was discovered how completely the Indians had been disheartened and permanently weakened.

Had Sully been able to have reached Sibley before the termination of the latter's engagements, he would doubtless have inflicted serious damage upon the enemy while they were crossing the Missouri. His delay at Fort LaFromboise, near Fort Pierre, and other points, waiting for his boats, cost him thirty to forty days ; but it is an open question whether the delay did not work more benefit than injury, for if Sibley's campaign was in any way a failure ( which it was not ), such failure was not attributed to lack of troops, but to the impossibility of engaging the Indians in anything more than a running fight, and they finally escaped across the river and out of harm's way. Here was Sully's only opportunity for inflicting damage. As the campaign resulted, and owing to Stilly's delay, he was able a month later to find the hostiles who had escaped from Sibley, and inflict irre-

parable damage upon them at the battle of White Stone Hills, probably doing the enemy far greater injury by the destruction of his supplies than the severe chas- tisement he gave them. We know that east of the Missotiri there were no further Indian troubles after Sully's campaign, and the campaign of 1864, which fol- lowed, was wholly directed against the Indians west of the river.

The number and tribes of the Dakotah or Sioux Indians that occupied a posi- tion of hostility to the United States at this time was ascertained shortly after the Little Crow uprising in Minnesota in 1862. They embraced the entire Dakotah nation, including the Yanktonnais of North Dakota. numbering about one thousand warriors ; in Minnesota, or recently from that state, the Mdewakan- tons, the Wahpektitas, the Wahpetons and Sissetons. These Minnesota Sioux had been the chief actors in the Little Crow outbreak, and it is claimed numbered 1,200 warriors. These tribes occupied nearly all the Indian country east of the Missouri River except the Chippewa lands on Red River. West of the Missouri were about an equal number of the great Dakotah nation, made up of the Brules. Ogallalas, Sans Ares, Uncpapas and some others. These were denominated the Teton Sioux and at this time were implacably hostile. They numbered about three thousand warriors. The Yanktons who remained friendly could muster aboutit five hundred and seventy warriors.

OFFICIAL REPORT OF SULLY'S EXPEDITION, 1863

Report of Brig. Gen. Alfred Sully, United States Army, commanding expedi- tion, September 3. 1863, battle of White Stone Hills, Dakota Territory :

Headquarters Northwestern Expedition.

Camp at Mouth of the Little Cheyenne River, September 11, 1863.

Major : The last report I had the honor to send you was from the mouth of this Little Cheyenne River, bearing date August 16, 1863, since which time my movements have been too rapid, and the danger of sending any communication such that it has been impossible for me to do so. I therefore have the honor to report my movements from list report up to date.

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On the morning of the 19th of August, the steamer I was waiting for with supplies finally arrived. She was immediately unloaded, and all the baggage of the officers and men of the command was sent down by her to the depot at Fort Pierre, together with every man who was in the least sick or not well mounted. By this I reduced my force considerably, and was enabled to transport, with the wretched mules that had been furnished me, about twenty- three days rations and forage enough to keep these animals alive, depending on grass I might find to feed the cavalry and artillery horses. Luckily for me 1 found the grazing north in much better condition than I had dared to hope for. On the 20th we were visited by one of the most terrific rain and hail storms I have seen. This stampeded some of my animals, and a few were lost-they swam across the Missouri-and it also destroyed a quantity of my rations in the wagons, thereby causing me some delay in the march, but I succeeded in getting off on the afternoon of the 21st, and marched up the Little Cheyenne about eleven miles, the road being very heavy. The next day we marched only seven miles, camping at a slough on the prairie without wood. The next day we marched in a north- westerly direction to the outlet of Swan Lake. On the 24th we marched due north eighteen miles and encamped on a small creek called Bois Cache. Here we came into the buffalo country, and I formed a hunting party for the command, which I had soon to disband, as they disabled inore horses than buffaloes. We continued our march north about twenty-two miles and reached a small stream called Bird Asche Creek. This day the hunters succeeded in killing many buffaloes, and reported that they saw Indians near the Missouri. Early on the morning of the 20th, I sent out a small scouting party, who captured two squaws and some children, and brought them in to me. These Indians reported that General Sibley had had a fight near the head of Long Lake and that they were on their way to the agency at Crow Creek, but were lost and were alone, but the scouts found tracks of lodges going up the Missouri. I therefore immediately detailed Companies F and K, of the Second Nebraska Cavalry, under command of Capt. D. LaBoo, ordering them to go to the Missouri and follow up the trail with orders to capture some Indians if possible and bring them in, so that I might get some information : if they could not do that to kill them and destroy their camps. I continued the march with the rest of the command that day, passing through large herds of buffalo and was obliged to make a march of thirty-five miles before I could reach water. The weather was very hot, and it was night before we reached camp on the Beaver River.

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History of Dakota Territory, volume I, Part 51

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920 Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1198

Author: Kingsbury, George Washington, 1837-; Smith, George Martin, 1847-1920
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : S.J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1198