Skirmish At Tongue River Heights, part 2

 

Rather than criticize his commanding officer about the lack of suitably placed pickets (assuming the thought even occurred to him), Lieutenant Bourke recorded in his journal that he was happy about the skirmish as it provided great experience for the raw recruits and helped to tighten up the command in general:

 

“It is to be hoped the Indians may make attacks of this kind every night; no greater advantage can accrue to young troops than to keep them constantly under fire; learn the importance of implicit obedience to authority, of keeping constantly in readiness for instant attack or defense and above all things of saving their ammunition. Pickets and sentinels display more vigilance; officers become more zealous and energetic. Loose ends are gathered up; animals are herded with care and wakefulness and a general air of soldierly discipline is infused. Then when real work is required and fighting has to be done, young recruits are found to have insensibly changed into veterans and perform their duties with a thoroughness not frequently to be hoped for otherwise.”66

 

Not knowing that the Cheyenne village was some 45 miles north of his position, Crook mistakenly thought that this attack was meant to be a diversion while a nearby village made its getaway. As reported by Wasson: “Gen. Crook thinks this impudent demonstration in broad daylight was done for the purpose of covering the retreat of an entire village not far off, and regrets that his expected Indian allies were not on hand ere this to do scouting duty.”67

 

With grass running low, the Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition reversed course on 11 June and marched about seventeen miles south, while being pelted by a severe hailstorm, to the fork of Big and Little Goose Creek.68 On 14 June, Grouard, Richard and Pourier finally returned, with over 170 Crow scouts. That same day the expedition was also joined by eighty-six Shoshone auxiliaries.69 Three days later Crook’s army, including over 250 Indian scouts, would take part in perhaps the largest Indian-soldier conflict (of its kind) in the history of the Plains Indian Wars, the battle of the Rosebud. Eight days later, Sunday, 25 June, these same Indians made history for their celebrated victory over George Custer and the Seventh Cavalry.

 

As for the skirmish at Tongue River Heights, perhaps Lieutenant Foster summed it up best when he wrote: “Take it altogether, it was a very lively little affair.”70

 

Appendix 1 - Charles St. George Stanley’s First Indian Fight

 

Charles St. George Stanley’s background is a bit of a mystery, but he was probably born in England circa 1822 and attended the Royal Academy of Art in London for a short time in the early 1840s (based on correspondence with the Royal Academy in late 2011) before coming to the United States. He joined Crook’s expedition, possibly as a packer, but he also sent in several dispatches and sketches to Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (who referred to him as their art-correspondent) detailing the goings on with Crook’s Indian campaign. These were published between August and November 1876. Two years later a little known Colorado newspaper named the Colorado Miner printed a ten-part series written by Stanley about his time with Crook’s command (part of May and June 1876). All of this material was collected in a book titled, Crying for Scalps: St. George Stanley’s Sioux War Narrative by Marc. H. Abrams. Here, in the June 15, 1878, issue of the Colorado Miner (pp.64-65 in Crying for Scalps), Stanley describes what it was like to take part in his first Indian fight, the skirmish at Tongue River Heights:

 

“For one hour the firing continued and some of us, especially those under fire for the first time, felt unusually blue. I must confess that the horrible whizzing of rifle balls was most demoralizing, and I for one, managed to keep well behind a large cottonwood tree, although for appearance sake, I blazed away with a vengeance until the atmosphere around that tree resembled a foretaste of the hereafter (the other place). Tom Cooper, a reckless sort of a fellow, and one of Closter’s train, passing by, remarked: ‘I thought you’d find a tree rather convenient,’ and away went all my grand ideas of bravery, and the humiliation of the situation burst upon me in all its vividness.

 

“It is of no use talking; a fight with the possibilities of you don’t know what, before you, is anything but pleasant, and upon the battlefield, the beauties of peace are greatly enhanced.”71

 

Bibliography

Abrams, Marc H., ed. and comp. “Crying for Scalps”: St. George Stanley’s Sioux War Narrative. Brooklyn, NY: privately printed, 2010.

———. ed. and comp. Newspaper Chronicle of the Indian Wars: Vol. 5. Brooklyn, NY: privately printed, 2010.

———. Sioux War Dispatches: Reports from the Field, 1876-1877. Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2012.

Brown, Mark H. Plainsmen of the Yellowstone. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1969.

Bourke, John Gregory. On the Border with Crook. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971.

Collins, Charles D., Jr. Atlas of the Sioux Wars. 2nd Ed. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006.

Cozzens, Peter, ed. The Long War for the Northern Plains. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2004.

———, ed. The Army and the Indian. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2005.

Crawford, Lewis F. The Exploits of Ben Arnold: Indian Fighter, Gold Miner, Cowboy, Hunter & Army Scout. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999.

Finerty, John F. War-path and Bivouac. Edited by Milo M. Quaife. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1966.

Gray, John S. Centennial Campaign. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

Greene, Jerome A. Deer Medicine Rocks. National Historic Landmark Nomination, 2010-2011.

———. Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian Views of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.

Grinnell, George Bird. The Fighting Cheyennes. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985.

Hedren, Paul L. Traveler’s Guide to the Great Sioux War. Helena: Montana Historical Society Press, 1996.

Kappler, Charles J. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Treaty of 1868: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sio0998.htm

Kingsbury, George W. History of Dakota Territory: Vol. 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915.

Mangum, Neil C. Battle of the Rosebud. El Segundo, CA: Upton & Sons, 1987.

Meketa, Ray, ed. Marching With General Crook, Being the Diary of Lieutenant Thaddeus Hurlbut Capron, Company C, Ninth Infantry. Douglas, Alaska: Cheechako, Press, 1983.

Miller, Mark E. Military Sites in Wyoming, 1700-1920. Laramie: Wyoming Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources, 2012.

Nottage, James H. The Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876 As Seen Through the Letters of Captain Gerhard Luke Luhn. Annals of Wyoming 45, Spring 1973, pp.27-46.

Robinson, Charles M. The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke: Vol. 1. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2003.

Utley, Robert M. Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian, 1866-1891. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984.

Vaughn, J. W. The Reynolds Campaign on Powder River. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961.

 

Notes

1. Use of the term “Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition” was fairly ubiquitous. For example see Marc H. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches: Reports from the Field, 1876-1877 (Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2012), p.26 & Charles M. Robinson, III, The Diaries of John Gregory Bourke: Vol. 1 (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2003), p.374. Hereafter cited as Robinson, Bourke Diaries.

2. For the 31 January ultimatum, see John S. Gray, Centennial Campaign: The Sioux War of 1876 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988), pp.30-33 & Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, pp.30-31.

3. Mark H. Brown, Plainsman of the Yellowstone (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1969), p.185.

4. For the railroad reaching Bismarck, see George W. Kingsbury, History of Dakota Territory: Vol. 1 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915), p.696.

5. For a full account of Crook’s Powder River Campaign of March 1876, see J. W. Vaughn, The Reynolds Campaign on Powder River (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1961). Also, from the perspective of the newspaper correspondents, both civilian and military, see Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, pp.30-54.

6. Azor H. Nickerson, “Major General Crook and the Indians,” reprinted in Peter Cozzens, ed., The Army and the Indian (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2005), p.238.

7. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.45, p.53.

8. Mention of Reynolds’ prior troubles can be found in Charles M. Robinson, A Good Year to Die: The Story of the Great Sioux War (New York: Random House, 1995), p.62.

9. See Vaughn, Reynolds Campaign on Powder River, p.127.

10. These numbers from Neil C. Mangum, Battle of the Rosebud (El Segundo, CA: Upton & Sons, 1987), p.46 & Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.62, p.356n44.

11. For the meeting between Terry and Gibbon, see Gray, Centennial Campaign, pp.108-109.

12. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.57.

13. It was a well-known fact that the Indians avoided pitched battles whenever possible and had the ability to break up into smaller parties rather quickly. This made pursuit difficult, if not impossible.

14. These details from Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.63. The distance in miles was determined using Google Earth. Correspondent Robert E. Strahorn, writing for the Rocky Mountain News, estimated the distance at 150 miles. See Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.63.

15. Lieutenant James E. H. Foster, “From Fort Fetterman to the Rosebud,” reprinted in Peter Cozzens, ed., The Long War for the Northern Plains (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2004), p.266. Hereafter cited as Foster/Cozzens, Long War.

16. Robinson, Bourke Diaries, p.294.

17. For mention of Crook’s command being on the wrong creek, see Charles D. Collins, Atlas of the Sioux Wars: 2nd edition, (Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006), text accompanying Map 18, “Crook’s Advance to the Rosebud.”

18. Details on Tierney from John F. Finerty, War-path and Bivouac, Milo M. Quaife, ed., (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1966), pp.87-88 (hereafter cited as Finerty, War-path) & Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, pp.63, 64.

19. For information on this particular Sun Dance, see Jerome A. Greene, Deer Medicine Rocks (National Historic Landmark Nomination, 2010-2011), pp.20-22. Distance in miles measured using Google Earth.

20. Cozzens, ed., The Long War for the Northern Plains, pp. xxxiv-xxxv.

21. Lewis F. Crawford, The Exploits of Ben Arnold: Indian Fighter, Gold Miner, Cowboy, Hunter & Army Scout (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), p.243.

22. Quote from Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.270.

23. Finerty, War-path, pp.89-90, 100. It should be noted that Finerty mistakenly placed this incident on the night of 8 June, instead of 7 June.

24. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.67 (from Joe Wasson’s account in the California Daily Alta).

25. Robinson, Bourke Diaries, p.305.

26. Marc H. Abrams, ed. and comp., “Crying for Scalps”: St. George Stanley’s Sioux War Narrative (Brooklyn, NY: privately printed, 2010), p.12, p.63. For more on St. George Stanley, see Appendix 1 of this article. Although Stanley was reporting on Crook’s doings for Frank Leslie’s, Lieutenant Bourke thought he was a packer (which may have been his pretext for joining the expedition). “One of the packers, a man with decided artistic abilities, named Stanley, was busy at every spare moment sketching groups of teamsters, scouts, animals, and wagons, with delicacy of execution and excellent effect.” John Gregory Bourke, On the Border with Crook (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971), p.299.

27. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.68.

28. For those wondering where the name “Tongue River Heights” originated, the following details were supplied by historian Jerome A. Greene (who I think was the first to use it in a published work) in an email on 12 June 2013: The name “Tongue River Heights” I took from an army discharge on which the soldier had listed the encounters in which he had participated during the Sioux War. I also thought that it was an apropos name and far more colourful than “Tongue River Skirmish” of 9 June 1876.

29. These quotes from Foster/Cozzens, Long War, pp.271-272.

30. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.67. Captain Gerhard L. Luhn, Fourth Infantry, was inspecting his company (F) when the fight opened. He estimated 75 warriors in the attacking force. James H. Nottage, The Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition of 1876 As Seen Through the Letters of Captain Gerhard Luke Luhn (Annals of Wyoming, Volume 45, Spring 1973), p.32. Interestingly, just prior to the fight (but on the same day), Luhn wrote to his wife: “I do wish that Mr. Sitting Bull would come and give us battle, we are all ready, and if we could get one good fight out of him we would soon be back to [Fort] Fetterman.” Ibid.

31. Ibid., p.67, p.68 (for the 500-800 yard references).

32. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.71.

33. Ibid.

34. Quote from Ibid., p.67.

35. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.272 & Finerty, War-path, p.93.

36. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.272.

37. Finerty, War-path, p.94.

38. Ibid., pp.94-95.

39. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.69 (from Wasson’s dispatch in the New York Tribune).

40. Finerty, War-path, pp.94-95.

41. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.273.

42. For mention of Little Hawk being the leader, see George Bird Grinnell, The Fighting Cheyennes (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), p.329.

43. Ibid. Google Earth was used to estimate the number of miles.

44. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.273.

45. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.70.

46. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.68 & Finerty, War-path, p.92, respectively. Lieutenant Thaddeus H. Capron, Ninth Infantry, inferred that the start time was 6:00 pm or shortly thereafter. Ray Meketa, ed., Marching With General Crook, Being the Diary of Lieutenant Thaddeus Hurlbut Capron, Company C, Ninth Infantry (Douglas, Alaska: Cheechako, Press, 1983), p.13.

47. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.69.

48. Jerome A. Greene, Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian Views of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994), p.23.

49. Ibid.

50. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.68, p.69.

51. Neil C. Mangum, Battle of the Rosebud (El Segundo, CA: Upton & Sons, 1987), p.40.

52. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.72.

53. Meketa, Marching With General Crook, p.14.

54. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.273.

55. Ibid.

56. Ibid. Although the horse from E Troop, Third Cavalry, was shot in the leg the same as Captain Burt’s horse, Foster doesn’t state that it had to be killed, too.

57. Capron only mentioned one mule. Meketa, Marching With General Crook, p.14.

58. Ibid.

59. Greene, Lakota and Cheyenne, p.23.

60. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.273.

61. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.70.

62. Robinson, Bourke Diaries, p.305.

63. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.68.

64. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.274.

65. Ibid.

66. Robinson, Bourke Diaries, p.305.

67. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.68.

68. Bourke, On the Border with Crook, p.297.

69. Abrams, Sioux War Dispatches, p.75.

70. Foster/Cozzens, Long War, p.273.

71. Abrams, “Crying for Scalps,” pp.64, 65.