Battle of Beecher Island

As the Indians fought dispersed battles composed of small bands of warriors all over the frontier, U.S. Army troops and units were at a premium. General Sheridan decided to try an unusual tactic. He ordered his aide, Major George Alexander Forsyth of the 9th Cavalry, a Civil War veteran, to raise a company of "fifty first-class hardy frontiersmen, to be used as scouts against the hostile Indians."[1] They were to seek out and engage the marauders using their tactics, rather than those of the traditional Army.

Forsyth hand-picked 48 men at Forts Harker and Hays and armed them with Spencer repeating rifles. Forsyth's executive officer was Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher of the 3rd Infantry, a decorated veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg. His company rode northwest nearly to Nebraska, then turned southwest and reached Fort Wallace the night of 5 September without finding any trace of Indians.

By the morning of the 17th, hundreds of Indians (variously estimated to number 200, 600, or 1,000)[9][1][10] had positioned themselves among the bluffs around Forsyth's camp. A group of eight tried to stampede the soldiers' horses, and Forsyth heard their war cries.[8] Soldiers thwarted them, while the rest mounted their horses. Dozens of Indians galloped towards Forsyth on the riverbed opposite the way he and his men had entered it.[8] These were driven back and Forsyth directed his men to cross the river's shallows to a sandbar, where they tied their horses to bushes to form a barricade.[8]

The initial assault by the Indians was cut down by the accurate, quick-firing Spencer rifles. The combined force of Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were surprised and changed their tactics.[11]

During the early morning of the first day of battle, small parties of Indians dashed up to the sand bar on horseback several times, but they did little damage to the scouts. The scouts killed their horses for breastworks and dug pits into the soft sand behind them.[11] When the scouts opened fire, the Indians attacked the island on both sides. Later they crawled through the grass and shot through the grass. Several scouts who were killed or wounded were hit by the Indian snipers hidden in the grass. The Indians surrounded the island and repeatedly attacked the scouts. Three scouts hidden in hole on the riverbank shot several Indians from the shore.[10]

Roman nose is shot (from an 1895 book)

Roman Nose initially abstained from the battle, believing he would die if he fought that day because he had violated a protective taboo. After another Indian accused him of cowardice, he decided to lead the next attack.[8] When Forsyth saw the charge coming, he ordered his men to hold their fire until the Indians were 50 yards away.[12] After several volleys, Roman Nose was shot in the back[13] on the riverbank at the west end of the sand bar. He jumped back into the grass where other warriors retrieved him. He died at 10 pm that night.[10]

Many other warriors fell, while four of the scouts including Beecher, Acting Surgeon J.H. Mooers, George W. Culver, and William Wilson were killed. Another 15 scouts were wounded, including Colonel Forsyth. Forsyth had received three gunshot wounds: one glancing his head, another shattering his left shin, and a ball was lodged against his right femoral artery.[9][13]

Before dawn on the second day, Forsyth said, "Some one must go to Wallace for assistance." Sharp Grover, who was chief of scouts, said "It is impossible to get out." Then Stilwell came forward and said, "Let me choose the man to go with me and I will go." Grover said, "Jack is too young and inexperienced, he can't get through." Ft. Wallace was about 70 miles (110 km) to the south east. But Forsyth tore off the fly leaf out of his daybook, wrote a note to Col. Bankhead at Ft. Wallace, and gave it to Simpson "Jack" Stilwell.[14]

Stilwell chose Pierre Trudeau to come with him. They crawled for 3 miles (4.8 km) the first day before they took cover in the daylight. They were forced to evade Indians for four days during their journey.[15]^: 1370 They had only horse meat for food and when it spoiled they got sick. Trudeau was so weak he could only stand with assistance, but after resting and traveling for four days they reached Fort Wallace. Two nights after Stilwell and Trudeau left, Scouts John J. Donovan and Allison J. Pliley left the island to seek relief. It was unknown if Scouts Stilwell and Trudeau had made it through the Indian lines. On the fourth day of the battle, Forsyth asked his men to extract the bullet; when they refused, he used his own razor to remove it.[16] Others thought Forsyth would die of his wounds before they would be rescued.[10]

• 
  Defending the Island
  One soldier and three horses have fallen, while others continue to wage the battle.
• 
  In the pits
  An officer hands a wounded soldier water as another man drinks from a pool, while a third prepares to fire his rifle.
• 
  Chief Roman Nose
  Roman Nose, on horseback, taunts the U.S. soldiers as a group of spectators on horseback cheer him on.
• 
  The Rescue
  A soldier offers aid to his wounded comrade after the Battle of Beecher Island. The Harper's article states that this is Bvt. Col. Louis H. Carpenter greeting Lt. Col. G. A. Forsyth who was twice wounded. Notice officer shoulder boards.

Three rescue parties departed following different routes due to the uncertainty of the Scout's location. The first was Lieutenant Colonel Louis H. Carpenter leading Troop H & I of the 10th Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers) with Captain Baldwin. Major Brisbin in command of two troops of the 2nd Cavalry took another route. Captain Bankhead, went from Fort Wallace with about 100 men of the 5th Infantry, took a third route.[17]

About daybreak on 25 September, Lt.Col. Carpenter's Troops H & I[15] were intercepted on the plains by Scout John Donovan and four riders he had recruited after reaching Fort Wallace and starting back for the battlefield. They were the first to arrive and relieve Forsyth's unit. Carpenter later received the Medal of Honor for his relief of Forsyth's command and for his actions during the battle on Beaver Creek.

Over fifty dead horses greeted them with their putrid smell. Forsyth's command had been out of rations and forced to survive on the decaying horse flesh.[18] The air around Forsyth was completely filled with a great stench and was swarming with black flies feasting on the rotting defensive line of dead horses. The square sandy hole, where Forsyth was lying was half encircled by dead mounts and would have become his grave if help had not arrived when it did. Other gun pits, interconnected, contained the living and the dead of his unit.[17]

Carpenter immediately secured the area and pitched a number of tents up wind nearby. The wounded men were carefully carried there for more healthy air and the dead men were buried to reduce the stench and possibility of disease. Twenty-six hours later, Carpenter sent a detachment to look for Bankhead's unit. They found Stilwell and Trudeau several miles in advance of Bankhead. Captain Bankhead followed bringing with him the two troops of the 2nd Cavalry.[17]

The following day, a fifth scout died of his wounds and was buried on the battlefield with the other four scouts. Walter Armstrong died in a hospital later.[17] Beecher, Culver, Farley, Wilson and Doctor Mooers were buried on the island. Sixteen others were wounded. On 27 September, the Forsyth Scouts departed for Fort Wallace, escorted by the 10th Cavalry.[17]

• Nevin, David (1973). The Old West: Soldiers. New York: Time-Life Books.