the massacre of about 50 Americans near an army post in Georgia-a climax to a series of raids against American settlements by Seminoles based in Spanish Florida. Brig. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines, Indian commissioner of the area, attempted countermeasures, but soon found himself and his force of 600 Regulars confined to Fort Scott (Alabama) by the Seminoles. War Department instructions to Gaines had permitted the pursuit of Indians into Florida, but had forbidden interference if the Indians took refuge in Spanish posts. Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, who was ordered to take over the operation, chose to interpret Gaines' instructions as sanctioning a full-scale invasion of the Spanish colony. He organized a force of about 7,500 volunteers, militia, subsidized Creeks, and Regulars (4th and 7th Infantry regiments and a battalion of the 4th Artillery), and invaded Florida with part of this force in the spring of 1818. He destroyed Seminole camps, captured Pensacola (capital of Spanish Florida) and other Spanish strongholds, and executed two British subjects, Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister, accused of inciting and arming the Indians. These activities threatened American relations with Great Britain and jeopardized negotiations with Spain pertinent to cession of Florida (Adams-Onis Treaty, 1819). Eventually the British were mollified, and a compromise agreement was reached with the Spanish under which American forces were withdrawn from Florida without repudiating the politically popular Jackson. As for the Seminole problem, it was temporarily allayed but by no means solved.

Second Seminole War, December 1835-August 1842. In the Treaties of Payne's Landing (1832) and Fort Gibson (1833) the Seminoles had agreed to give up their lands, but they refused to move out. After the arrest and release of their leader Osceola in 1835, Seminole depredations rapidly increased, culminating, on 28 December, in the massacre of Capt. Francis L. Dade's detachment of 110 Regulars (elements of the 2d and 4th Artillery regiments and the 4th Infantry) while en route from Fort Brooke (Tampa) to Fort King (Ocala)—a disastrous loss

for the small Regular force of 600 men in Florida. Brig. Gen. Duncan L. Clinch, commanding Fort King, took the offensive immediately with 200 men, and on 31 December 1835 defeated the Indians on the Withlacoochee River.

The War Department, meanwhile, had ordered Brig. Gen. Winfield Scott, commander of the Eastern Department, to Florida to direct operations against the Seminoles. Most of the hostilities had occurred in General Gaines' Western Department, but the War Department expected impending troubles in Texas to keep Gaines occupied. Nevertheless Gaines had quickly raised about 1,000 men in New Orleans, and acting on his own authority embarked for Florida in February 1836. Even after learning of Scott's appointment, Gaines seized supplies collected by Scott at Fort Drane and pressed forward until heavily attacked by Seminoles. He succeeded in extricating his force only with help from Scott's troops. Shortly thereafter he returned to New Orleans.

Completion of preparations for Scott's proposed three-pronged offensive converging on the Withlacoochee was delayed by Gaines' use of Scott's supplies, the expiration of volunteer enlistments, and a temporary diversion of troops to Ideal with the Creeks, who were then on the warpath in Georgia and Alabama. (See above, Creek Campaigns.) Before the campaign could get under way, Scott was recalled to Washington to face charges of dilatoriness and of casting slurs on the fighting qualities of volunteers.

Beginning in December 1836, Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Jesup carried out a series of small actions against the Seminoles. In September 1837 Osceola was captured. Col. Zachary Taylor decisively defeated a sizable Indian force near Lake Okeechobee in December 1837.

After Taylor's expedition no more large forces were assembled on either side. Numerous small expeditions were carried out, chiefly by Regular troops commanded successively by Jesup, Taylor, and Brig. Gen. Walker A. Armistead. Many posts and roads were constructed. Col. William J. Worth finally conceived a plan of campaigning during the enervating summer seasons, with

the object of destroying the Indians' crops. This was successful in driving enough Seminoles from their swampy retreats to permit official termination of the war on 10 May 1842.

Elements of most of the units of the Regular Army, and more than 20,000 volunteers, were employed at one time or another during the long campaign, which over a 7-year period notably increased the War Department's expenditures (see chapter 21). The Regulars, who on occasion numbered nearly 5,000 in the field, suffered perhaps 1,500 fatalities. As a result of the war some 3,500 Seminoles were removed to the Indian Territory.

Third Seminole War, December 1855— May 1858. The final campaign against the remnants of the Seminoles in Florida consisted mainly of a series of skirmishes between small, roving Indian bands and the 4th Artillery, which was stationed at Fort Brooke.

Removal of the Cherokees, 1838. The Army was assigned the task of supervising removal to the Indian Territory of the Cherokees of northern Georgia, where gold had been discovered. General Scott assembled a force consisting of the 4th Infantry, elements of the 2d Dragoons, four regiments of Regular artillery, and some Georgia militia. Backed by this force, Scott was able to persuade most of the 15,000 Cherokees to migrate peaceably to their new home.

NORTHERN PLAINS AND ROCKY MOUNTAINS, 1819-98. In the vast region extending west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Coast and south from the Canadian border to about the 37th parallel, there were relatively few conflicts with the Indians until the 1850's. Beginning then, however, and especially in the period following the Civil War, the rapid increase of white settlers resulted in Indian troubles that involved the Army almost continuously until the last years of the century.

Expeditions and Campaigns, 1819-62. In the first half of the nineteenth century, Army activities in the plains Indian country were limited to an occasional punitive or exploratory expedition and to the building of frontier posts. Typical were Col. Henry Atkinson's two expeditions up the Missouri

into the Yellowstone River region (181925), and Lt. Col. Henry Leavenworth's punitive expedition against the Arickaras some 700 miles upriver from Council Bluffs, Iowa, in June 1823.

An increase of settlers west of the Missouri, and of travel across the plains area, resulted in a proportionate increase of Indian trouble in the 1850's. The following incidents are characteristic of the period. Utes massacred Capt. John W. Gunnison's detachment of Company A, Mounted Rifles, who were surveying for a railroad near Sevier Lake, Utah, on 26 October 1853. Regulars under Col. Thomas T. Fauntleroy (1st Dragoons) in 1854, and under Col. Edward Steptoe (3d Artillery) in 1835, pursued and finally captured the guilty Indians. In August 1855 Col. William S. Harney's troops (elements of the 2d Dragoons and 6th Infantry) chastised the Sioux at Ash Hollow (Nebraska) for massacring 2d Lt. J. L. Grattan's detachment a year earlier. Elements of the 1st Cavalry and the 6th Infantry under Col. Edwin V. Sumner fought a pitched battle with the Cheyennes at Solomon's Fork of the Kansas River in 1857.

Campaigns in the Northern Plains, 1862-75. The Sioux, Northern Cheyennes, and related tribes became an increasing menace in the 1860's. In Minnesota a Sioux uprising led by Little Crow in August 1862 resulted in the massacre of hundreds of settlers and soldiers at New Ulm, Fort Ridgely, and other points. Troops from Fort Snelling under Brig. Gen. H. H. Sibley crushed the uprising at Wood Lake on 23 September 1862.

With the opening of gold fields in the 1860's in Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota, the Powder River country (bounded by the Yellowstone River, the Rocky Mountains, and the Black Hills) became the center of conflict with the Plain Indians. A treaty negotiated by a commission headed by Brig. Gen. William S, Harney in 1865 guaranteed preservation of this region as hunting grounds for the Sioux, Northern Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, Subsequent construction of Army forts along the Bozeman Trail, which ran to the Montana gold fields through the heart of the preserve, was an apparent violation of

the treaty, and the Sioux under Red Cloud reacted violently. At Fort Phil Kearny (Wyoming) on 21 December 1866 a detachment of 80 men under Capt. William J. Fetterman was wiped out by about 2,000 Indians under Crazy Horse. On 2 August 1867, near the same fort, Capt. James Powell's work party of 32 men, armed with new breechloading rifles, successfully stood off 1,500 of Red Cloud's braves from behind an improvised barricade of wagon boxes until relief came. The Indians, who suffered an estimated 180 casualties in the "Wagon Box Fight," had stumbled on the party while returning from an abortive assault on Fort C. F. Smith (Montana) the day before.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Laramie (1868) the Government abandoned the new forts in the Powder River country, and many of the Indians entered reservations in the Black Hills

area.

Little Big Horn Campaign, 1876-77. Discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874, bringing an influx of miners and the extension of railroads into the area, caused renewed unrest among the Indians, many of whom left their reservations. When they failed to comply with orders from the Interior Department to return to the reservations by the end of January 1876, the Army was requested to take action.

A small expedition into the Powder River country in March 1876 produced negligible results. Thereafter a much larger operation, based on a War Department plan, was carried out in the early summer months. As implemented by Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan, commander of the Division of the Missouri (which included the Departments of the Missouri, Platte, and Dakota), the plan was for several columns to converge simultaneously on the Yellowstone River, where the Indians would be trapped and then forced to return to their reservations. In pursuance of this plan, Maj. Gen. George Crook, commander of the Department of the Platte, moved north from Fort Fetterman (Wyoming) in late May 1876 with about 1,000 men (elements of the 2d and 3d Cavalry regiments and the 4th and 9th Infantry regiments). At the same time two columns marched south up the Yellow

stone under Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry, commander of the Department of Dakota. One column of more than 1,000 men (7th Cavalry and elements of the 6th, 17th, and 20th Infantry regiments), under Terry's direct command, moved from Fort Abraham Lincoln (North Dakota) to the mouth of Powder River. The second of Terry's columns, numbering about 450 men (elements of the 2d Cavalry and 7th Infantry) under Col. John Gibbon, moved from Fort Ellis (Montana) to the mouth of the Big Horn.

On 17 June 1876 Crook's troops fought an indecisive engagement on the Rosebud with a large band of Sioux and Cheyennes under Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and other chiefs, and then moved back to the Tongue River to wait for reinforcements. Meanwhile Terry had discovered the trail of the same Indian band, and had sent Lt. Col. George A. Custer with the 7th Cavalry up the Rosebud to locate the war party and move south of it. Terry, with the rest of the command, continued up the Yellowstone to meet Gibbon and close on the Indians from the north.

The 7th Cavalry, proceeding up the Rosebud, discovered an encampment of 4,000 to 5,000 Indians (an estimated 2,500 warriors) on the Little Big Horn on 25 June 1876. Custer immediately ordered an attack, dividing his forces so as to strike the camp from several directions. The surprised Indians quickly rallied and drove off Maj. Marcus A. Reno's detachment (Companies A, G, and M) which suffered severe losses. Reno was joined by Capt. Frederick W. Benteen's detachment (Companies D, H, and K) and the pack train (including Company B), and this combined force was able to withstand heavy attacks, which were finally lifted when the Indians withdrew late the following day. Custer and a force of 211 men (Companies C, E, F, I, and L) were surrounded and completely destroyed. Terry and Gibbon did not reach the scene of Custer's last stand until the morning of 27 June. The 7th Cavalry's total losses in this action (including Custer's detachment) were 12 officers, 247 enlisted men, 5 civilians, and 3 Indian scouts killed; 2 officers and 51 enlisted men wounded.

After this disaster the Little Big Horn campaign continued until September 1877, many additional Regular units seeing action (including elements of the 4th and 5th Cavalry regiments, the 5th, 14th, 22d, and 23d Infantry regiments, and the 4th Artillery). Crook and Terry joined forces on the Rosebud on 10 August 1876, but most of the Indians slipped through the troops, although many came into the reservations. Fighting in the fall and winter of 1876-77 consisted mostly of skirmishes and raids, notably Crook's capture of American Horse's village at Slim Buttes (South Dakota) on 9 September and of Dull Knife's village in the Big Horn Mountains on 26 November, and Col. Nelson A. Miles' attack on Crazy Horse's camp in the Wolf Mountains on 8 January. By the summer of 1877 most of the Sioux were back on the reservations. Crazy Horse had come in, and was killed resisting arrest at Fort Robinson (Nebraska) in September. Sitting Bull, with a small band of Sioux, escaped to Canada, but surrendered at Fort Buford (Montana) in July 1881.

Nez Percé Campaign, 1877. Indians of the southern branch of the Nez Percés, led by Chief Joseph, refused to give up their ancestral lands (OregonIdaho border) and enter a reservation. When negotiations broke down and Nez Percé hotheads killed settlers in early 1877, the 1st Cavalry was sent to compel them to come into the reservation. Chief Joseph chose to resist, and undertook an epic retreat of some 1,600 miles through Idaho, Yellowstone Park, and Montana, during which he engaged 11 separate commands of the Army in 13 battles and skirmishes in a period of 11 weeks. Th Nez Percé chieftain revealed remarkable skill as a tactician, and his braves demonstrated exceptional discipline in numerous engagements, especially those on the Clearwater River (11 July), in Big Hole Basin (9-12 August), and in the Bear Paw Mountains, where he surrendered with the remnants of his band to Col. Nelson A. Miles on 4 October 1877. Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard, commander of the Department of the Columbia, and Col. John Gibbon also played a prominent part in the pursuit of Joseph, which by the end of September 1877 had involved

elements of the 1st, 2d, 5th, and 7th Cavalry regiments, the 2d, 5th, 7th, and 21st Infantry regiments, and the 4th Artillery.

Bannock and Sheepeater Campaigns, 1878-79. The Bannock, Piute, and other Indian tribes of southern Idaho threatened rebellion in 1878, partly because of dissatisfaction with their land allotments. Many of them left the reservations, and elements of the 2d, 5th, 12th, and 21st Infantry regiments, the 4th Artillery, and the 1st and 2d Cavalry regiments pursued the fugitives. Capt. Evan Miles so effectively dispersed a large band near the Umatilla Agency on 13 July 1878 that most of the Indians returned to their reservations within a few months.

The Sheepeaters, who were mountain sheep hunters and outcasts of other Idaho tribes, raided ranches and mines in 1879. Relentless pursuit by elements of the 1st Cavalry and 2d Infantry compelled them to surrender in September of that year.

Ute Campaign, 1879-80. A Mr. N. C. Meeker, the Indian agent at White River Agency (Colorado), became involved in a dispute with Northern Utes in September 1879 and requested assistance from the Army. In response, Maj. T. T. Thornburgh's column of about 200 men (parts of the 3d and 5th Cavalry regiments and the 4th Infantry) moved out from Fort Steele (Wyoming). On 29 September this force was attacked and besieged on the Milk River (Colorado) by three or four hundred warriors. Thornburgh's command was finally relieved by elements of the 9th Cavalry that arrived on 2 October and of the 5th Cavalry under Col. Wesley Merritt that arrived on 5 October, but in the meantime Meeker and most of his staff had been massacred. Before the Utes were pacified, in November of 1880, several thousand troops, including elements of the 4th, 6th, 7th, 15th, 16th, and 19th Infantry regiments and the 3d, 5th, and 9th Cavalry regiments had taken the field.

In 1906 the Utes of this area left their reservation and roamed through Wyoming, terrorizing the countryside, until they were forced back on their reservation by elements of the 6th and 10th Cavalry regiments.

Pine Ridge Campaign, 1890-91. Accumulated grievances, aggravated by teachings of an Indian prophet named Wovoka who claimed to be the Messiah, brought about this last major conflict with the Sioux. General Miles, commander of the Department of the Missouri, responded to a Department of the Interior request to check the rising ferment by ordering apprehension of the great Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, who was killed during the attempted arrest at Standing Rock Agency on 15 December 1890. Meanwhile large numbers of Sioux had been assembling in the Bad Lands, and a serious clash took place at Wounded Knee Creek on 29 December 1890 between Col. James W. Forsyth's 7th Cavalry and Chief Big Foot's band, with considerable losses on both sides. Almost half the infantry and cavalry of the Regular Army (including elements of the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Cavalry regiments, the 1st, 2d, 3d, 7th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 22d, and 25th Infantry regiments, and the 4th Artillery), were concentrated in the area, and in January 1891 the warriors were disarmed and persuaded to return peaceably to their reservations.

SOUTHWEST, 1836-86. Conflicts with the Indians of the southwestern plains and mountains increased after the Mexican War, but were on a small scale until the end of the Civil War. The tribes of the Southwest were generally smaller than those of the northern plans, and never concentrated in as large numbers as, for instance, the Sioux. Important tribes were the Comanche, Southern Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho of the upper Arkansas and Red River region, and the Apache and Navaho of southwest Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Sand Creek Massacre, 1864. Numerous Indian raids in Colorado and nearby areas resulted in a punitive expedition by volunteer units led by Col. J. M. Chivington. Several hundred Cheyennes and Arapahoes were killed in a surprise attack on the winter village of Black Kettle and White Antelope on Sand Creek on 29 November 1864. Medicine Lodge Treaty, 1867. The massacre at Sand Creek aroused intense unrest among the western Indians, and

led Congress to negotiate with the Southwest Plains Indians. The Medicine Lodge Treaty, signed at Fort Larned (Kansas) in October 1867, provided reservations for the Kiowas and Comanches between the Red and Washita Rivers, and for the Southern Cheyennes and Arapahoes in areas south of the Arkansas. However, the Indians would not adhere to its terms.

Campaigns Against the Comanche, Cheyenne, and Other Tribes, 1867-75. Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan, commanding the Department of the Missouri, instituted winter campaigns in 1868 as a means of locating the elusive Indian tribes of the region. From then until 1875, campaigns continued in the border regions of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Notable incidents were the nine-day defense of Beecher's Island against Roman Nose's band in September 1868 by Maj. George A. Forsyth's detachment; the defeat of Black Kettle on the Washita (Oklahoma) on 27 November 1868 by Colonel Custer and the 7th Cavalry; the crushing of the Cheyennes under Tall Bull at Summit Spring (Colorado) on 13 May 1869; the assault on the Kiowa-Comanche camp in Palo Duro Canyon on 27 September 1875 by Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie; and the attack and rout of Greybeard's big Cheyenne encampment in the Texas Panhandle on 8 November 1875 by 1st Lt. Frank Baldwin's detachment, spearheaded by infantry loaded in mule wagons.

Apache Campaigns, 1871-86. After Brig. Gen. George Crook became commander of the Department of Arizona in 1871, he undertook a series of winter campaigns by small detachments which pacified the region by 1874. In the years that followed, however, the Indian Bureau's policy of frequent removal created new dissatisfaction among the Apaches. Dissident elements, led by Chato, Victorio, Geronimo, and other chiefs, went off the reservations and raided settlements along both sides of the border, escaping into Mexico or the United States as circumstances dictated. To combat this practice, the two nations agreed in 1882 to permit reasonable pursuit of Indian raiders by the troops of each country across the international boundary.