Custer’s Return: Unveiling the Post-Civil War Chaos and Transformation on the Kansas Frontier

Get ready to time travel as we journey back to the post-Civil War era in Kansas, a time marked by exhilarating growth and brutal conflict. We'll paint a vivid picture of the settlers who transformed the land for commercial farming, the upheaval it brought to the Plains Indian culture, and the bloody battles that ensued, driving folks to seek Governor Samuel Crawford's intervention. Hear how 'Little Phil,' General Philip Henry Sheridan, towered over the chaos, striving tirelessly to secure overland routes for the Transcontinental Railroad amid rising tensions and escalating conflicts.

Fasten your seatbelts as we follow General Sully and his troops on an expedition filled with battles and challenges. We'll share tales of the brave civilian scouts from Fort Hayes, their daring skirmish on the Erichari River, and their significant contribution to the conflict. Meet Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, the name that resonates with frontier warfare. Follow his trail from Fort Hayes to his crucial involvement in the Beaver Creek skirmish. This episode is a must-listen if you're fascinated by the Wild West, whether you're a history aficionado or just curious about the past. Prepare to be intrigued, educated, and entertained.

If you have any comments or want to add to our series, please write us at wildwestpodcast@gmail.com. We will share your thoughts or questions as they apply to future episodes. 

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

I.

Speaker 2: 0:35

During the post-Civil War years, an unprecedented period of growth drove the settlers' frontiers steadily westward into Kansas. In 1867 alone, 50,000 immigrants converged on the state, determined to claim the state's rich central prairies. Moreover, the rapid expansion of commercial farming foreshadowed the end of the classic Plains Indian culture. Plains of thousands of acres of prairie were busted out by the plough each year as the bison's feeding grounds became rigorously converted to wheat and cornfields. Ironically, the cessation of the buffalo herds forewent that of the prairie itself, as the lumbering animals were preyed upon just for the sport of killing or for the financial returns realized from the sale of hides for factories or selected cuts of meat. By late spring of 1868, a general onslaught was once again unleashed along the frontier by the southern tribes. As the casualties mounted, the frightened populace flocked to the safety of small towns. They barricaded themselves against the atrocities befalling many friends who remained on their homesteads. The homesteaders abandoned their crops and livestock in the fields to choose poverty. Over the risk of sudden death, the governor's office became besieged with petitions for relief rations and militia protection. Finally, enraged citizens advised Governor Samuel Crawford to make peace with the Devil's Shippington style. By late summer, the atrocities had become unbearable and the Kansas militia units were once again gathered for punitive campaigns. Governor Crawford, unmistakably disappointed with the inability of the federal troops to prevent the attacks, appealed directly to President Andrew Johnson. Wild West Podcast proudly presents Trails to the Washita, part 1, custer's Return.

Speaker 2: 2:47

On February 29, 1868, general Philip Henry Sheridan arrived at Fort Leavenworth, kansas. Sheridan replaced Hancock as the new Army's Department of Missouri commander. Sheridan's friends referred to the 5'5-inch general as Little Phil. However, there was nothing little about his reputation. Like his predecessor Hancock, sheridan was an icon of the American Civil War. In addition, sheridan carried with him prestige as a brilliant leader and a relentless fighter.

Speaker 2: 3:20

As the campaign's commencement, sheridan encountered the problem of Indian plunder resulting from raids by southern plains warriors. The Indians also refused to stay confined to the reservations the Medicine Lodge Treaty assigned to them. Sheridan responded quickly to the new raids into Kansas and adopted the Retribution Policy to follow the crime. Another problem Sheridan encountered was that the Division of the Missouri encompassed the vast wind-blown blanket of grass known as the Great Plains. The Great Plains was the home of the Plains Indians whose lives revolved around the buffalo. To prepare for the upcoming Plains campaign, sheridan's division extended from the Dakotas in the north to Texas in the south and extended west to the Rocky Mountains. In his command were three major overland routes the Santa Fe, the Smoky Hill and the Platte. Here also was the proposed route for the Transcontinental Railroad. Sheridan's job was to secure the overland routes in the region to make way for the railroad.

Speaker 2: 4:30

To offset the problem of Indian raids, sheridan dispersed troops who protected the Smoky Hill Road and the Santa Fe Trail, the Kansas Pacific Railroad work crews and the Kansas Settlements. Furthermore, it was against his nature to remain passively on the defense without responding to what he saw as the devilish work of red fiends. Accordingly, major General Philip H Sheridan stated the following soon after taking command At the outbreak of hostilities, I had in all a force of regulars numbering about 2,600 men, 1,200 mounted and 1,400 foot troops. With these few troops, all the posts along Smoky Hill and Arkansas had to be garrisoned, immigrant trains escorted and the settlements and routes of travel and the construction parties on the Kansas-specific Railway protected. In 2002, this same force had to furnish for the field small movable columns that were always on the go. So it will be rightly inferred that every available man was kept busy from the middle of August till November, especially as during this period, the hostiles attacked over 40 widely dispersed places, in nearly all cases stealing horses, burning houses and killing settlers. By establishing posts along the travel routes, the military hoped to create a feeling of omnipresence among the Indians, thus discouraging them from hostile acts. The Smoky Hill Trail and the other travel routes were essential in developing this plan. In addition, the heavily traveled roads needed protection and called for establishing of three new military posts, including Fort Harker, fort Hayes and Fort Wallace.

Speaker 2: 6:24

On August 23, 1868, general Sheridan ordered the Indians out of Kansas. While a volunteer battalion paroled the frontier districts, sheridan organized his regulars and carried on a campaign into the Indian stronghold in the Indian territory and Texas. The result was the complete subdue of the Cheyenne, arapaho, comanche and Kiawa tribes. Sheridan confirmed his winter campaign against the Cheyennes on September 11, when he called upon Governor Crawford for the frontier battalion. Sheridan's forces were to be ably assisted in this campaign by the 19th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Shortly afterward it was predicted by General Sherman in the following prophetic statement when winter starves the Indians' ponies, they'll want a truce and shan't have it unless the civil influence compels me again, as it did last winter.

Speaker 2: 7:25

The prime objective of Sheridan's campaign was to drive the Indians onto the reservations set aside at Medicine Lodge. Secondarily, he would pursue and kill Indians guilty of raiding or those who refused to go to the reservations. It also became apparent to Sheridan in the fall of 1868 that the troops of the winter campaign needed a leader with whom he could have confidence. Accordingly, sheridan summoned two officers he trusted to conduct an offensive. One was Major Eugene A Carr, commander of the 5th Cavalry. An 1850 graduate of West Point, carr served on the frontier from 1852 to 1860 and won the Medal of Honor in the Civil War. Carr was suit Sheridan well in the months ahead. The other officer was Custer. Sheridan appealed to Custer's court-martial to obtain him into the field. On September 24, 1868, custer received a telegram at his home in Monroe, michigan, stating Generals Sherman, sully and I and nearly all of the officers of your regiment have asked for you and I hope the application will be successful.

Speaker 2: 8:39

According to TJ Styles in his book entitled Custer's Trails states that the chain of events that pulled Custer back into active service began in June 1868 when a band of southern Cheyenne warriors raided a cove village near Council Grove. On June 3rd 1868, some 400 Cheyenne Indians flooded Council Grove, kansas armed and painted for war when the Indians reached the west end of the town, they divided their forces, one half following along Elm Creek to the south of town, while the other continued to march along Main Street. The people were taken completely by surprise, but held themselves in readiness for whatever might happen. At that time, the Kansas tribe was stationed about two and a half miles east of Council Grove on Big John Creek. The cause for the Cheyenne being on the warpath was a dispute with the Kansas Indians. During the previous year, the Kansas and Cheyenne had lived at peace with each other, but a dispute arose over horses. The two tribes came together about two miles east of Council Grove, where negotiations with the help of Indian agents took place After several hours of trading insults and staying out of each other's firing range. A battle lasting several hours left three men dead During the altercation. A white population of men had made the battle a social occasion, watching the fight from nearby hilltops.

Speaker 2: 10:17

Afterward, the Cheyenne left the area, moving up the Solomon Valley, where they killed several settlers and committed other depredations. It was merely another skirmish in the decades-old war of the Low Plains tribes. The Indian Bureau, though, saw it as a breach of the peace and refused to issue arms in ammunition stipulated in the treaty. The Cheyennes were furious at this, writes the historian Paul Hutton. They saw their wars with other Indian nations as their business and they had carefully avoided clashes with white men. Their federal agent, edward W Wincoup, agreed with Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Sully, the new district of Upper Arkansas commander, to distribute 160 revolvers and 80 old-style muzzleloaders for hunting. It didn't help. The next day a raiding party of some 200 Cheyenne men rode to attack the Pawnees. They changed their minds. They descended on the settlers in the Selene and Solomon Valleys. They raped five women and murdered 15 men. Little Rock, a Cheyenne leader, later told Wincoup that two men in the group started the attacks without approval but finally all gave way and all went in together. Additionally, in August of the same year two Army scouts, including Custer's friend and medicine bill Comstock, went to a dog soldiers camp to investigate the raids. The Cheyennes killed both of them.

Speaker 2: 12:04

The story begins with Comstock and Abner Grover being ordered by Lieutenant Beecher to go to the camp of the Cheyenne Chief Turkey Leg to reign in his warriors who were wreaking havoc in the Selene Valley along the Solomon and Republican rivers. Both scouts knew Turkey Leg, having lived in his village during their trading days and they were counting on Cheyenne hospitality, which held that a former friend would be safe in a man's lodge even if the relationship had soured. So the two went ahead with their mission, despite knowing that just days earlier, 7th Cavalry Soldiers under Captain Fred Benteen had skirmished with Turkey Leg's warriors, killing four and wounding ten. Comstock and Grover found the village on Sunday, august 16th. Accounts of its location vary, but according to research by John S Gray, it lay at the head of the Solomon River, about 25 miles north and east of Monument Station. Comstock and Grover made it to the Chief's Lodge safely, but midway through negotiations, runners galloped into the village with news of the Benteen fight. After the report of the Benteen fight, the meeting became tense and the Indians then drove the scouts from the village on August 18. However, when they were just about two miles away, they were overtaken by seven Indians who initially appeared friendly. The natives soon fired on Comstock and Grover and left them for dead. Grover nevertheless survived and made his way to the railroad. Upon arriving at Fort Wallace, comstock's body was recovered and buried at the old Fort Wallace Post Cemetery, but the location is unknown today. Comstock was just 26 years old. The official report from Fort Wallace, written by commanding officer Captain Henry C Bankhead and dated August 19, states. The Indians then drove Comstock and Grover out of camp and when, about two miles away, were overtaken by a party of seven who initially appeared friendly, after riding along with them, they fired into their backs, killing William Comstock instantly. Grover remained hid in the grass during Monday. Monday night walked to the railroad which he struck about seven miles east of Monument and sent on to this post To retaliate against June through August 1868, deprivations of the plains tribes Sully in September led nine companies of the 7th Cavalry South into the Indian Territory.

Speaker 2: 14:51

It was hoped that the threat posed by General Sully's movements would draw the warring bands back to their reservations to protect their women and children and thus relieve the frontier from the intense raiding endured through much of the summer. These nine companies of the 7th Cavalry, one company of 3rd Infantry, one mountain howitzer and thirty supply wagons left Fort Dodge on September 7. Before General Sully's arrival, the Fort Dodge garrison had once again been hard-pressed to hold the field in the face of the attacks meted out in the vicinity of the post. Although the trains moving along the Santa Fe route endured the brunt of the aggression, the Fort's losses from field engagements mounted steadily. One raid was made against Fort Dodge with four troopers killed and seventeen wounded.

Speaker 2: 15:45

On the first day the column marched thirty miles and camped that night on a branch of Crooked Creek. The command marched south next day. Late that afternoon discovered an Indian trail. They continued the pursuit for the next two days and reached the Cimarron River on September 10. That day and the next Cheyenne and Arapaho War Parties harassed the soldiers in several minor skirmishes. Finally, sully's column moved to the Beaver River on September 12 and fought a significant skirmish there with the Indians On September 13,. Hostile warriors harassed the column throughout the day.

Speaker 2: 16:26

Finally, on September 14, a weary Sully bivouacked his command at the confluence of Wolf Creek and the Beaver River. There he reassessed his situation and decided the Cheyenne and Arapaho villages were without a doubt forewarned of his approach. Sully reasoned he would not be able to overtake them and decided to return to Fort Dodge to resupply. Accordingly, he marched north. On September 15th the opponents dragged lodge poles to create false trails that lure the cavalry into sandhills where the terrain bogged them down. Amid heavy fighting they broke Sully's nerve and he ordered a retreat to Fort Dodge. Major Joel Elliott wrote to a friend about the expedition. I had the honor to command the cavalry on that expedition and if it was fighting, then Indian wars must be a huge joke.

Speaker 2: 17:33

A second column employing to the north, under the command of Major George A Forsythe needed to be luckier General Sheridan and ordered the major to collect 50 civilian scouts from the Fort Hayes area in late August to police the field along the Smoky Hill route. The recruitment of the scouts was considered necessary because of the inadequate number of veteran cavalry troops available within the department of the Missouri. As the unit moved westward from Fort Wallace in early September, they located the trail left by the Trevoy of the small band of Cheyennes. The trail grew more distinct as several hundred fellow Cheyennes joined the initial party. Yet Major Forsythe, against the recommendation of several of the more experienced scouts, resolved to continue the pursuit.

Speaker 2: 18:24

On the night of September 16th the scouts camped on a small island, roughly 40 yards long and 100 yards wide, amid the Erichari River, just across the Colorado boundary. The small island afforded the only protection on the rolling prairies of this high plain section. Had dawn, the men were awakened by the war cries of several hundred Cheyennes. A fierce contest ensued. Three bullets immediately struck Major Forsythe, yet he remained conscious and continued to guide the course of the battle for the island. The unit's surgeon, dr Moores, the officer's second in command, lieutenant Beecher, and several enlisted men were mortally wounded. Before the men could excavate pits in the island's sand, the scouts and the Cheyennes entrenched themselves and a four-day exchange of gunfire ensued. Finally, four of the scouts volunteered to attempt to bring relief and slipped out Two on the first night and two on the second and ran and walked toward Fort Wallace, which lay 125 miles to the east. The Cheyennes broke off the attack on the fifth day, but the scouts were forced to stay on the island amid the stench of dead horses and without food, as they feared being caught in the open if the Indians returned to continue the engagement. Finally, on the ninth day, a detachment of the US 10th Cavalry reached the beleaguered scouts. Five were found dead, eighteen were wounded and the entire unit suffered from hunger and exposure.

Speaker 2: 20:00

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, still under suspension from court-martial action, was summoned by Sheridan to lead the 7th US Cavalry in this campaign. After receiving the letter from Sheridan, custer did not wait for the official confirmation of Sheridan's request. Instead, he was on a train headed for Hayes City, kansas, the following day. Arriving at Fort Hayes from his Michigan home on October 4, sheridan ate breakfast with him and briefed him on his plan for a winter campaign. Sheridan's plan called for a main striking force to march south from Fort Dodge. At the same time, two other columns converged on the same objective, moving easterly from Fort Bascom, new Mexico, and the other marching south-easterly from Fort Lyon, colorado. The following reflects a fictional account of George Brown's story when Custer arrived at Fort Hayes, kansas, and his travel as a scout to Fort Wallace before the Beaver Creek skirmish.

Speaker 2: 21:09

The next day, after early morning breakfast I met up with Stillwell. He introduced me to Lieutenant Papoon, who was in charge of the scouts, who was present with the relief force sent to the beleaguered Beecher Island. After the introduction I told him I needed a job. Papoon looked at me with his gray eyes. He had a light complexion and dark hair and the Lieutenant quizzed me closely to learn of my fitness. I told him about my service in the cavalry arm of the Union. He was well pleased and told me he'd take me, telling me where I could get my meals and where to sleep.

Speaker 2: 21:47

On October 4, after a few nights of good sleep and the military stables. I was roused from a heavy slumber at the sound of revelry. The cool air of early October had a lomy fragrance. The ground was lumpy, like I was on a bed of earthen rocks. My clothes felt damp as a flower in the dew of the dawn. Was I still dreaming? The bugle continued its harsh reality to my ears as I set up to take in the shafts of light that burst through the gaps to the wood canopy above.

Speaker 2: 22:22

Today was the day, the day Custer was to arrive at Fort Hays. The troops from his old regiment were to make ready. As he traveled by rail from his Michigan home, the command orders could be heard from one end of the post to the other. Custer is coming, make ready. General Custer did not delay. He never did. In less than a week, on the early morning in October, who should come racing into the post accompanying the ambulance from the railroad station at Hayes City, but made a blucher flirt. Stag hounds, rover, the old foxhound, fanny the little fox, terrier and all the other Custer dogs who should spring out of the ambulance before it had stopped the headquarters? But the general himself. There he was, with his yellow hair, shining eyes, quick voice and limber trim figure, ready for business again. Behind the ambulance, the horses fill shared and in Custis Lee, led by an orderly From beyond the headquarter office. Seeing this, my heart leaped into my throat. Custer's come, custer's come seemed to run through the post with a happy hum. It sounded like a bugle call. I immediately resolved that where the general went I was going to, no more cattle drives for me. No, suddenly I felt strong and well, ready for anything. That was how the general made everybody around him feel. He was energetic and enthusiastic.

Speaker 2: 24:01

Now it was positively known that General Sheridan planned a winter's march against the Indians to catch them in their villages. Sheridan figured he could seize the Indians while there was no grass for their ponies and they could not travel at will. Many heads were shaken over the scheme as being full hearty. One Whole, jim Bridger, the celebrated trapper and mountaineer, a tall, lean, leathery face, squint-eyed man, came all the way from St Louis to expressly tell General Sheridan that the whole command would be snowed in and lost. The 500 freight wagons were busy taking supplies from Fort Harker and Fort Levenworth to a new post south in the Arkhands River Country. With these supplies on hand for the soldiers, horses and men well clothed. General Sheridan reasoned that the white men would do better in the winter than the red men. The only way to bring those Indians to terms is to give them a good thrashing. I rely on you for this, custer. I heard him say We'll carry the war into the enemy's country when he isn't expecting it.

Speaker 2: 25:08

Nothing was lost with General Custer. No, not old Curly. He acted as happy as if he were starting on a buffalo hunt or a ride with Mrs Custer and the dogs. He stayed only a few days at Hayes for instructions and final preparations and went out. He rode southward bound, eager to resume command of the Seventh. I, on the other hand, would ride in a different direction to Fort Wallace.

Speaker 2: 25:34

By the time of my departure by a wagon, fort Hayes was well stripped of its scouts, whom I knew California Joe, jack, corbin, tradell and Romeo. They were now south of the Arkansas River. Buffalo Bill was out with some of the Fifth Cavalry while Bill was carrying dispatches on the trail, and with them the Seventh Cavalry located thirty miles south of Fort Dodge. A few days after I joined these scouts at Fort Wallace, we drew horses and made a trip up the Smoky Hill River as far as Monument Rock. We reconnoitred around Fort Hayes, going north, thence, east, covering a period of four or five days, returning by way of Fossil Creek. No trace andians was found, and so we reported to the commanding officer.

Speaker 2: 26:31

Adding to the ongoing deprivations by the plains tribes, a raid occurred on a wagon train and route to Fort Dodge. On October 5, 1868, the Blyn family departed from Boggs Ranch in Colorado in a train of eight wagons heading east along the Arkansas River to Fort Dodge, kansas. The attack took place on October 7, along the Arkansas River, about ten miles east of the mouth of Sand Creek, when a force of about seventy-five Indians attacked a wagon train. One man was wounded during the attack and the Indians succeeded in stampeding the ox teams, acquiring four of the wagons and taking Mrs Blyn and her child captive. The remaining wagons were placed to fire with flaming arrows Throughout the day and into the night the Indians kept up their attack on the remainder of the train, during which time the Indian Party increased to about two hundred warriors.

Speaker 2: 27:29

On the following day, October 8, most Indians withdrew across the Arkansas to camp at its south bank, but returned that night to resume the attack. They attacked again on October 9, encircling the men for four more days before withdrawing across the Arkansas River to hide to the southwest. On October 12, one of the men got away and went to Fort Lyon to seek help. Captain William Penrose sent out ten men under Lieutenant Henry H Abel to relieve the men still with the wagon train and to search for Mrs Blyn and her son. About four miles from where the wagon train had been held under the attack, the soldiers found a note that Clara had written on a card and laid on a bush along the trail. The message read Dear Dick, william and I are prisoners. They are going to keep us If you live, save us if you can. We are with them. Signed Clara Blyn.

Speaker 2: 28:37

That's it for now. Remember to check out our Wild West Podcast shows on iTunes or WildWestPodcastBuzzSproutcom. You can also catch us on Facebook at facebookcom slash Wild West Podcast or on our YouTube channel at Wild West Podcast, mike King YouTube. So make sure you subscribe to our shows listed at the end of the descriptive text of this podcast to receive notifications on all new episodes. Thanks for listening to our podcast. If you have any comments or want to add to our series, please write us at Wild West Podcast at gmailcom. We will share your thoughts as they apply to future episodes. Stay tuned next time as we will bring you the Clara Blyn story, presented by author Siobhan Fallon, a 2012 Penn Center USA literary award winner.