Battle of the Saline River
Encyclopedia
Fort Hays
Fort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in Hays, Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were...
in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
near the end of August 1867.
Prelude
In August 1867, CheyenneCheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
warriors under Tall Wolf, son of Medicine Arrows
Medicine Arrows
Medicine Arrows was a Cheyenne chief and Keeper of the Medicine Arrows from 1850 until his death. Rock Forehead became known to whites as Medicine Arrows after his appointment to this office...
, massacred a party of railroad workers in Ellis County
Ellis County, Kansas
Ellis County is a county located in Northwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 28,452. Its county seat and most populous city is Hays...
, an incident which led to a battle between the Cheyenne and Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
s from Fort Hays
Fort Hays
Fort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in Hays, Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were...
that became known as "The Battle of the Saline River."
Battle
Captain George A. Armes, Company F, 10th Cavalry, while following an active "hostile indian" trail along the Saline RiverSaline River (Kansas)
The Saline River is a tributary of the Smoky Hill River in the central Great Plains of North America. The entire length of the river lies in the U.S. state of Kansas. The river takes its name from the French translation of its Native name Ne Miskua, referring to its salty content.-Geography:The...
was surrounded by about 400 horse mounted Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
warriors. Armes formed a defensive infantry style "hollow square
Infantry square
An infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
" with the cavalry mounts in the middle. Seeking better defensive ground, Armes walked his command toward Fort Hays
Fort Hays
Fort Hays was an important frontier outpost of the United States Army located in Hays, Kansas between 1865 and 1889. Fort Hays was the home of several well-known Indian wars regiments including the Seventh U.S. Cavalry, the Fifth U.S. Infantry, and the Tenth U.S. Cavalry, whose black troopers were...
while maintaining the defensive square. After 8 hours of combat, 2,000 rounds of defensive fire and 15 miles of movement, the Cheyenne disengaged and withdrew. Company F, without reinforcements, concluded 113 miles of movement during the 30 hour patrol, riding the final 10 miles back to Fort Hays with only one trooper killed in action. Captain Armes commented later, "It is the greatest wonder in the world that my command escaped being massacred." Armes credited his officers for a "... devotion to duty and coolness under fire."
Aftermath
Within a short time of violent clashes between Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
and whites, the last Indian battle in the State of Kansas took place on September 27, 1868. It was known as the "The Battle of Punished Woman Fork" on Punished Woman Creek. Also known as the "Battle of Squaw's Den Cave." The Medicine Lodge Treaty
Medicine Lodge Treaty
The Medicine Lodge Treaty is the overall name for three treaties signed between the United States government and southern Plains Indian tribes in October 1867, intended to bring peace to the area by relocating the Native Americans to reservations in Indian Territory and away from European-American...
would be signed, broken and betrayed. Other battles would continue such as the ones near Sterling, Colorado
Sterling, Colorado
The City of Sterling is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,777 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sterling is located at...
the Battle of Summit Springs
Battle of Summit Springs
The Battle of Summit Springs, on July 11, 1869, was an armed conflict between elements of the United States Army under the command of Colonel Eugene A. Carr and a group of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers led by Tall Bull, who died during the engagement...
and near Cheyenne, Oklahoma
Cheyenne, Oklahoma
Cheyenne is a town in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 801 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Roger Mills County.-History:...
the Battle of Washita River
Battle of Washita River
The Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S...
after this, but the fighting along the Saline River was over.
See also
- Buffalo Soldiers
- Military history of African AmericansMilitary history of African AmericansThe military history of African Americans spans from the arrival of the first black slaves during the colonial history of the United States to the present day...
Further reading
- Greene, Jerome A. (2004). Washita, The Southern Cheyenne and the U.S. Army. Campaigns and Commanders Series, vol. 3. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806135514.
- Schubert, Frank N. On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier II: New and Revised Biographies of African Americans (1866–1917), Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. ISBN 978-0-8420-5079-1.
- Tom, Willard, Buffalo Soldiers. Tor/Forge, 1997. ISBN 978-0-8125-5105-1
External links
- Battle of Punished Woman Fork - Last Indian Battle in Kansas—1878, Keystone Gallery, Scott City, Kansas.
- Legends Of Kansas - History, Tales, and Destinations in the Land of Ahs - Battle of Punished Woman Fork, aka: Battle of Squaw's Den Cave (1878). Legends of Kansas, Warsaw, Missouri.