Second Battle of Pyramid Lake
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Pyramid Lake (a.k.a. Battle of Truckee River) took place in response to the U.S. defeat at the First Battle of Pyramid Lake
. A well-organized force of militia and regulars, under the capable leadership of famed Texas Ranger
Col. John C. “Jack” Hays, defeated the Paiute warriors under Chief Numaga. This was the final engagement of the Pyramid Lake War of 1860.
, near present-day Silver Springs, Nevada
, killing three white settlers at the station. In response to this Maj. William Ormsby
led a group of vigilantes from Carson City and Virginia City against the Paiutes near Pyramid Lake. The vigilante force was ingloriously defeated and Ormsby killed. This defeat prompted local settlers to send a call for help to nearby California.
The U.S. Army also responded to the call. Captain Joseph Stewart
left Fort Alcatraz with 144 Regulars from the 3rd U.S. Artillery and 6th U.S. Infantry regiments. Stewart arrived in Carson City to await further developments. In the meantime, Hays had marched out of Virginia City to Williams Station where he skirmished with 150 Paiutes before the warriors pulled back to Pyramid Lake.
The Paiutes returned to their village at Pyramid Lake near the mouth of the Truckee River. They sent their women and children into the Black Rock Desert
as a protective measure.
Colonel Hays retraced Ormsby’s path along the Truckee River and encamped near present-day Wadsworth
. There, Captain Stewart joined the volunteers with Colonel Hays in overall command.
On June 2 the battle began when Hays sent out an advance party of two companies while the main force moved 8 miles downriver from their camp much more cautiously than Ormsby had before. The advance party, moving toward the Paiute village, encountered the remains of Ormsby’s command on the field of the previous battle which remained unburied. The Natives then made a rapid advance upon the soldiers in the shape of a wedge. The advance party made a hasty withdrawal.
Colonel Hays selected an ideal location to make a stand. It was a narrow canyon, about a mile wide, anchored to the west by steep mountains of the Virginia Range. To the east ran the Truckee River. Both geographical features prevented any flanking maneuver by the Natives. A rocky butte
lay in the center of the field. To the west of this butte, rain had cut lateral gullies into the sandy ground providing natural breastworks which either side could have used to make successive stands in the case he was forced to retreat.
The Paiute charge had taken possession of the butte and now extended their own line from the river well into the rocks of the mountains to the west. The Paiutes had advanced so quickly that all geographical features advantageous to the fight were now in their hands. The soldiers were forced to deploy on level ground to the south. Captain Stewart deployed his Regulars in a skirmish line to the west of the butte along the base of the mountains while the volunteers formed to the east along the river.
Captain Edward Farris Storey
and Captain J. B. Van Hagan, commanding two companies of volunteers from Virginia City and California respectively, decided to make a charge against the butte even before Hays got the entire main force in place. Storey and Van Hagan succeeded in seizing the butte and for a short time were subjected to flanking fire as the Natives began to surround them from the river bank and mountain slopes. This forward position was relieved as Hays advanced the main body forward. Stewart drove the warriors from the mountain slopes while Hays and the volunteers steadily advanced along the river. Eventually the two sides maintained a continuous line of battle opposing each other roughly a mile long.
The battle continued for some time with neither side gaining a clear advantage. After fighting for nearly three hours the Paiutes finally retreated up the canyon toward the lake.
On June 4, Captain Stewart took up pursuit of the Natives coming upon the abandoned village at the mouth of the Truckee River. Colonel Hays followed Stewart northward in pursuit. On June 5 Hays sent a group of scouts through a canyon northeast of Pyramid Lake. These scouts were ambushed and Private William Allen was killed. He was to be the last casualty of the war.
and Storey
would have Nevada counties named after them.
Captain Stewart stayed in the Pyramid Lake area for a few more weeks but the Paiutes never returned. His soldiers eventually built several earthen forts around the lake. Stewart abandoned these forts in favor of a larger fort along the Carson River. Stewart began construction in 1861 and named the post Fort Churchill
.
. Except for Nevada State Route 447 and a former railroad, the landscape is relatively the same as it was in 1860. Nevada Historical Marker #148
is located near the intersection of S.R. 447 and Chicken Road on what would have been the north end of the battlefield. The marker, titled "The Two Battles of Pyramid Lake", describes both battles.
First Battle of Pyramid Lake
The First Battle of Pyramid Lake took placed in 1860 as one of the opening engagements of the Paiute War.-Background:In April 1860 Paiute leaders held a council to decide a course of action over the increased settler traffic along the California Trail and Pony Express. Chief Winnemucca tried to...
. A well-organized force of militia and regulars, under the capable leadership of famed Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
Col. John C. “Jack” Hays, defeated the Paiute warriors under Chief Numaga. This was the final engagement of the Pyramid Lake War of 1860.
Background
On May 6, 1860 a band of Paiutes raided Williams’ Station along the Carson RiverCarson River
The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long....
, near present-day Silver Springs, Nevada
Silver Springs, Nevada
Silver Springs is a census-designated place in Lyon County, Nevada, United States at the intersection of U.S. 50 and U.S. 95A. The population was 4,708 at the 2000 census. Lahontan Reservoir, Lahontan State Recreation Area and historic Fort Churchill State Historic Park are all located nearby...
, killing three white settlers at the station. In response to this Maj. William Ormsby
William Ormsby
William Matthew Ormsby was an early settler of Nevada who was instrumental in the establishment of Carson City and the Nevada Territory. Major Ormsby was killed leading a vigilante force against Paiute Indians near Pyramid Lake.-Early Life:...
led a group of vigilantes from Carson City and Virginia City against the Paiutes near Pyramid Lake. The vigilante force was ingloriously defeated and Ormsby killed. This defeat prompted local settlers to send a call for help to nearby California.
Prelude
Colonel John C. Hays responded to the call and traveled to Carson City to organize a regiment of 500 volunteers which he dubbed the “Washoe Regiment”. Another 165 volunteers came from the nearby California communities of Placerville, Sacramento and Nevada City. Hays then marched his regiment to Virginia City.The U.S. Army also responded to the call. Captain Joseph Stewart
Joseph Stewart (Alaska)
Joseph Stewart was an officer in the United States Army notable for serving as commander of Fort Alcatraz, Fort Churchill and the Department of Alaska. His name is occasionally seen as Jasper Stewart.-Early life:...
left Fort Alcatraz with 144 Regulars from the 3rd U.S. Artillery and 6th U.S. Infantry regiments. Stewart arrived in Carson City to await further developments. In the meantime, Hays had marched out of Virginia City to Williams Station where he skirmished with 150 Paiutes before the warriors pulled back to Pyramid Lake.
The Paiutes returned to their village at Pyramid Lake near the mouth of the Truckee River. They sent their women and children into the Black Rock Desert
Black Rock Desert
The Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
as a protective measure.
Battle
Wadsworth, Nevada
Wadsworth is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 881 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named for General James S. Wadsworth, a Civil War general killed at the battle of the...
. There, Captain Stewart joined the volunteers with Colonel Hays in overall command.
On June 2 the battle began when Hays sent out an advance party of two companies while the main force moved 8 miles downriver from their camp much more cautiously than Ormsby had before. The advance party, moving toward the Paiute village, encountered the remains of Ormsby’s command on the field of the previous battle which remained unburied. The Natives then made a rapid advance upon the soldiers in the shape of a wedge. The advance party made a hasty withdrawal.
Colonel Hays selected an ideal location to make a stand. It was a narrow canyon, about a mile wide, anchored to the west by steep mountains of the Virginia Range. To the east ran the Truckee River. Both geographical features prevented any flanking maneuver by the Natives. A rocky butte
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
lay in the center of the field. To the west of this butte, rain had cut lateral gullies into the sandy ground providing natural breastworks which either side could have used to make successive stands in the case he was forced to retreat.
Captain Edward Farris Storey
Edward Farris Storey
Edward Farris Storey was a Nevada settler who was killed during the Paiute War. Storey County, Nevada was named in his honor....
and Captain J. B. Van Hagan, commanding two companies of volunteers from Virginia City and California respectively, decided to make a charge against the butte even before Hays got the entire main force in place. Storey and Van Hagan succeeded in seizing the butte and for a short time were subjected to flanking fire as the Natives began to surround them from the river bank and mountain slopes. This forward position was relieved as Hays advanced the main body forward. Stewart drove the warriors from the mountain slopes while Hays and the volunteers steadily advanced along the river. Eventually the two sides maintained a continuous line of battle opposing each other roughly a mile long.
The battle continued for some time with neither side gaining a clear advantage. After fighting for nearly three hours the Paiutes finally retreated up the canyon toward the lake.
On June 4, Captain Stewart took up pursuit of the Natives coming upon the abandoned village at the mouth of the Truckee River. Colonel Hays followed Stewart northward in pursuit. On June 5 Hays sent a group of scouts through a canyon northeast of Pyramid Lake. These scouts were ambushed and Private William Allen was killed. He was to be the last casualty of the war.
Aftermath
Shortly after Allen’s death, Colonel Hays returned with the Washoe Regiment to Carson City where he disbanded the regiment. Major Ormsby’s body was temporarily interred where it lay near Pyramid Lake, but was later moved to a cemetery in Carson City. Captain Storey, who was mortally wounded in the battle, was buried in Virginia City. Both OrmsbyOrmsby County, Nevada
Ormsby County was a county of Nevada from 1861 until 1969. It contained Carson City, the county seat and later state capital, founded two years earlier. It was named after Major William M...
and Storey
Storey County, Nevada
Storey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2000 census, the population was 3,399, which was estimated to have risen to 4,110 in 2006...
would have Nevada counties named after them.
Captain Stewart stayed in the Pyramid Lake area for a few more weeks but the Paiutes never returned. His soldiers eventually built several earthen forts around the lake. Stewart abandoned these forts in favor of a larger fort along the Carson River. Stewart began construction in 1861 and named the post Fort Churchill
Fort Churchill State Historic Park
Fort Churchill State Historic Park is a Nevada state park in Lyon County, Nevada, in the United States. Located south of the town of Silver Springs, it is in the Central Nevada Region of Nevada State Parks, and is one of seven National Historic Landmarks in the state of Nevada. The site is one...
.
Battlefield
The battle site is located within the Pyramid Lake Indian ReservationPyramid Lake Indian Reservation
The Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation is a United States reservation in northwestern Nevada ~approximately northeast of Reno, in Washoe, Storey, and Lyon Counties. It lies almost entirely in Washoe County , with but tiny amounts of land in the other two counties . It is governed by the Pyramid Lake...
. Except for Nevada State Route 447 and a former railroad, the landscape is relatively the same as it was in 1860. Nevada Historical Marker #148
Nevada Historical Markers
Nevada Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada's history. The Historic Marker Program was initiated by the Nevada State Legislature in 1967 to bring the state's heritage to the public's attention with on-site markers...
is located near the intersection of S.R. 447 and Chicken Road on what would have been the north end of the battlefield. The marker, titled "The Two Battles of Pyramid Lake", describes both battles.