William Gentles
Encyclopedia
William Gentles a private in the U.S. Army, was identified as possibly the soldier who bayoneted the Oglala
war leader Crazy Horse
in 1877.
, Ireland
, though the date is not known for certain. Records suggest that he was born some time between 1828 and 1835. He may be the William Gentles born September 30, 1828, the son of Robert and Sarah Gentles. William Gentles immigrated to the United States in 1850, arriving in New York City
where he worked as a laborer for several years.
The perception of a brewing rebellion in Utah Territory prompted President Buchanan to order a large military force west, including the entire Tenth Infantry, as part of the Utah Expedition
. Private Gentles departed Fort Ridgely with his company on June 9, 1857 and arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, two weeks later. They began marching west along the trail in July, finally reaching Fort Bridger in November. The loss of a supply train to Mormon raiders promised hardships for the soldiers as they settled into winter quarters at Smith's Fork nearby. Captain Randolph B. Marcy
was ordered to make a dangerous trek south to Fort Massachusetts to obtain additional supplies and horses. When the volunteers were called for, Private William Gentles was one of those who stepped forward. They struggled through deep snow in the mountains and finally reached Fort Massachusetts in January 1858. They returned to Fort Bridger two months later.
Private Gentles was with his company in July 1858 when they moved through Salt Lake City and established Camp Floyd
further south. The following month, they were transferred back to Fort Bridger where Gentles remained for the next two years. In June 1860, the company was transferred to Fort Laramie where Gentles completed his first enlistment and was discharged on April 1, 1861.
After the Civil War, Gentles returned to civilian life for two years, probably back in Missouri. Then on June 10, 1867, he enlisted in the Regular Army again. He was sent initially to the recruit depot at Newport Barracks, Kentucky and within days, he was assigned to Company F 45th Infantry and shipped to Tennessee where the regiment was on Reconstruction duty. In 1869, while stationed in Louisville, Kentucky, the army consolidated a number of the regiments and Gentles' company became Company F 14th Infantry.
, with Private Gentles' company assigned to Fort Randall. Two weeks later, the company was sent down the Missouri to Fort Thompson near the Crow Creek Agency. On June 10, 1870, while camped near the agency, Private Gentles re-enlisted for his third enlistment. In August 1870, the regiment was transferred to the Department of the Platte
. Marching on to the steamboat The Far West, famous six years later for evacuating the wounded from the Battle of the Little Bighorn
, Company F arrived at Omaha Barracks, Nebraska, where they were stationed for the winter. Gentles was stationed with his company at Fort Fetterman, Wyoming, from March 1871 to September 1873 and then at Fort Sanders until February 1874.
In early 1874, troubles were brewing with the Oglala
Lakota at the Red Cloud Agency
in northwestern Nebraska. Following the killing of the agency clerk, the army sent a large contingent of troops to establish military posts near Red Cloud and the nearby Spotted Tail Agency. On February 15, 1874, Private Gentles and his company rode the train to Cheyenne and then marched north to Fort Laramie. Here they were met by other companies that then marched on to the Red Cloud Agency. Company F established a tent encampment near the agency where they remained for the next four months.
Shortly after returning to Fort Sanders, Private Gentles and Company F 14 Infantry were transferred to Camp Douglas
, Utah Territory, arriving on September 5, 1874. Camp Douglas was named regimental headquarters for the 14th Infantry, under the command of Colonel John E. Smith. Most of the original log and adobe buildings at the post were in the process of being torn down and replaced by new red sandstone structures. For the next two years, the soldiers at Camp Douglas, including Private Gentles, were busy quarrying and hauling stone as well as other garrison duties. Gentles re-enlisted for his fourth enlistment while at Camp Douglas on June 10, 1875.
led his expedition north to engage northern bands of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne who had refused to come in to the reservations, part of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77
. After being nearly defeated at the Battle of the Rosebud
, Crook called for reinforcements and went into camp, awaiting their arrival. Meanwhile, the large village of Lakota and Cheyenne defeated Custer's command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
on June 25.
Orders were issued for Companies B and F stationed at Camp Douglas to join Crook in the field. Traveling by train to Cheyenne, Private Gentles and his company marched north to Fort Fetterman where they departed on July 4, 1876 to find General Crook. Once all of the reinforcements had arrived, Crook's expedition set out again, following various Indians trails but failing to find the villages as the Lakota began to scatter. Running short of supplies, the column made a desperate push south to the Black Hills
in what became the famous "Starvation March."
With the close of the campaign, Company F 14th Infantry was assigned to remain at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. During that fall, the troops patrolled the Sidney-Deadwood trail and engaged in normal post duties. During the spring of 1877, the soldiers at Camp Robinson witnessed the surrender of large bands of Northern Cheyenne and Lakota at the nearby Red Cloud Agency, culminating with the surrender of Crazy Horse
on May 5, 1877.
Private Gentles' name appears in the post records in August 1877 when he was tried by a garrison court martial and sentenced to twenty days in the post guardhouse.
In 1903, a former sergeant of the 14th Infantry, giving his name as William F. Kelly, told a Washington Post reporter what he had seen that evening at Camp Robinson. "It was an exciting moment, when no one knew just what to do," Kelly explained, recalling the struggle outside the guardhouse door between Crazy Horse and Little Big Man. "Suddenly, as the men surged forward in the direction of where I was standing, I saw Wm. Gentles, an old soldier and a veteran of the Mormon campaign of 1857, gave Crazy Horse a thrust with his bayonet. The thrust was delivered with lightning rapidity, and in the next instant he had his gun at carry, as though nothing had happened. Crazy Horse gave a deep groan, staggered forward and dropped his knife and fell."
Most writers have since accepted Sergeant Kelly's claim without question. Classic works by E. A. Brininstool, David Humphries Miller and Mari Sandoze have firmly established Private Gentles' name in the literature as the soldier responsible. John Carroll, in his introduction to Richard Hardorff's book on the genealogy of Crazy Horse, provided a brief biography of this soldier and he was even made the list of significant people in the west in Dan Thrapp's three volume Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography. This general acceptance in the literature prompted one recent writer to erroneously conclude that "numerous accounts place William Gentles at the guardhouse."
In 1996, historian Ephriam Dickson challenged the identification of Private Gentles as the soldier responsible, based on two lines of evidence. First, he noted that shortly after Sergeant Kelly's account was published, researcher Walter Camp sent copies to a number of individuals who had been present that evening to verify the information. Three different respondents specifically refuted Sergeant Kelly's identification of Private Gentles as the soldier who bayonetted Crazy Horse. Second, Dickson noted that no soldier named William F. Kelly is documented as serving in the Fourteenth Infantry or was present at Camp Robinson in 1877. Walter Camp attempted to track down Sergeant Kelly but without success. Dickson concluded that while witnesses agreed Crazy Horse was bayoneted by an enlisted soldier on guard duty outside the guardhouse, the identity of the soldier responsible remains unclear.
In May 1878 suffering from asthma, Private Gentles was admitted to the post hospital at Camp Douglas. He died there on May 20, 1878 and was buried several days later in the post cemetery.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
war leader Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
in 1877.
Early life
William Gentles was born in County TyroneCounty Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, though the date is not known for certain. Records suggest that he was born some time between 1828 and 1835. He may be the William Gentles born September 30, 1828, the son of Robert and Sarah Gentles. William Gentles immigrated to the United States in 1850, arriving in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he worked as a laborer for several years.
Utah War
On April 2, 1856, Gentles went in to the recruiting station in New York City and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was described in his enlistment record as 5 foot 8½ inches tall, with grey eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion.Private Gentles was assigned to Company K Tenth Infantry and sent to Fort Ridgely, Minnesota where he was stationed for the next year.The perception of a brewing rebellion in Utah Territory prompted President Buchanan to order a large military force west, including the entire Tenth Infantry, as part of the Utah Expedition
Utah War
The Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between LDS settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the United States government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. Private Gentles departed Fort Ridgely with his company on June 9, 1857 and arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, two weeks later. They began marching west along the trail in July, finally reaching Fort Bridger in November. The loss of a supply train to Mormon raiders promised hardships for the soldiers as they settled into winter quarters at Smith's Fork nearby. Captain Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph Barnes Marcy was a career officer in the United States Army, achieving the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1881. Although beginning in 1861 his responsibilities were those of a brigadier general, the U.S...
was ordered to make a dangerous trek south to Fort Massachusetts to obtain additional supplies and horses. When the volunteers were called for, Private William Gentles was one of those who stepped forward. They struggled through deep snow in the mountains and finally reached Fort Massachusetts in January 1858. They returned to Fort Bridger two months later.
Private Gentles was with his company in July 1858 when they moved through Salt Lake City and established Camp Floyd
Camp Floyd
Camp Floyd was a short-lived U.S. Army post near Fairfield, Utah, United States. The site is now a Utah state park known as Camp Floyd / Stagecoach Inn State Park and Museum.-Camp Floyd:...
further south. The following month, they were transferred back to Fort Bridger where Gentles remained for the next two years. In June 1860, the company was transferred to Fort Laramie where Gentles completed his first enlistment and was discharged on April 1, 1861.
Civil War and Reconstruction
As a civilian, William Gentles apparently settled in St. Joseph, Missouri. But with the Civil War engulfing the nation, Gentles again enlisted, this time in the 25th Regular Missouri Volunteers, which later became the 1st Regiment of Missouri Engineers. He was wounded in the hand at the Battle of Pilot Knob on September 27, 1862. Gentles completed his enlistment in 1864 and re-enlisted as a veteran volunteer. He was mustered out on July 22, 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky.After the Civil War, Gentles returned to civilian life for two years, probably back in Missouri. Then on June 10, 1867, he enlisted in the Regular Army again. He was sent initially to the recruit depot at Newport Barracks, Kentucky and within days, he was assigned to Company F 45th Infantry and shipped to Tennessee where the regiment was on Reconstruction duty. In 1869, while stationed in Louisville, Kentucky, the army consolidated a number of the regiments and Gentles' company became Company F 14th Infantry.
Back in the West
In the spring of 1870, the 14th Infantry was transferred to the Department of DakotaDepartment of Dakota
A subdivision of the Division of the Missouri, the Department of Dakota was established by the United States Army on August 11, 1866 to encompass all military activities and forts within Minnesota, Dakota Territory and Montana Territory. The Department of Dakota was initially headquartered at Fort...
, with Private Gentles' company assigned to Fort Randall. Two weeks later, the company was sent down the Missouri to Fort Thompson near the Crow Creek Agency. On June 10, 1870, while camped near the agency, Private Gentles re-enlisted for his third enlistment. In August 1870, the regiment was transferred to the Department of the Platte
Department of the Platte
The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho...
. Marching on to the steamboat The Far West, famous six years later for evacuating the wounded from the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
, Company F arrived at Omaha Barracks, Nebraska, where they were stationed for the winter. Gentles was stationed with his company at Fort Fetterman, Wyoming, from March 1871 to September 1873 and then at Fort Sanders until February 1874.
In early 1874, troubles were brewing with the Oglala
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
Lakota at the Red Cloud Agency
Red Cloud Agency
The Red Cloud Agency was an Indian agency for the Oglala Lakota as well as the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, from 1871 to 1878. It was located at three different sites in Wyoming Territory , before being moved to South Dakota. It was then renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation.- Red Cloud Agency No...
in northwestern Nebraska. Following the killing of the agency clerk, the army sent a large contingent of troops to establish military posts near Red Cloud and the nearby Spotted Tail Agency. On February 15, 1874, Private Gentles and his company rode the train to Cheyenne and then marched north to Fort Laramie. Here they were met by other companies that then marched on to the Red Cloud Agency. Company F established a tent encampment near the agency where they remained for the next four months.
Shortly after returning to Fort Sanders, Private Gentles and Company F 14 Infantry were transferred to Camp Douglas
Fort Douglas, Utah
Camp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially...
, Utah Territory, arriving on September 5, 1874. Camp Douglas was named regimental headquarters for the 14th Infantry, under the command of Colonel John E. Smith. Most of the original log and adobe buildings at the post were in the process of being torn down and replaced by new red sandstone structures. For the next two years, the soldiers at Camp Douglas, including Private Gentles, were busy quarrying and hauling stone as well as other garrison duties. Gentles re-enlisted for his fourth enlistment while at Camp Douglas on June 10, 1875.
The Great Sioux War of 1876-77
In May 1876, Brigadier General George CrookGeorge Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
led his expedition north to engage northern bands of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne who had refused to come in to the reservations, part of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77
Great Sioux War of 1876-77
The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations which occurred between 1876 and 1877 involving the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, against the United States...
. After being nearly defeated at the Battle of the Rosebud
Battle of the Rosebud
The Battle of the Rosebud occurred June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Native Americans during the Black Hills War...
, Crook called for reinforcements and went into camp, awaiting their arrival. Meanwhile, the large village of Lakota and Cheyenne defeated Custer's command at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
on June 25.
Orders were issued for Companies B and F stationed at Camp Douglas to join Crook in the field. Traveling by train to Cheyenne, Private Gentles and his company marched north to Fort Fetterman where they departed on July 4, 1876 to find General Crook. Once all of the reinforcements had arrived, Crook's expedition set out again, following various Indians trails but failing to find the villages as the Lakota began to scatter. Running short of supplies, the column made a desperate push south to the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
in what became the famous "Starvation March."
With the close of the campaign, Company F 14th Infantry was assigned to remain at Camp Robinson, Nebraska. During that fall, the troops patrolled the Sidney-Deadwood trail and engaged in normal post duties. During the spring of 1877, the soldiers at Camp Robinson witnessed the surrender of large bands of Northern Cheyenne and Lakota at the nearby Red Cloud Agency, culminating with the surrender of Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
on May 5, 1877.
Private Gentles' name appears in the post records in August 1877 when he was tried by a garrison court martial and sentenced to twenty days in the post guardhouse.
The Death of Crazy Horse
On the evening of September 5, 1877, Crazy Horse was brought to Camp Robinson. During an attempt to place him in the guardhouse, there was a struggle and the famed Oglala war leader was fatally wounded. At the time, there was considerable confusion as to how he had been wounded but a member of the guard detail that evening, Private Edwin D. Wood, wrote that he saw a soldier bayonet Crazy Horse. Nearly all later eye witness accounts collected by various historians confirm that a soldier was responsible. The identity of that soldier, however, was questionable. No official army records note the name of the soldier.In 1903, a former sergeant of the 14th Infantry, giving his name as William F. Kelly, told a Washington Post reporter what he had seen that evening at Camp Robinson. "It was an exciting moment, when no one knew just what to do," Kelly explained, recalling the struggle outside the guardhouse door between Crazy Horse and Little Big Man. "Suddenly, as the men surged forward in the direction of where I was standing, I saw Wm. Gentles, an old soldier and a veteran of the Mormon campaign of 1857, gave Crazy Horse a thrust with his bayonet. The thrust was delivered with lightning rapidity, and in the next instant he had his gun at carry, as though nothing had happened. Crazy Horse gave a deep groan, staggered forward and dropped his knife and fell."
Most writers have since accepted Sergeant Kelly's claim without question. Classic works by E. A. Brininstool, David Humphries Miller and Mari Sandoze have firmly established Private Gentles' name in the literature as the soldier responsible. John Carroll, in his introduction to Richard Hardorff's book on the genealogy of Crazy Horse, provided a brief biography of this soldier and he was even made the list of significant people in the west in Dan Thrapp's three volume Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography. This general acceptance in the literature prompted one recent writer to erroneously conclude that "numerous accounts place William Gentles at the guardhouse."
In 1996, historian Ephriam Dickson challenged the identification of Private Gentles as the soldier responsible, based on two lines of evidence. First, he noted that shortly after Sergeant Kelly's account was published, researcher Walter Camp sent copies to a number of individuals who had been present that evening to verify the information. Three different respondents specifically refuted Sergeant Kelly's identification of Private Gentles as the soldier who bayonetted Crazy Horse. Second, Dickson noted that no soldier named William F. Kelly is documented as serving in the Fourteenth Infantry or was present at Camp Robinson in 1877. Walter Camp attempted to track down Sergeant Kelly but without success. Dickson concluded that while witnesses agreed Crazy Horse was bayoneted by an enlisted soldier on guard duty outside the guardhouse, the identity of the soldier responsible remains unclear.
Death
Company F 14th Infantry departed Camp Robinson on November 4, 1877, however, Private William Gentles remained behind, perhaps packing the company baggage. On November 10, he was issued two blankets by the quartermaster department and a short time later, "relieved from duty" at the post. He soon joined his company back at Camp Douglas, Utah.In May 1878 suffering from asthma, Private Gentles was admitted to the post hospital at Camp Douglas. He died there on May 20, 1878 and was buried several days later in the post cemetery.