During the Indian campaigns of the winter and spring of 1864-65, against
the Indians that were holding all the overland roads, stations, telegraph
and emigrant routes over the plains, my command reopened them in a short
campaign of sixty days in which many fights occurred in which the troops
were uniformly successful. The telegraph-lines were rebuilt, the stages
re-established, the mails transported regularly, and protection given.
Although we were able to drive the Indians off of all of these routes and
open them successfully and hold them open, my experience convinced me that
as soon as grass started on the plains these Indians would again come down
on the routes, and that the only possible way of settling the Indian
question was to make a well-planned and continuous campaign against them
on the Arkansas, the Smoky Hill, the Republican, and the North and South
Platte Valley routes, and to keep them off the traveled roads. To do this
we would be obliged to get our troops into their country as soon as
possible and go for their villages.
In my report to the Government, in April, 1865, I set forth the necessity
for this and outlined the plans. Upon the receipt of that report I
received authority from General Grant and General Pope to go forward and
carry out the plans that I had suggested. This plan contemplated placing
upon the plains about 5,000 men to protect the stations and
telegraph-lines, furnish escort to emigrants and Government trains of
supplies that were necessary to supply the wants of that vast country with
provisions and outfit five movable columns of soldiers, a total of 6,000
or 7,000 men. Contracts were immediately made for the supplies for this
number of men; for horses for the cavalry, and for the supplying of the
posts on the plains with a surplus at each, so that if the campaign
extended into the winter it would not have to stop for want of provisions.
The campaign in the spring had to be made on supplies moved there in the
middle of winter, at great cost and suffering. The Quartermaster and
Commissary at Fort Leavenworth made contracts for supplies to be delivered
in June, and General Grant sent to Fort Leavenworth something like 10,000
troops, very few of whom got into the campaigns from the fact that the
troops would no sooner reach Fort Leavenworth than they would protest,
claiming that the Civil War was ended and saying they had not enlisted to
fight Indians. The Governors of their States, Congressmen, and other
influential men, would bring such pressure to bear that the War Department
would order them mustered out. While the Government was at great expense
in moving these troops to the plains, some even reaching as far as
Julesburg, we never got any service from them; they were a great
detriment, and caused much delay in our plans, so that the overland routes
had to be protected by about one-half of the troops that it was at first
thought necessary to accomplish the work. Three Regiments of infantry,
eleven Regiments of cavalry, and three Batteries of artillery, that
reported to me under the order of General Grant, were mustered out on the
march between Fort Leavenworth and Julesburg.
There was enlisted for the Indian campaign, five Regiments of United
States volunteers, recruited from the rebel prisoners, who, desiring to be
at liberty, were willing to enlist under the United States flag to fight
Indians, and these five Regiments had to be depended upon mostly for
taking care of all the country west of the Lakes,--the overland routes on
the plains, to man the posts on the upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers,
and for escorts for surveying parties, etc. So when I was ready to move
all five columns I had less than 7,000 officers and men in my department.
The Indians commenced their depredations on all the routes in April,
especially on the Arkansas route, where we had to contend with the South
Cheyennes, Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, and Arapahoe tribes. This district
was under the command of Brigadier-General Ford, a very efficient officer,
and it was planned that he should make a campaign in May and June into the
Indian country, crossing the Arkansas and moving south for their villages,
which we knew were situated in the Wichita Mountains. General Ford had a
compact veteran command, and fought one or two battles before crossing the
Arkansas. Just about the time he was ready to cross the Arkansas the
Government sent west a peace commission composed of Senator Doolittle,
General Alex McD. McCook, and others. The Indian agent for these tribes
was Colonel J. H. Leavenworth. They no sooner reached the Indian country
than they protested against the movement of any troops into the territory
south of the Arkansas River. In fact, General McCook issued an order,
using General Pope's name as authority, stopping General Ford's movement.
He had no authority to do this, but General Ford obeyed, as the
information came to him that these chiefs were assembling at the mouth of
the Little Arkansas to make peace. After parleying with the Indians, the
commission accomplished nothing, and the Indians all the time were
committing their depredations on the emigrant trains that were passing up
the Arkansas Valley to New Mexico and Colorado. All the protests and
appeals of General Pope, General Ford and myself to the Government in
relation to this matter seemed to have no effect. These Indians had
murdered the settlers, wiped out their ranches, and stolen their property
and their stock, and our scouts who went among them saw their captures in
plenty. As soon as we would start out to punish them, even those that had
crossed north of the Arkansas River, protests were sent to Washington and
came back to us, so that we virtually accomplished nothing. The condition
of matters became so complicated that on June 6, 1865, I stated my views
of the question to Major-General John Pope, commanding the Military
Division of the Missouri, as follows: