In August 1877 Dull Knife and the Northern Cheyenne who had surrendered
at Camp Robinson were taken to Indian Territory. During the next twelve
months they suffered greatly from lack of food and from diseases to
which they had no natural immunity. The Cheyenne had reluctantly
accepted removal to Indian Territory on a trial basis, but when they
requested permission to return north it was refused in spite of their
hardships. On September 8, 1878 they took matters into their own hands
when, led by Dull Knife and Little Wolf, they began their almost
unbelievable march back to their northern homeland. Their bid for
freedom is one of the epics of the frontier.
Leaving their tipis standing, the Cheyenne slipped away from the troops
guarding them near Fort Reno and proceeded to fight their way across
Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, pursued by thousands of infantry and
cavalry soldiers. The Indians fought several sharp skirmishes with the
troops and managed to elude capture, breaking through lines of
intercepting troops along the Kansas Pacific and the Union Pacific
Railroads. General Crook ordered General Bradley at Fort Robinson to
form a third line of defense. Along with soldiers from Camp Sheridan and
other posts the Fort Robinson garrison patrolled the sandhills area of
Nebraska. Finally a group of 149 men, women and children led by Dull
Knife were met and taken into custody by Captain Johnson’s Company from
Fort Robinson.
The Cheyenne had planned to seek refuge among their Sioux friends at Red
Cloud Agency, not knowing that it had been relocated. They did not want
to go to Fort Robinson, but when additional troops and artillery were
brought up the Cheyenne were convinced that resistance was useless.
The Indians were taken to the post and imprisoned in the log cavalry
barracks at the southeast corner of the parade ground. From their
capture in October 1878 until January 1879 the Indians lived at the
Fort. Little Wolf and the remaining Cheyenne stayed nearby for some
time, then completed their escape to the northern Plains. That group did
not surrender for several more months.
The Cheyenne held at Fort Robinson were told that they would have to
return to Indian Territory to live on the reservation there. Dull Knife,
speaking for his people, said they had returned to their homeland and
that they would be killed there rather than return south. In January
efforts were made to starve them into submission, and a few of the men
were taken prisoner during conferences.
The Indians decided to try to escape. On the night of January 9, 1879
the Cheyenne Outbreak began. Using the few guns they had managed to hide
when they were disarmed and imprisoned the previous October, the
warriors opened fire on the soldiers guarding their barracks prison. The
guards were killed or wounded, and their arms and ammunition captured by
the Cheyenne. While the women and children fled towards the river the
men fought a stiff delaying action against the hastily aroused garrison.
Troops sleeping in nearby barracks went into action in the bitter cold
clad only in their underclothing, engaging the fleeing Indians until the
cavalry could mount and ride to the scene. Many Cheyenne fell between
the parade ground and the sawmill by the river, but some escaped to the
hills behind the post.
The Fort Robinson soldiers spent the next two weeks pursuing the
Cheyenne in the rough butte country west of the post. Each day their
quarry eluded capture. Both the Cheyenne and the soldiers suffered
additional casualties in these encounters. On January 22 the last of the
Indians were killed or captured.
About sixty-four Cheyenne died in the outbreak and many others were
wounded before being captured. Eleven soldiers were killed and ten
wounded along with the Sioux Indian scout, Woman’s Dress. In the medical
history Post Surgeon E. B. Mosely wrote:
During this whole period the fighting was of the most desperate
character being from a hand to hand struggle up to a range almost
always inside of fifty yards. The great proportion of fatal wounds is
remarkable and their concentration on the trunk of the body shows a
deliberation and skill in handling the improved breech-loading arms
with which they were liberally supplied, a fact which explains why
this particular tribe enjoyed the reputation of being the best
warriors on the Plains. The conduct of the white troops is worthy of
the greatest praise. Taken by surprise the first night, they rallied
in the most prompt manner and followed the flying enemy even
barefooted in the deep snow with thermometer at 10° F. until ordered
back by their officers.
In the final charge the men advanced under a heavy and fatal fire to
the edge of the hole in which the enemy were hidden and in a few
minutes of short work finished the affair.
By an unfortunate fatality a large number of the killed were of the
very best and most respected men of the command.[33]
In terms of the number of casualties and intensity of the fighting the
Cheyenne Outbreak can be regarded as one of the major battles of the
Indian Wars,[34] Many of the Cheyenne had been fighting for, rather than
against, the Army only two years before. “Among these Indians,” wrote
General Crook “were some of the bravest and most efficient of the
auxiliaries who have acted under General Mackenzie and myself in the
campaign against the hostile Sioux in 1876 and 1877, and I still
preserve a grateful remembrance of their distinguished services of which
the government seems to have forgotten.”[35]
When the Indians were removed from northwestern Nebraska, ranchers moved
in and established big cattle ranches in the desirable lands by 1878.
The Graham, Bronson and Newman ranches were some of the first
established, but their uncontested hold on the free range was of
relatively short duration.
The Freemont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad which reached Fort
Robinson in 1886 stimulated settlement. So many homesteaders followed
the railroad that the post commander at Fort Robinson was forced to
carefully mark the boundaries of the military wood reserve to prevent
its settlement. Rancher-homesteader conflicts developed, but the
presence of Fort Robinson was a big factor in preventing a large scale
range war. The Fort was also a source of assistance to the settlers. For
example, “Old Jules” Sandoz was treated in the post hospital by the
Surgeon, Walter Reed. The town of Crawford was founded at the boundary
of the Fort Robinson reservation and profited from military
business.[36]
A typical “wild-west” town, Crawford and its entertainment facilities
caused many a headache for the post commander who was forced to cancel
the practice of allowing the cavalrymen to have “mounted” passes during
off-duty hours. One Ninth Cavalryman was sentenced to a year at hard
labor for riding his horse into a Crawford saloon during a “frolic.” In
1906 a 10th cavalry trooper killed Art Moss, one of the town’s law
officers, in a gunfight. During one eighteen month period three soldiers
from the post, one a holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, were
murdered in the vicinity. All three crimes went unpunished.[37]
The arrival of the railroad at Fort Robinson not only brought settlers
to the area but it brought about the end of a famous military post, Fort
Laramie. Fort Robinson was easier to supply by rail and it was closer to
the Sioux reservation at Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The expansion of Fort
Robinson began in 1887 and Fort Laramie was ultimately abandoned in
1890. The expansion of Fort Robinson resulted in a change in its
function and it became a regimental headquarters cavalry post.
Actually the summer of 1885 saw the beginning of this change at Fort
Robinson, when the first elements of the Ninth Cavalry arrived to
garrison the post. The Ninth was one of the Army’s two all-Negro cavalry
regiments.[38] The men of the Ninth continued the routine tasks of
repairing telegraph lines, patrolling the area, and pursuing stage-coach
and train robbers as well as carrying out their usual military training.
[Illustration: Red Cloud Agency on Issue Day. ca. 1875.]
[Illustration: Pencil sketch of Camp Robinson at Red Cloud Agency by
Lieutenant W. H. Carter, 1874.]
[Illustration: Camp Robinson from the diary of Captain John G.
Bourke. ca. 1876. Courtesy of West Point Military Academy.]
[Illustration: Soldiers and Indians at Red Cloud Agency, 1874.]
1. Lieutenant W. H. Carter.
2. Red Dog.
3. J. Tavernier, artist.
[Illustration: Post Sutler’s Store, Fort Robinson. Courtesy of
Denver Public Library Western Collection.]
[Illustration: Saloon at Fort Robinson. Courtesy of Denver Public
Library Western Collection.]
[Illustration: (Seated, from left) Chief Red Cloud, Baptiste Garnier
or Little Bat; (Standing, from left) Chief Knife and Jack Red
Cloud....]
[Illustration: Chief Dull Knife, leader of the imprisoned Cheyenne
at Fort Robinson.]
[Illustration: Camp of Young Man Afraid of His Horses, Oglala Sioux
Leader.]
[Illustration: Baptiste Garnier (Little Bat), half breed scout, and
his family at Fort Robinson. Little Bat is third from left. Edward
Hatch, on horseback, left. Colonel Edward Hatch, Post Commander, on
horseback extreme right.]
[Illustration: Lieutenant Levi H. Robinson, soldier for whom the
post was named.]
[Illustration: Captain Wm. H. Jordan, 1874 Commanding Officer in
charge of construction of the Post.]
[Illustration: Captain Emmet Crawford.]
[Illustration: Captain Guy V. Henry.]
[Illustration: Troop I, 6th Cavalry, 1897, near Saddle Rock and
Lovers’ Leap.]
[Illustration: Old Parade Grounds, 1897: buildings left to right
include 1874 Adjutant’s Office where Crazy Horse died, 1884
Guardhouse, and 1874 Guardhouse where Crazy Horse was wounded.]
[Illustration: Commanding Officer’s Quarters, constructed in 1884.
Early 1890’s home of Col. Adna R. Chaffee.]
[Illustration: Retreat—evening gun, fired by 10th Cavalry (Negro)
troopers, 1907.]
[Illustration: Infantry Company in front of 1887 barracks ca. 1898.]
[Illustration: Interior of 1887 barracks at Fort Robinson. Courtesy
Fort Laramie National Historic Site.]
[Illustration: Celebration in front of Post Headquarters on Red
Cloud’s last visit, 1906.]
[Illustration: Field Music at Fort Robinson ca. 1900. Courtesy Fort
Laramie National Historic Site.]
Ladies of the Post.
[Illustration: Kate C. Hamilton, daughter of Col. A. R. Chaffee.]
[Illustration: Lady and escort out for a ride on Christmas, 1896.]
[Illustration: Escort wagon train, Fort Robinson.]
[Illustration: Guardhouse prisoners work detail, March 1898.]
[Illustration: Social calls were important. On porch of officers’
quarters are: Commanding Officer, Colonel James Biddle, far left.
Captain Philip Pendleton Powell, right, standing.]
[Illustration: A mock battle formation, 10th U. S. Cavalry (Negro).]
[Illustration: Yearlings at the Fort Robinson Remount Depot,
September 20, 1932.]
[Illustration: Master Sergeant Wm. C. Meyers taking a jump at the
Fort Robinson Remount Depot.]
[Illustration: Mixed team of officers and enlisted men fighting it
out on the polo field after hours.]
[Illustration: Field Artillery with model 1897 French 75 mm. field
piece.]
[Illustration: Review parade at Fort Robinson German Prisoner of War
Camp, World War II.]
[Illustration: Troops crawling under machine gun fire during
training, World War II.]
[Illustration: Training the K-9 (Dog) Corps, World War II. Courtesy
of U.S. Army.]
[Illustration: Glen Field. Troops prepare to leave Fort Robinson,
World War II.]
[Illustration: More than 2,000 students and adults attended the
first annual Fort Robinson School Field Day, April 26, 1974.]
In August 1889 a Camp of Instruction was held at Fort Robinson. This
event attracted a great deal of attention because it involved the
assembly at the post of all troops in the Department of the Platte. The
vast encampment was organized by General Brooke under the direction of
General Crook, then commanding the Military Division of the Missouri.
Training for the 102 officers and 2,155 enlisted men began on August 20
and lasted for one month. The fifty-eight participating companies came
from eleven different posts in the Department and consisted of the Ninth
Cavalry, the Fifth Artillery and the Second, Seventh, Eighth, Sixteenth,
Seventeenth, and Twenty-first Infantry regiments. The soldiers lived in
a tent camp about a mile from the main post at Fort Robinson, their
temporary quarters being named Camp George Crook.
The expansion of Fort Robinson proved to be timely, for 1890-91 brought
new Indian troubles and field service for the garrison. Discouraged by
reservation life and hoping to bring back their old nomadic ways by
supernatural methods, the Sioux took up the Ghost Dance. Ghost Dancers
wore cloth shirts which they believed gave them supernatural protection
against bullets, and during the course of their dancing they fell in
trances and had visions of the spirit world in which they often talked
to long dead relatives. Indian agents and civilians nearby became
concerned lest the Indian wars begin again.
In October 1890 the post commander Colonel Tilford informed the Indian
agent at Pine Ridge, Dr. D. F. Royer, that if troops were needed they
would be sent from Fort Robinson, but the Colonel suggested that the
Indians should be allowed to dance as long as they harmed no one. A
similar opinion was held by the post scout, Little Bat, who believed
that the Ghost Dance would eventually die out if left alone.
By November Agent Royer was even more apprehensive about the Ghost Dance
and came to Fort Robinson for a conference. In view of the mounting
concern, the Ninth Cavalry was given orders to leave, by railroad, for
Pine Ridge on November 19. While in the field in connection with the
Ghost Dance troubles the Ninth Cavalry was under the command of Major
Guy V. Henry, the same officer who, as a company commander in the Third
Cavalry, had figured prominently in the history of Camp Robinson during
the Indian War days.
Fort Robinson served as a stop en route for recruits sent to join their
various regiments in the field at Pine Ridge. Carbines and other
supplies were also forwarded from the post when needed.
The Ghost Dance troubles culminated in the Battle of Wounded Knee on
December 29, 1890. Casualties in this battle were quite heavy, both
among the troopers of the Seventh Cavalry and the Indian men, women and
children of Big Foot’s band. Fort Robinson’s post scout, Little Bat,
acted as an interpreter and helped to disarm the Indians when the well
known battle began.
Under Major Henry’s leadership the Ninth Cavalry made several long
forced marches at the height of the troubles and although they did not
see action in the battle of Wounded Knee they did fight a skirmish a few
days later when, in classic movie style, they arrived on the scene in
time to save elements of another regiment which were surrounded and
under attack. The Ghost Dance trouble was the last bloody chapter in the
wars with the Sioux.