Fetterman Massacre |
| In June of 1866 the government organized a peace conference with the Sioux and Cheyenne nations at Fort Laramie in Dakota territory, present-day Wyoming. Some of the chiefs at the conference were Spotted Tail and the Oglala Chief Red Cloud. Red Cloud's warriors had been raiding settlers for years on their way to the gold mines in Montana. The conference was meant to discuss the matters between Indians and the whites. William Sherman was in charge of the conference. |
| Sherman wanted permission to build three forts along the Bozeman Trail founded by John Bozeman in 1862, to protect the settlers on their way to the mines. Right before Red Cloud could come up with a response Henry Carrington shows up and says that he has soldiers set up along the trail and that the forts are under construction. Red Cloud stormed out of the meeting saying "I will defend the trail with my life." Fort Phil Kearney was set up in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. Right in the middle of Sioux hunting grounds. |
| Red Cloud and Roman Nose were assembling Cheyenne and Sioux warriors they had around 2,000 warriors. On the 6th of December they attacked a wood train. Carrington rode to their rescue only to meet the awaiting warriors, he rushed back to the fort and told everyone there not to pursue any Indians that ran away. On December 21, 1886 the last day of wood-cutting for the year. The Indians attacked and Carrington was going to send out Captain Powell but Fetterman demanded to lead the rescue. The captains were Fetterman and Brown. They rode out with 80 men the number Fetterman bragged could wipe out the whole Sioux nation. The decoys appeared and the soldiers chased them like they were not supposed to. They led them away from the visual aid of the fort. |
| When they topped out on a crest Fetterman and his men saw the Indians and they heard the other group of Indians come up from behind them. Fetterman and his men were surrounded it was 80 against 2000. The fight was on. The soldiers used everything they had knives, bayonets, guns, when they ran out of ammo they used their gunstocks. It was useless to even try. The Indians slaughtered the soldiers within 20 minutes. Some think Fetterman and Brown shot each other in the head to avoid capture and slower death by the Indians. But they examined the bodies before they buried them, they found out that Fetterman died a different way. He had a crosswire cut on his throat. American Horse said he dragged Fetterman from his horse, beat him in the head with a war club, and then finished him with a knife. |
| So ended William J. Fetterman's boast about how he could destroy the entire Sioux nation with 80 men. After the fight was over the Indians stayed around for a celebration party. They scalped and mutilated the bodies. All of the major body parts were severed off and laid them on rocks to rot. They laid the brains on stones to boil in the sun. They gouged out their eyes, To make sure they would be helpless in the afterlife. After hearing the gunfire and screams Carrington sent out a search party led by Captain Tenodor Ten Eyck They went over the ridge and saw the remainder of the soldiers and saw the Indians. The Indians taunted them to come and fight with them but Captain Tenodor knew better. The Indians named the battle "The Battle of the Hundred Slain." But the whites just know it as " The Fetterman Massacre." Carrington was blamed for the massacre and he retired on December 15, 1870 four years after the Fetterman Massacre. |
| Bibliography
http://nu.essortment.com/fettermanmassa_rfkt.htm, http://home.comcast.net/~theangle/RedCloud/fetterman.htm , http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2003outwest/hendersonc/default.htm, http://www.thehistorynet.com/welb/fetterman/index2.htm, Great American West book |
| Nick Guindon
8th American History 2005 History |