Battle of Beecher Island

Battle of Beecher Island. . , In September 1868 fifty civilian scouts left Fort Wallace, Kansas, to fight Cheyenne and Sioux warriors, on the theory that experienced frontiersmen could defeat any enemy force. On September 17 the scouts approached the Arikaree River, twenty-five miles southeast of here, where Indians attacked them. Retreating to a sandbar, the command held off repeated charges for four days. In the fierce combat, the besieged unit suffered eighteen wounded and five men killed, including Lt. Frederick H. Beecher. The great Cheyenne war leader Roman Nose fell on the first day, but otherwise Indian losses were minimal. On September 25 the Tenth Cavalry - the famed African American “Buffalo Soldiers" - rode to the scouts' relief. The frontiersmen had battled heroically, but never again did the army send an independent civilian command to fight Indians., Buffalo Soldiers , During the American Civil War, 180,000 African American soldiers participated in 449 engagements, suffering over 38,000 casualties. After the war, Congress continued all-black units, creating two infantry and two cavalry regiments. Sent to the frontier West, black soldiers won the respect of Plains Indians, who called them "Buffalo Soldiers," probably for their remarkable courage and for the resemblance of their hair to that of a buffalo's (an animal the Indians revered). Black troopers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, who comprised 20 percent of all cavalry stationed in the West, proudly accepted the title. The soldiers escorted wagon trains, chased outlaws, guarded railroad work crews, and fought Indians and fourteen of them earned the Medal of Honor. Yet white officers always commanded black units, and African American soldiers faced racial prejudice in towns and posts across the West. That the Buffalo Soldiers succeeded - magnificently so - in their assigned duties is testament to their bravery, determination, and skill. , Captions , Lower Left: Pvt. Reuben Waller, a former slave who survived twenty-nine Civil War battles, was one of the first men to come to the aid of the Beecher Island scouts. , Courtesy Kansas Historical Society , Upper Right: Battle of Beecher Island. Robert Lindneux, 1926. Colorado Historical Society , Middle Right: Scout James J. Peace drew the only known firsthand sketch of Beecher Island as it appeared just after the battle. A flood washed the island away in 1935. Colorado Historical Society , Middle Right: Maj. George Forsyth, commander of the scouts at Beecher Island. Colorado Historical Society