1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Spring Creek 1876

1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

The 22nd Infantry At Spring Creek, October 1876

"US Army -- Infantry Attacked By Indians -- 1875"

An illustration from The US Army and Navy 1776-1899, published in 1899
by the Werner Company of Akron, Ohio

In the latter part of 1876 the command of Colonel Nelson Miles, which at the time was a major element
of the Army's campaign against the Sioux, was ordered by the War Department to cease operations
and camp for the winter months at the mouth of the Tongue River, where it meets the Yellowstone River.
This was deep in Dakota Territory, in what is now the State of Montana.

At this time of the year supply boats could go no further up the Yellowstone than the mouth
of Glendive Creek. Six companies of the 22nd Infantry were detailed to meet the boats at Glendive,
and bring the supplies by wagon train to Miles' Tongue River encampment.

From October 11 through October 16 of 1876 these wagon trains of the 22nd Infantry
were met with attacks by the Sioux, for about half the distance the trains had to travel. ¹

¹ Webmaster 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

Lieutenant Colonel Elwell S. Otis

In command of the wagon trains which were ordered to resupply the US Army encampment at Tongue River

Otis served with the 22nd Infantry from 1866 to 1880

1st Lieutenant Oskaloosa M. Smith

Smith served with the 22nd Infantry from 1869 into the 1880's

On October 26, 1876 Oskaloosa Smith wrote the following account of the wagon trains
as they moved to resupply the encampment at Tongue River.

DURING THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF THE SUMMER, commencing August 8 at the mouth of the Rosebud and ending at this camp
on the 6th of September, scarcely a wild Indian was seen. The season of operations was ordered to close on or before October 15th,
and troops were ordered to be cantoned for the winter at the mouth of Tongue River. The entire 5th Infantry was sent there to commence building,
so that the troops and stores might be protected from the severe winter climate, and no time was lost. Six companies of 22nd Infantry were left at this point
[cantonment at Glendive Creek on the Yellowstone] to receive the stores from the boats, which could go no further up the river,
and convoy them to Tongue River. Afterward, added to this force were two companies of 17th Infantry. These were all small companies,
numbering about 35 men each. They had performed the escort duty, making nearly three trips each month with a train of 100 wagons,
without molestations by Indians, until the last trip.
On the 10th inst. at noon, the train left here, and that night camped on Spring Creek, 14 miles out. The next morning they were surrounded
and attacked by a large number of Indians, and in the skirmish numbers of mules were wounded, which caused a stampede and some loss of animals.
The escort was so harassed that they were compelled to either abandon several wagons and some property, or else to return to this place;
the latter course they prudently pursued, arriving late on the evening of the 11th.
The train was refitted and started again on the 14th, the commanding officer of the station, Lt. Col. [Elwell S.] Otis, taking command of the escort,
consisting of C and G of the 17th Inf., and G, H, and K of the 22nd Inf., being a force of 11 officers and 185 men. The roster of officers was as follows:

Lt. Col. Otis, 22nd Inf., Commanding
1st Lt. [Oskaloosa M.] Smith, 22nd Inf., Battalion Adjutant
Act. Asst. Surg. [Charles T.] Gibson, Surgeon
Co. C, 17th Inf., Capt. [Malcolm] McArthur, 2nd Lt. [James D.] Nickerson
Co. G, 17th Inf., Capt. [Louis H.] Sanger
Co. G, 22nd Inf., Capt. [Charles W.] Miner, 1st Lt. [Benjamin C.] Lockwood
Co. H, 22nd Inf., 1st Lt. [William] Conway, 2nd Lt. Sharpe
Co. K, 22nd Inf., Capt. [Mott] Hooton, 2nd Lt. [William H.] Kell

At 10 o'clock A.M. [October 14] the escort and train moved out gaily. The day was beautiful and every man was in good spirits,
feeling that they would meet the enemy before returning. That night camp was made in the beautiful bottom of the Yellowstone, 11 miles away.
Early in the evening a thieving pack of Indians approached the camp and were fired upon by the sentinels. They beat a hasty retreat,
leaving a pony with all its trappings and a leg broken. There were no more alarms that night.
At daybreak the next morning [October 15] the train was on the move, drawn up in four lines and surrounded by the escort
which was disposed as follows: advance guard, Co. H., 22nd; advance right and left flankers, Co. C, 17th; right flank rear, Co. G, 22nd;
left flank rear, Co. G. 17th; rear guard, Co. K, 22nd. It was Sunday morning and a prettier one never broke forth.
Upon gaining the entrance to Spring Creek three miles from camp, three men joined the train, who proved to be scouts from
General [Colonel] Miles' command at Tongue River. They were en route, four in number, from General Miles with dispatches for Glendive Creek;
on Saturday afternoon [October 14] they were attacked at Spring Creek by a large number of Indians, one of their number was killed,
and all their horses were either killed or badly wounded. The remaining three men were driven into the bushes, were they kept the Indians at bay
until the darkness of night let them escape and they were thus enabled to join our troops. The body of the dead scout was found and buried.
He was not at all mutilated and his gloves were on; evidently the Indians had not found him, but his gun and ammunition could not be found.

About this time the Indians made their appearance on the left side and in front, and opened fire on Scout [Robert] Jackson and Sergeant [Patrick] Kelly,
Co. F, 22nd Inf., who were mounted and in advance. They had run into a large party of Indians, and after discharging their rifles at them,
they fell back, closely followed by about thirty, their clothing being literally riddled by bullets but their bodies entirely unharmed.
These two men did a great deal of scouting, coming in close quarters several times with the Indians, and showed a great deal of pluck and bravery.
The number of Indians kept increasing; the left flank advanced and the advanced guard charged them, opening the way for the train,
which was enabled to ascend to the high table land. Then to our front signal smokes were raised, which were immediately answered
by some vast ones off toward the Yellowstone, and Indians were seen coming from all directions, until the train was surrounded by from 400 to 500.
During this time we had gained the ridge and hills leading down into Clear Creek and here the enemy had taken position
expecting to prevent our progress, but skirmishers were sent ahead and the road was cleared, so that we gained the creek
and watered the stock in full view of the foe. But they were not idle; they collected on the further side and set afire to the prairie,
expecting to burn us out and to advance under cover of the smoke and signally defeat us, but our troops gallantly charged them,
answering the Indian yell, and drove them in all directions, so that the train could move on, though it had to pass rapidly over the line of burning grass.

As soon as the top land was reached beyond Clear Creek, the enemy came in strong force against all parts of the escort.
There were eighty-six wagons to guard, but they were in four lines and surrounded by our skirmishers. The prairies were burning,
the smoke was suffocating, and the enemy hurled his whole force with desperation against the train, bent upon its capture,
so that he would be well provided with food and ammunition, but they were kept at some distance by the advance upon them of the skirmishers,
and not a shot damaged the train. The roar of musketry was terrific. There was no artillery; it was simply an infantry fight.
They were repeatedly charged in front by C, 17th, and H, 22nd, and in the rear, which was the most pressed, by G, 17th, and K, 22nd.
Company G, 22nd, during all this time, had a galling flank fire upon them.
This was kept up under a march of 15 miles until nearly 5 o'clock, P.M., when the train was corraled for the night,
and shots were still exchanged until 7 P.M., when it became too dark to see. In this struggle a number of Indians were knocked from their horses;
many of the latter were killed and a number were running around riderless. These Indians had never before come in close range of infantry,
or been subjected to such a musketry fire.

It was expected that they would the next morning be on us again, but we moved quietly from our camp.
After going a mile or more a shot was occasionally fired. About this time a note from Sitting Bull, written by a half-breed Frenchman
[John Bruguier], was found on a stake near the road, demanding reasons for traveling over the road and scaring the buffaloes,
and ordering the troops back, telling them to leave rations and powder or he would fight them again, and signed
"your friend, Sitting Bull. Please write soon." No attention was paid to the letter.
After the troops had passed Bad Route Creek, seven miles from the night's camp, two men came forward bearing a flag of truce.
They were allowed to enter the lines, and were found to be Indian scouts from Standing Rock Agency with dispatches
from General [Lieutenant Colonel William P.] Carlin. They had been ordered to visit hostile camps on business and had just arrived that morning.
They said that the hostiles had met with considerable losses the day before and wanted to come in to make peace.
Word was sent to them that a few of their headmen might come in unarmed. They did so, stating that they were tired of fighting
and wanted to make peace. They wanted ammunition to kill buffaloes, and food for present use, and they would leave at once.
They were told that ammunition could not be furnished them, but a small quantity of rations would be given them,
which was accordingly done and they left us in peace.
During this fight several men were struck with spent bullets, and only three men were wounded—Sergeant [Robert] Anderson
and Private [John] Donohoe, Co. G, 22nd Inf., and Private [Francis] Wraggle [Marriaggi],Co. G, 17th Inf.
The Indians were poor marksmen. Our men were under fire for a long time and it is wonderful that no more men were hurt.
All of our troops showed great fortitude and bravery and many of the men were recruits. . . .

Map of the Yellowstone River
The shaded portion shows the area of the encounters between
the Sioux and the wagon trains of the 22nd Infantry

2nd Lieutenant Alfred. C. Sharpe

Sharpe served with the 22nd Infantry from 1876 to 1893

Lieutenant Sharpe wrote the following account at Glendive Cantonment, October 28, 1876.

. . . We left this place [Glendive Cantonment] on Tuesday, October 10th, with a valuable train of over one hundred wagons.
The escort consisted of Co. K, 22nd Inf., Capt. Hooton and Lt. Kell; Co. C, 22nd Inf., Lt. Conway and myself.
We encamped the first night on Deadwood Creek, about 14 miles from this post and about two miles from the Yellowstone.
We had received intelligence, before starting, that 600 lodges of hostile Sioux had set out for the Yellowstone
and that they probably intended to intercept us. All afternoon we noticed vast columns of smoke rising in the distant horizon;
they were signal fires heralding our approach. At about 11 P.M. we heard the report of a musket, and upon inquiry,
we ascertained that one of the pickets saw a man stealthily approaching our lines, who, upon being challenged, fled.
Quiet was soon restored, and our camp was again wrapped in profound repose.

At 3:30 A.M. we were aroused by the sharp reports of a dozen rifles on the surrounding hills. Hurrying out of my tent,
I saw the flashes of the muskets on the bluffs 500 yards distant. Bullets came hurtling and whistling by or tearing up the ground at my feet.
Finally, their fusillade ceased—we did not return a shot. We busied ourselves getting breakfast and packing our tents and blankets for the march.
Daylight revealed to us the loss of 57 mules. They had been stampeded and run off by the Indians.
At sunrise [October 11] we resumed our march. Scarcely had the rear guard—Capt. McArthur's company—got fairly under way,
when they were attacked by a party concealed in a ravine 200 yards to our left, filled with underbrush and small trees.
Capt. McArthur's company immediately deployed and charged the enemy, driving them over the bluffs and out of sight.
Company H supported Captain McArthur's on the right. We then resumed our march, but had not advanced 80 rods,
when they again opened fire—this time on the right flank. They were concealed in a ravine. A few shots were exchanged,
but without stopping the march. Looking back, we could see them literally swarming on our campground.
Their numbers were being rapidly augmented and they became bolder and more aggressive. All day long they hung on our rear,
occasionally sending a ball whistling through our ranks. Embarrassed as we were by the loss of so many teams,
the progress of our heavily-laden wagons was very tedious, and as the hostiles seemed to come swarming from every direction,
now attacking us on the rear, on the flanks, and in front, it was decided to turn and fight our way through to Glendive.
As we headed for home, the firing gradually ceased, the Indians seeming nonplused by this move.
We arrived at this post about 9 P.M., Wednesday evening, October llth.

After two days' rest, Col. Otis of my regiment took command, and increasing the escort to five companies by the addition
of Company G, 17th Infantry, Major Sanger, we again set out [on October 14], determined to go through to Tongue River
if fighting could take us there. We also had three Gatling guns. The first day we marched ten miles. That night at eight o'clock
we were all "turned out" by a shot on the picket line. Two cavaliers had approached, and being challenged by the sentinel,
turned in flight. But his swift bullet overtook them and next morning we discovered outside the line an Indian pony with a broken leg;
it had saddle, bridle, blankets, and picket rope, just as they had been abandoned by the dusky rider the night before.
We resumed the march at about 7 o'clock [October 15]. It was the "peaceful Sabbath," a lovely day.
My company was the advance guard, and as we strode along on that bright morning, I was thinking "how pleasant it would be
to be away back in the States today to hear the church bells ringing and to see the good people coming into church;"
and I almost imagined I could hear the sweet tones of the organ and the words, "The Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him," when suddenly from the bluffs ahead came the sharp, quick reports of musketry,
and then the air was rent with screams and yells the most diabolical I ever heard. Two of our scouts had gone ahead
and had discovered a large bank of redskins awaiting our approach. They sent a shower of bullets after the scouts,
who came flying down the hill like mad men. The Indians were close upon them and, indeed, it was a chase for life.
One of the scouts lost his hat. An Indian dismounted, picked it up, and rode off. One of the scouts had the cloth in the shoulder of his coat
torn open by a bullet. The other had a hole through his moccasin.
My company was immediately deployed "left front into line" and I was detached with ten men from the right to take position
on a very high hill on our right, while the main body of the company under Lt. Conway charged up the acclivity and after a short struggle,
in which several Indian saddles were emptied, drove the enemy from the bluffs. The fight had now fairly opened and from that moment
until the sun sank to rest—twelve long hours— we fought the fiends. About two o'clock, hot, thirsty, and weary,
we reached Clear Creek—5 or 6 miles perhaps from our camp and about 16 miles from here. This creek flows through a deep,
rocky ravine, two hundred feet below the level of the plain. The hostiles had taken a strong position on the opposite side
commanding the valley and all approaches to the stream. But we must cross it, or consider ourselves defeated.

The Indians were hourly reinforced until now they numbered upwards of three hundred. We had but 180 muskets in line.
One of the Gatling guns was placed in position, and under its cover my Company H, being the advance guard,
made a rush for the valley; as we filed through it along the stream the Indians devoted their best shots to us.
Sergeant H of my company was marching about two paces from me when he was struck with a thump in the breast by a spent ball,
which fell, harmless, at his feet. They soon got the range and bullets came hissing about our heads and tearing up the ground all around
and about us. Finally, we reached the foot of the opposite side, and with a cry, we charged up the hill. The Indians then set fire to the tall grass
which was dry as tinder. The smoke was blinding and the heat intolerable, but rushing onward and upward, we gained the crest
and again drove the villains before us. Panting and exhausted, the men sank down, completely overcome. But we had cleared the way,
and we soon saw the long, white train of wagons climbing the hill.
The firing now became incessant. They were on all sides of us. We were completely surrounded.
Down in the valley the reverberations of the musketry was deafening. As the train slowly climbed the hill and the rearguard—
Company K, 22nd Infantry, Capt. Hooton and Lt. Kell— descended into the valley, the Indians closing in on them in great numbers.
A report came that their ammunition was failing and another thousand rounds were sent back to them. Major Sanger then turned back
to the relief of Capt. Hooton, as he was in imminent danger of being cut off. The enemy, having the vantage ground,
waxed bold and charge after charge was made with varying success.

The prairie was fired all around us; we met the fires with counter-fires. Time and time again would they bring us to a dead halt,
and a stubborn fight would ensue for possession of the road. Finally, the fire on the right flank ceased and they commenced enfillading our lines
on the left, at the same time holding us at bay at front. Lt. Conway with ten men from the right of Company H was detached to go ahead
and clear the way, while I was left with the remainder of the company on the left. Company G, 22nd Infantry, was advancing to our support;
when about ten paces from us, I saw a man in its lines drop like a log; he was shot in the knee. After a half-hour halt, we again prevailed
and wound onward. The prairie was ablaze all around us, rendering our passage in the road at certain places quite difficult.
The scene around me reminded me of the rhetorical descriptions we so often read of Napoleon's smoking wake.
We left a blackened, desolate waste behind us. Perhaps our little conflict of a single day may not compare with his mighty struggles,
but it was enough for about 180 men to attend to. Fighting a civilized enemy is perhaps rough work, but battling with fiends incarnate,
highway robbers and midnight assassins, "shapes hot from Tartarus," together with fire, smoke, hunger and thirst,
and the horrible fate of the captive at the stake in prospect is quite a different mode of warfare.

We were now on the high prairie, far enough from wood and water. The enemy had possession of the creek and to approach it was death.
The sun was sinking below the horizon, and it was decided to form our corral and go into camp—if sleeping a la belle etoile can be called "camp."
Rifle pits were dug around the entire corral at 500 yards from it, and you may believe there was little sleep in our camp that night.
Every available man was on picket. I rolled myself up in a buffalo robe and with a canteen for a pillow slept with "one eye open."
The firing had gradually subsided. The last shot was fired about 7 o'clock, and after making many attempts to burn us out by firing the prairie
on every side, the fiends withdrew until the morrow. Their loss had been heavy. We saw many ponies running about riderless.
One of our scouts came so close upon the Indians at one time as to kill one with a revolver. We had set out with 10,000 rounds of ammunition,
6,000 had already been expended, and here we were miles from the post and surrounded by the enemy. A gloomy prospect to be sure.

The next morning [October 16] they again opened on us just after breakfast. The fighting was not so heavy, but there was not a minute in the day
that we did not have a bullet hissing by. I have always read of bullets whizzing and hurtling. They could not have come from Indian muskets.
Their bullets hiss. The firing gradually subsided by 11 A.M., and the Indians began assembling in a body on an eminence half a mile ahead of us.
One of their number had a white flag and wore a white jacket. As we approached he came at a gallop, accompanied by another
with a white handkerchief, or rag, on his head. They presented Col. Otis a letter from Col. Carlin, commanding at Standing Rock [Agency, Dakota],
certifying that they were friendly scouts, had just arrived from Standing Rock, and were en route to hostile camps on official business.
They also presented the Colonel a letter from Sitting Bull, which you have doubtless already seen in the official reports.
They said Sitting Bull was encamped nearby and desired to have a pow-wow.
Half an hour later a glittering cavalcade approached and was received by the Colonel. Sitting Bull [Sharpe mis-identified this Indian]
declined to dismount, and had a private secretary whom our interpreter had to address, and who then communicated with General Sitting Bull.
After half an hour's talk, in which they were "mad" because we were running through their country and driving all their buffalo away,
it was agreed that Uncle Sam should give four boxes of crackers and three sides of bacon, in consideration of which res frumentaria
they would no longer molest us. The food was left in the road and we moved on. As a method of expressing his profound gratitude,
one warrior brought up his gun and sent a bullet hissing over our heads, just to frighten us perhaps—the cunning creature.
The rest of our march was not at all exciting, except when the buffalo began to increase in numbers. We saw thousands of them, also of antelope.
There is abundance of game in this country and the climate is simply glorious. It is all a delightful experience to me, of course. . . .

In the Regimental history of the 22nd Infantry it is recorded that LTC Otis commended his command
for their actions in the above encounters. His report stated " I cannot speak too highly of the conduct of both officers and men.
The officers obeyed instructions with alacrity and executed their orders with great efficiency. They fought the enemy twelve hours,
and fired during that time upwards of seven thousand rounds of ammunition. They defeated a strong enemy,
who had defiantly placed himself across our trail with the deliberate purpose of capturing the train,
and gave him a lesson he will heed and never forget." ²

² Webmaster 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry

**********************

The above black and white photographs, the map, and the accounts by LT's Smith and Sharpe
were taken from the book:

Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877 The Military View

Compiled, edited and annotated by Jerome A. Greene

Published by the University of Oklahoma Press

The book is available at:

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS

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