Dodge’s March
By Mike Phifer
The sound of trampling horses and the shouts of officers filled the air as almost 500 men of the United States Regiment of Dragoons rode out for what accompanying artist George Catlin excitedly called the “first grand civilized foray, into the country of the wild and warlike Camanchees.” It was June 21, 1834, and the expedition was headed into what is now southwestern Oklahoma for the Pawnee Picts village. There they were to make a show of force and to meet with the Comanche, Kiowa, and the Pawnee Picts (this latter tribe was also called Taovayas and were a branch of the Wichitas) who had yet to make a treaty with the United States. The government also wanted to ease relations between the displaced eastern tribes it was moving into the area among these western tribes.
A long tough journey lay ahead for the newly formed blue coated dragoons under a scorching summer sun. This was to be their first expedition and it would be one they would not soon forget as they rode into the Southern Plains Indian country under the overall command of Gen. Henry Leavenworth and most notably Col. Henry Dodge.
Henry Dodge was no stranger to the frontier by 1834. Born in Vincennes, Indiana, in 1782, Dodge was a capable frontier officer who had seen service in the War of 1812, in Missouri, and in the Black Hawk War of 1832, where he commanded mounted volunteers. That same year Dodge was commissioned a major by President Andrew Jackson and put in command of the newly formed United States Mounted Ranger Battalion made up of one year volunteers serving on the frontier.
Deemed too expensive to maintain with their short term enlistment, not proving to be efficient, and with a constant lack of discipline, the government decided to replace the Rangers. Despite their short existence, the Rangers had proved to Congress the necessity of mounted troops on the frontier. On March 2, 1833, an “Act for the More Perfect Defence of the Frontiers” was passed by Congress authorizing the establishment of the United States Regiment of Dragoons.
Dodge was promoted to colonel and put in charge of the dragoons, which was to consist of ten companies and to number 34 officers and 715 men. Headquarters for the regiment was set up at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis, Missouri. The recruits which were to be “healthy, active, respectable men of the country, being native citizens of the United States, not under twenty, nor over thirty-five years of age; whose size, figure, and early pursuits in life, best qualify them for the duties and active service of mounted soldiers.”
To improve the efficiency of the dragoons, Dodge wrote to the Adjutant General in August suggesting they take “part of the officers from the regular army, who understand the first principles of their profession, and uniting them with the Ranger officers, who understand the woods’ service” which he believed “would promote the good of the service.” The dragoons received good regular officers including Lt. Col. Stephen Kearny, who was second in command; Capt. Edwin Sumner and 1st Lt. Philip St. George Cooke who both would see service in the Civil War; and 2nd Lt. Jefferson Davis who would go on to be president of the Confederate States. Among the frontier savvy officers of the Mounted Rangers who joined the dragoons was Capt. Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone.
Training the new recruits proved difficult at Jefferson Barracks as uniforms, arms and horses were slow in coming. This task of training according to Cooke was made more difficult as he would later write due to the fact “that cavalry tactics were unknown in the army; and, with the whole theory and practical detail, were to be studiously acquired – in a manner invented – by officers, before they could teach others.” Some of the men did not take well to the drudgery of camp life and military discipline, which at times could deal out harsh punishments such as whippings and brandings. Not surprisingly some men deserted.
By November, five dragoon companies had been raised and on the 20th of that month, they were ordered to march southwest to Fort Gibson. This post was located on the east side of the Grand River, north of where this waterway empties in the Arkansas River in modern northeast Oklahoma. Arriving in mid-December, Dodge set up winter camp for his dragoons in a little stretch of woods a quarter mile west of Fort Gibson. There they constructed their barracks from the surrounding timber and called the encampment Camp Jackson.
On Christmas Day, Dodge reported to the Adjutant General that he had “found no arrangements had been made for furnishing the dragoons. . .with rations or corn for the horses.” Until corn could be brought in which was delayed in part due to the Grand River freezing in January, the horses were turned out in a nearby canebrake to feed. A number of them strayed, some of them into the nearby Cherokee settlements, and Dodge dispatched officers and men to retrieve them.
More problems beset the dragoons as the steamer bringing the men their uniforms became stranded on the Arkansas River due to low water. Their firearms, meanwhile, which Dodge drew from the arsenal, were as he complained of the “Most indifferent Kind.” Despite all these setbacks the dragoons continued in their training, both in infantry and horse tactics.
During the winter at Jefferson Barracks the remaining five companies of the Dragoons had been recruited and these companies joined the rest of the regiment throughout May and June. One company at Camp Jackson was dispatched to act as escorts for traders on the Santa Fe Trail. Meanwhile, preparations were made for the upcoming expedition. “Our camp is now, throughout the day, a constant scene of bustle and noise,” later wrote a dragoon, “…the blacksmith shops are kept in continual operation, tailors and saddlers find constant employment, and in fact no one has time to be idle.”
On June 15, eight companies rode out, crossed the Arkansas River and pushed 18 miles where they set up Camp Rendezvous. There they waited for the remaining company still preparing for the expedition to join them which it did on the evening of the 20th.
The next morning the dragoons moved out heading southwest toward the Washita River. Besides Catlin, another civilian joined the expedition - the Prussian botanist Carl Beyrich who had come to undertake scientific research in America. Also joining the dragoons were 32 Osage, Cherokee, Delaware, and Seneca Indians who were to act as guides, hunters, and interpreters for the expedition. These natives were also to act as representatives of their nations and when contact was made with the Comanche, Kiowa, and Wichita (Pawnee Picts). There was also a 15 year old Kiowa girl and an 18 year old Wichita girl who both had earlier been captured by the Osage. By returning these girls to their people it was hoped to better relationships with these tribes, while at the same they could be exchanged for George Abbay, a ranger who had been captured the year before, and a boy named Matthew Wright Martin. The boy had been captured while on a hunting trip with his father, Judge Gabriel Martin who was killed along with a black servant. A large number of baggage wagons rumbled along with expedition, as well as 70 head of cattle.
The weather was hot and 23 men were sent back to Fort Gibson as being unfit before the expedition even started on the 21st. This was only the beginning of the sickness that would haunt the dragoons. The expedition pushed 20 miles to the southwest and crossed the north branch of the Canadian River. Here they had trouble getting the wagons up the river bank and 30 to 40 men had to dismount and help get them moving. They encamped for the night about a mile south of the river.
The expedition continued on for the next few days enduring the scorching heat. On June 25, the expedition met up with Gen. Leavenworth at the Canadian River. Here they crossed the river, just below the mouth of the Little River where a small detachment of the 7th Infantry was constructing a small fort.
The next day 27 men were left behind unfit to continue with the expedition along with an assistant surgeon and Lt. Edwards; Lt. Cooke was also left behind sick. The expedition rode on for about another ten miles when they came upon a band 500 or 600 Osage curing buffalo meat. It was not long before the dragoons came upon buffalo themselves.
Although the Indian hunters with the expedition were to hunt buffalo and provide meat for the dragoons, Leavenworth, Dodge, Lt. T. B. Wheelock, and Catlin couldn’t resist chasing after them despite the heat. Disaster would befall Leavenworth when he chased after a buffalo calf, but was thrown to the ground when his horse fell in a hole. Catlin raced toward Leavenworth who was struggling to get up. After helping him to his feet, Catlin asked Leavenworth if he was hurt. Leavenworth said no, but then passed out. When he came to he insisted he was okay, but Catlin thought otherwise. As they continued on over the next few days Leavenworth confided to the artist “that he was fearful he was badly hurt.” Catlin thought so as fever and a bad cough now afflicted the general.
On July 1, the hot and tired dragoons arrived at Camp Washita, joining Leavenworth who had arrived a couple days earlier with his an advance party. Here the dragoons found two companies of the 3rd Infantry under Capt. James Dean who had earlier been ordered there by Leavenworth to build a military post. Illness continued to take its toll on the dragoons as 45 men and three officers were reported as sick, which the surgeon blamed on their marching through the heat of the day. The heat, as well as poor grazing, was also taking its toll on the animals as 75 horses and mules were also disabled and could go no further.
After resting on July 2, the dragoons crossed the Washita River on the 3rd and 4th using two canoes with a platform built on them. Lt. Edwards, meanwhile, arrived with 23 men who had been left behind sick, but had recovered enough to rejoin the expedition.
Leavenworth had planned to command the expedition as it continued on toward the Pawnee Picts (or Wichita) village, but on the 4th he admitted that he could go no further due to his worsening condition. In fact the expedition was reorganized due to the rising illness among the dragoons. Dodge was to continue on with 250 of the healthiest men organized in six companies along with the Indian scouts. The wagons were left behind and the men were issued with ten days of rations and 80 cartridges each. Leavenworth, along with 85 other sick men were left at Camp Leavenworth where the dragoons arrived on July 6 with 109 men to look after them and help hold the post.
On July 7, the dragoons pushed west into what was potentially hostile country putting some of the men, which Wheelock described as being of “excellent material, but unused to the woods,” on edge. That night a jittery sentinel mistook a stray horse that was picking it way through thickets for an Indian. The sentinel fired and killed the horse which caused alarm in the camp and stampeded the other horses. The next day the dragoons spent the day combing the country rounding up most of the horses. Ten horses, however, were not recovered leaving ten men afoot who were sent back to Camp Leavenworth.
By July 10, the hot sweating dragoons entered the rugged terrain known as the Cross Timbers which thrived with trees such as post oak, blackjack oak, and hickory, along with tangled thick undergrowth of briars and grapevine. Passage through this area was difficult as Sgt. Hugh Evans recorded in his journal on the 12th that their march “through the thick Brushy timber” was “almost impossible for man or beast to get through….” They got through, however, and a day later they “entered upon the Grand prairie,” as Wheelock recorded in his journal.
The dragoons pushed on past vast herds of wild horses and buffalo. Indians were also spotted, but proved to be wary of the horse soldiers. This changed on the 14th when the column of dragoons again spotted a party of Comanche. Under a white flag Dodge and a few officers rode toward the Indians, who in turn sent a lone warrior with a piece of white buffalo skin hanging from his lance zigzagging toward them. After contact was made, the warrior turned out to be a Spaniard who had been captured earlier in his life. Soon the rest of his party of about 30 warriors rode up to join him and the dragoons.
Speaking to the Indians through an interpreter who spoke a little Spanish, Dodge learned that the Pawnee Picts village was a day’s ride past their own village which was two days away. Not long after another band of 40 or 50 warriors joined them.
As the Comanche made up the largest tribe, Dodge was determined to go to their village first, then to the Pawnee Picts village next. A hundred Comanche rode out to meet Dodge as he arrived at their village which consisted of over 200 skin lodges on July 16. Setting up camp near the village, Dodge waited to meet with a chief who was on a hunting trip hoping to induce him to accompany the dragoons to the Pawnee Picts village. Tired of waiting, Dodge ordered his dragoons to move out on the 18th with a guide who had been to the Pawnee Picts village before. By this time fever had laid out 39 members of the expedition, including Catlin. Not wanting to be slowed down, Dodge left the sick behind at camp guarded by a detachment of dragoons under Lt. James Izard.
On the 20th the 183 dragoons camped for the night five miles from the Pawnee Picts village located on the north side of the North Fork of the Red River. That evening an officer and two Osages captured an Indian with a load of firewood headed for the village. When he was brought into the camp he conversed readily with the captive Wichita girl and was treated well by the dragoons who allowed him to return to his village. The fact that Indians from the village had not come out to greet the dragoons caused Dodge to think they had fled their village or were preparing to defend it. Dodge ordered his men to fix bayonets and make preparations in case they were attacked.
Fortunately nothing happened and the next morning as the dragoons rode toward the village they were greeted by about 60 Indians. As the two groups headed together the dragoons noticed large well cultivated cornfields as well other crops such as melons and squashes. The village itself according to Evans consisted of about 400 lodges covered in thatched grass. The tired and hungry dragoons who set up camp about a mile from the village were low on provisions and had seen little game in the last few days. They were now well fed by the Wichita.
“We are the first American officers who have ever come to see the Pawnees,” stated Dodge as he held a council the next day with the Wichita. He added, “We meet you as friends, not as enemies, to make peace with you.” Dodge wanted them to make a treaty with the government so traders could be sent among them. Dodge soon pressed the issue on the return of Abbey, the ranger who was captured the year before and the murder of Judge Martin. After some discussion the white boy, Matthew Martin, was presented to Dodge who in turn had the Wichita girl released to her family. As for Abbay, the Wichitas stated he had been captured and killed by Indians living near San Antonio.
More talks continued over the next few days not only with the Wichita, but also the Comanche and Kiowa who began arriving in the village. At a grand council on the 24th the remaining captive Kiowa girl was returned by Dodge to her people who warmly received her. The various chiefs were impressed with Dodge and his dragoons and some of them agreed to go with him to Fort Gibson to a council to be held there.
On July 25, Dodge set out to pick up the men he left behind near the Comanche village and then return to Fort Gibson. Riding with his command was a Kiowa chief and 15 of his warriors; a Comanche chief, four Comanche warriors, and a woman, the Spaniard they met earlier, a Wichita chief and two warriors, and a Waco chief. Fever continued to take its toll on the dragoons as more men became sick. When the Comanche woman also took sick, the Comanche chief and four warriors turned back.
Enduring the scorching heat and fever which forced some men to be carried in litters, the dragoons and accompanying Indians finally reached Fort Gibson on August 15. Ten days earlier, Dodge had learned of the death of Leavenworth on July 21. He ordered Kearny to take the rest of the dragoons from where they were posted west of the Washita and return to Fort Gibson which they did on August 24. Writing on October 1 to the Adjutant General, Dodge believed that perhaps there “never has been in America a campaign that operated More Severely on Men & Horses.” Dodge estimated that least 100 horses were killed or broke down due to the excessive heat. Over 100 men died from illness during the expedition including the Prussian botanist Carl Beyrich.
Despite all this, a council was held in early September with the tribes that had returned with Dodge, and the Osage as well the Cherokee, Choctaw, and other tribes moving into the area from the east. Dodge believed the conference went well and wrote to the commander of the Western Department that “if the Government appoints Commissioners to meet the Pawnee Picts, Kiowas, and Camanches in the buffalo country next spring, that a lasting peace can be made between the United States, and these Indians, as well as with the different tribes on this frontier.” Unfortunately a lasting peace was years away.
Bibliography
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