Civil_War_Quarterly_-_Early_Winter_2015_USA

Roy Morris Jr.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman,

not the easiest man to please, always held

Colonel Benjamin Grierson in high regard.

The former Indiana music teacher, said Sher-

man, was “one of the most willing, ardent

and dashing cavalry officers I ever had. He

handled his men with great skill, doing some

of the prettiest work of the war.”

A dicey incident on the Western plains five

years after the Civil War did nothing to

lessen Sherman’s soldierly regard for Grier-

son. At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in May 1871,

Grierson found the perfect opportunity to

repay the general for his kind words and

good opinion. Always a cool head in a cri-

sis, Grierson’s quick actions that day would

help Sherman hold onto his.

By then Sherman had succeeded his good

friend Ulysses S. Grant, now President

Grant, as commanding general of the U.S.

Army. Through Sherman’s personal inter-

cession, Grierson obtained command of Fort

Sill, leading the all-black 10th Cavalry Reg-

iment in the ongoing campaign against

restive Native Americans on the plains.

Sherman had gone west to investigate

recent depredations by Kiowa and

Comanche Indians, who were leaving the

sanctuary of their agency near Fort Sill to

raid white settlements and wagon trains

across the border in Texas. It was all part of

a long-standing game—albeit deadly serious

at times—for the Indians, but Sherman did

not find it amusing. Upon his arrival at Fort

Sill, he demanded to see the prin-

cipal Kiowa chiefs and hear their

version of events.

Chiefs Satanta, Big Tree,

Satank, and Lone Wolf rode into

Fort Sill on May 27 to confer

with the distinctly unamused

Sherman and, not coincidentally,

to draw more free government

rations of sugar, coffee, and beef

for themselves and their tribe. Satanta, the

leader of the delegation, considered himself

a diplomat as well as a warrior. He once had

praised George Armstrong Custer, in all sin-

cerity, as a “heap big nice sonabitch.” Now

he turned his diplomatic skills on the scowl-

ing Sherman, who met the Indians on the

front porch of Grierson’s headquarters.

Complaining bitterly (and not without

some justice) of Army mistreatment of his

tribe, Satanta freely admitted that he had

personally led the most recent Texas raid on

Lone Star teamsters near Jacksboro, which

had resulted in the deaths of seven drivers

and the theft of 41 mules. He was notably

unrepentant. “If any other Indian claims the

honor of leading that party,” said Satanta,

“he will be lying to you. I led it myself.”

Even worse, from Sherman’s point of view,

the chief boldly asserted that Army control

of the Kiowas was “played out now. There

is never to be any more Kiowa Indians

arrested.”

Sherman unsurprisingly disagreed, under-

lining his frank difference of

opinion by ordering the immedi-

ate arrest of Satanta, Big Tree,

and Satank. Satanta, throwing

off the blanket he was wearing,

grabbed for a pistol. The others

followed his lead. Sherman, hav-

ing anticipated the move,

shouted an order and the shut-

ters on the porch windows flew

open, revealing several soldiers from the

10th Cavalry, their carbines aimed steadily

at the Indians. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!”

Satanta cried.

At that moment another Kiowa chief,

Lone Wolf, came riding up, a bow and

arrow in one hand, a Winchester rifle in the

other. He took a seat on the porch, handing

the bow to a tribesman named Stumbling

Bear but keeping the cocked Winchester on

his lap. Stumbling Bear, perhaps misinter-

preting Lone Wolf’s intentions, suddenly

drew back the bow and aimed an arrow at

Sherman. Another Indian hit his elbow,

deflecting the shot. Lone Wolf leveled his

rifle at the startled general, but before he

could fire, Grierson alertly jumped onto the

chief, knocking him to the floor.

The Indians were led away in chains and

Sherman was left with yet another reason to

value the quick-thinking, quick-acting

Hoosier cavalryman, who had saved him

that day from certain death.

Roy Morris Jr.

Editorial

Carl A. Gnam, Jr.

Editorial Director, Founder

Roy Morris Jr.

Editor

Samantha DeTulleo

Art Director

Kevin M. Hymel

Research Director

Volume 2 Number 4

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Always a cool head in a tight spot, Colonel Benjamin Grierson found a

way to help General William T. Sherman hold onto his.

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