Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1867-02-10
THE INDIAN WAR.

state Of Siege.
From the Janesville (Wis) Gazette, Jan. 80.
From a private letter to Mr.. David Van
kirk, of this city, written by his son, Hor
ace d. Nankirk, Company @, 9th United
States Infantry, now stationed at Fort Phil
Kearney, we are permitted to make som,
extracts ia relation to the Indian massacrl
which occurred on the 21st of last Decem
Der. He says:
"On the morning Of December 2lst
about 81 o'clock, firing in the direction Of
our wood train, en- route to the pinery fol
timber, was heard, and the picket on the
lookout hill Immediately signalled Indian:
in that direction. Company G, I'd United
States Cavalry, and about forty-fve infant.
~, under command of Brevet Lieutenant
Colonel Fetterman, accompanied by Lieu
tenant G.. w. Grummond and Captain F.
w. Brown, with orders to 90 to the aid oi
the wood train, and if they thought they
could take it TO the pinery and return, to
do Sc, were Immediately got ready. Mean
while, Indians appeared on the hills across
the Piney Fork, about mile distant,
although scattered in small quantities.
COL Fetterman's party kept on, and
finally disappeared over the hills toward
the Peno Creek Valley, and shortly after
heavy firing was heard in that direction.
II was by this time most eleven o'clock A.
NJ, and everything in the garrison pur-
sued its regular routine of garrison duty.
About II A. NJ, messenger arrived from
the scene of action and requested more as
sistaDce, and men were soon gathered to
the number OF about forty-fve, under
charge of Captain T. Ten Eyck, to go to
their assistance. The messenger reported
the Indians charging on our men in great
numbers.
Reinforcements proceeded in haste to
the field, and upon arriving at the edge of
Peno Creek Valley, they discovered, fur
ther down in the valley what appeared to
be old cottonwood limbs stripped of their
bark. The valley was one moving body of
Indians, yelling, riding around and cutting
capers, as far down the valley as the eye
could reach. My friend estimated them at
from three to FIVE thousand. They pro-
ceeded along the edge of the valley to see
if they could find any trace Of Col. Fetter-
mans party, but not daring to go down
into the bottom of the valley, for they
knew it would be folly, for they would be
Immediately surrounded by the Indians.
They continued along the edge of the val
ley until they got to a point opposite to
where the apparent cottonwood trees were
lying, and Capt. Ten Eyck sent twenty men
10 20 down and examine the scattered rub
bish, and 10, and behold there were the
dead bodies of Col. Fetterman and party,
and not one was found to have the least
particle of life left When Captain Ten
Eyck left the post, an ambulance and three
army wagons with hay in the bottom to
bring in the wounded and take out 5000
rounds Of ammunition, was sent out di-
rectly after Captain Ten Eyck's party had
left. After it had been discovered that
none of Col. Fetterman's party were left to
tell the tale, the wagons and ambulance
were driven down, and all of the men,
except a very few that were left on high
point to keep lookout, went down to load
mp the bodies. The Indians had retreated
down the valley, and did not seem over
anxious to renew the combat, but very
slowly kept falling back, leaving about
thirty-fve dead on the field, being unable
to bring them in, but returned the next
day, 22d inst, and brought in the remain.
naked and horribly mutilated some had
the top of their skulls cut off and their
brains taken out; others with their arms
cut out Of their sockets, and mutilated in
every shape and way imaginable, and had
arrows in considerable quantities stabbed
in their bodies. One man, a soldier in
company +, I'd battalion, 18th infantry,
had l65 in his body, another sixty-fve, and
some had only five or six, more or less
From all appearances, the best evidence is
that the party (Col. Fetterman's) went
down into the valley on a charge, only $50
or 200 Indians being visible, and when
they had got fairly in the bottom, Indians
sprang out from among the ravines and
behind the little hills in immensenumbers,
and Immediately surrounded them, for they
had evidently fought to the last man, and
to all appearances fought well. Their
bodies were all in the space of forty feet
square, although they were not piled on
top Of one another. The Indians could
not have finished their work of torture
many minutes before the arrival of Capt.
Ten Eyck's party, for heavy firing was
heard after he had crossed the Piney Fork
in that direction.
Our total loss is three officers, se7enty~six
enlisted men, three citizens | know Of, and
perhaps more. Colonel CarriLgton, in his
dispatch, reported ninety-f four killed, but |
think it less than that number. | know,
on the night Of the 22d inst, Captain Ar
mold came into the Office and told the Ser
gesnt Major that he wanted every company
to account for every man, as there were
ninety dead bodies at his post, and there
we're only seventy-six enlisted men and
three officers, making a total Of seventy
nine accounted for, making a deficiency OF
eleven men. The garrison were in a high
state OF excitement after the dead we're
brought in, and no doubt the Indians could
have taken the fort If they had followed up
their successes, as they were in oYerpower-
ing numbers. The general assembly was
sounded and the troops formed in line Of
battle about four o'clock, P. NJ, on the 2lst.
Colonel Darlington made speech and said
some encouraging words. Our whole
armed force at that time only mustered one
hundred and eleven men in fighting trim.
Immediately after, dark platforms we're
raised at every loophole, and wagons were
hauled in a circle around the magazine 10
make an effectual stockade, determined to
6ght 20 the last man.
At o'clock P. n, the same day, the gen
eral assembly was sounded again, and the
troops were again formed in line. The
Colonel said a few words and the troops
deployed around the stockade at the loop
holes, 50 that every company would know
which side to take and every man what
loop-hole to take in case Of an attack. Our
determination, and that Of cur officers, was
to fight at the loop-holes around the stock
ade as long as possible, and then fall back
in the stockade around the magazine with
the women Of the garrison, and there fight
to the last man, If necessary, and then
blow up the magazine but think that we
could stand against a large force al the
loop-holes, a. we have the sdvanta sc Of
good logs 70 stand behind. We were called
in a. soon as We had our places assigned 10
rs 4 running guard or nighi-Watch hss
been kept in the company's quarters
every night since, and think il will con
Time in the futare. There was not much
sleep that night, everything quiet men
talking in squads in low voices, guessing if
some wounded man had not made his es-
cape and one man leit to tell the tale; but
none has vet appeared, and al hepe IS
given Cp 1, however, went % bed and slept
well, thl about half-past o'clock, A. NJ,
when | aWoke aud found the Colonel sitting
BY the stove, talking and gassing With
some of the boys who wese sill up. The
special courief bad left that sight for Fort