William L . Carpenter William Lewis Carpenter , born January 13 , 1844 at Dunkirk , Chautauqua County , New York , died July 10 , 1898 at Madison Barracks , Jefferson County , New York . Carpenter was a U . S . Army Officer , Naturalist and a Geologist who helped document the minerals and resources of the Black Hills of South Dakota which led to the Great Sioux War of 1876 - 77 . Family . Carpenter was the son of William Lewis Carpenter ( Senior ) ( born July 17 , 1813 in Batavia , New York – died in 1867 ) and Mamie Frances Bristol ( born about 1813 ) . He was the only son of three children . His immigrant ancestry came from the Rehoboth Carpenter family through William Carpenter ( born 1605 in England ) . Carpenter married A . Curtis Steever ( born about 1844 New York ) on March 12 , 1878 . They had no known surviving children . Early career . During the American Civil War he served as a Midshipman in the U . S . Navy from 1861 – 1864 . Wanting to see more action , he resigned from the Navy and joined the Army . He became a private in Battery " D " 2nd Artillery on July 29 , 1864 . He transferred to Battery " L " September 25 , 1865 . He served at the Siege of Petersburg , Virginia and with the Army of the Potomac . He made Corporal on September 28 , 1866 and Sergeant on January 29 , 1867 . After publication of several scientific articles , ranging in topic from naturalist to geological surveys , he was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the U . S . Army on April 5 , 1867 . He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Regiment and encouraged to continue his scientific research on the frontier . Black Hills duty . In 1872 – 1874 as part of the 9th Infantry Regiment , Second Lieutenant Carpenter documented in a series of reports information of minerals , including gold , being seized from illegal miners and trespassers who were being ejected ( See : Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 ) from the Black Hills of South Dakota . Carpenter was promoted to First Lieutenant for " exceptional duties " on December 31 , 1873 . His and other reports lead to Custer ' s 1874 Black Hills Expedition that set out on July 2 , 1874 and returned on August 30 , 1874 . Listed as " Bill Louis ( sic ) carpenter " he briefed naturalist George Bird Grinnell and others for that expedition . In 1875 , Lt . Carpenter , under Colonel Richard Irving Dodge became part of the 1875 Newton - Jenney Party which was a scientific expedition sponsored by the United States Geological Survey to map the Black Hills of South Dakota . Lt . W . Carpenter was commended for his " exceptional diligence and scientific assistance " and that he " contributed greatly " to the 1880 Black Hills Geological report . In 1876 , Carpenter was recorded as a participant in the Battle of the Rosebud in Montana Territory on June 17 , 1876 as First Lieutenant of Company G , 9th Infantry , in which 1 , 200 cavalrymen under General George Crook supported by 300 Crow ( Absaroke ) and Shoshone warriors were attacked by about 1 , 500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors under Chief Crazy Horse . Carpenter was second in command of Company G , 9th Infantry Regiment who was documented as " awaiting reinforcements after the Battle of the Rosebud " on June 20 , 1876 . In 1877 , under orders from General Philip Sheridan ( later in 1883 , Commanding General of the United States Army ) , Lt . William Lewis Carpenter made his final report on the " Geology and Natural History of the Big Horn Mountains . " This report provided the economic reasons of the land and gold rush into the Black Hills of South Dakota 1873 – 1877 , and was well received by the scientific community . Nominated by geologist W . P . Jenney , who encouraged him to go into academics , William L . Carpenter was elected a " Fellow " of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on September 4 , 1877 . In 1880 he was enumerated in the U . S . federal census as a soldier in the unorganized territory of Nebraska . In 1882 he was listed as an officer of the Department of the Platte : " First Lieut . W . L . Carpenter , Ninth Infantry , Company B , Fort Niobrara . " His later duties included scientific collections and observations Later career . Carpenter was promoted to Captain in 1887 . In 1892 , after 37 years of service in the Civil War and Indian Wars , the 9th Infantry Regiment was transferred to routine garrison duty in Madison Barracks , New York . In Feb 1894 , Captain Carpenter was at Madison Barracks where he was appointed to serve on an Army court - martial : " A general court - martial is appointed to meet at Madison Barracks , New York , on Feb . 21 , 1894 . Detail . . . William L . Carpenter , Ninth Infantry . . . " The 9th Infantry ' s official 1909 history includes several mentions of his service . In 1897 Carpenter joined the Sons of the American Revolution of the District of Columbia , and after his death from Bright ' s Disease on July 10 , 1898 at Madison Barracks , his widow was appointed postmistress of Fort Myer , Arlington County , Virginia in 1899 as cited in " The Washington Post " , May 24 , 1899 : " Mrs . W . L . Carpenter , widow of the late Capt . Carpenter , Ninth United States Infantry , has been appointed postmistress at Fort Myer , Va . The office was sought for by numerous candidates , but Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Bristow decided to give the plum to Mrs . Carpenter . Her late husband died at Madison Barracks , N . Y . , on July 10 , 1898 , after an illness of several months . He had a long record of honorable service , extending over more than thirty years . " A detailed obituary issued as a military order is printed on pp . 848 – 849 in " The Carpenter Memorial " .