return to City of Denver, etc.
CHAPTER IV.
ADVANCE UPON THE AGENCY.
AFTER the report had gone out that one of the attaches of the Agency, while
plowing the land near the new White River Agency, had been shot at by ambushed
Inians, on application of the Colorado authorities, Agent Meeker and others, the
War Department at Washington ordered Gen. Sheridan to send troops to the Agency,
for the protection of the Agency and the vindication of Uncle Sam's rights.
Maj. T. T. Thornburg, commanding officer of the Fourth United
States Infantry, and, for the past year, in command of Fort Fred Steele, on the
Union Pacific Railroad, in Wyoming, was placed in charge of the expedition,
which consisted of two companies, D and F, of the Fifth Cavalry, Company E of
the Third Cavalry and Company E of the Fourth Infantry, the officers included in
his command being Capts. Payne and Lawson, of the Fifth Cavalry, Lieut. Paddock,
of the Third Cavalry, and Lieuts. Price and Wooley, of the Fourth Infantry, with
Dr. Grimes accompanying the command as Surgeon, and a supply train of
thirty-three wagons. The command left Rawlins on the 14th ult.
When the command reached the place known as Old Fortification
Camp, Company E, of the the [sic] Fourth Infantry, with Lieut. Price in command,
was dropped from the command, the design of this step being to afford protection
to passing supply-trains, and to act as a reserve in case there was demand for
it.
Maj. Thornburg turned his force toward the Indian country in
deep earnest with the balance of his command, consisting of the three cavalry
companies, numbering about one hundred and sixty men.
Having been directed to use all dispatch in reaching the
Agency, the Major marched forward with as great rapidity as possible. The roads
are not well traveled and are mountainous, and, of course, they did not proceed
so rapidly as they might have done on more familiar highways.
Nothing was seen or heard from the Indians until Bear River,
which runs north of the reservation and almost parallel with the northern line,
was reached. At the crossing of this stream, about sixty-five miles from White
River Agency, ten Indians made their appearance. They were closely questioned,
but professed great friendliness for the whites and would betray none of the
secrets of their tribe. They declared that they were merely out on a hunt, and
repeated that they were friends of the white man and of the Great Father's
Government, and especially of the Great Father's soldiers.
After this, nothing more was seen of the Indians, though a
close watch by keen-eyed scouts was kept up for them, until William's Fork, a
small tributary of Bear River, was reached, when the same ten Indians again
quite suddenly and very mysteriously re-appeared. They again renewed their
protestations of friendship, while they carefully eyed the proportions of the
command. They made a proposition to the command that he take an escort of five
soldiers and accompany them to the Agency. A halt was called, and Maj.
Thornburg summoned his staff to consultation. After carefully discussing the
matter with a due regard for the importance, the advantage and disadvantage of
the step, they came to the conclusion that it was not wise to accept this
proffer on the part of the Indians, as it might lead to another Modoc trap, and
to Thornburgh's becoming another Canby. His scout, Mr. Joseph Rankin, was
especially strong in opposition to the request of the Indians.
Maj. Thornburg then concluded to march his column within
hailing distance of the Agency, where he would accept the proposition of the
Indians. But he was never allowed to carry out his designs. Here it became
apparent how thin the disguise of friendship had been, and Thornburgh was soon
convinced how fatal would have been the attempt for him, accompanied by only
five men, to treat with them.
The command had reached the point where the road crosses Milk
Creek, another tributary of the Bear, inside the reservation and in the limits
of Summit County, Colorado, about twenty-five miles north of the Agency, when
they were attacked by the hostiles, numbering, it is believed, between two
hundred and fifty and three hundred warriors, who had been lying in ambush.
But the command under the guidance of Scout Rankin, left the
road just above where the Indians were in ambush, and thus avoided another event
which would have been, in all respects, equal to the Custer massacre. The
command took a trail after leaving the road, and unexpectedly met the foe.
Maj. Thornburg, at once threw his command into position, and
the Indians came up in line of battle to within about three hundred yards and
halted, putting a bold face on the matter and showing a decided determination to
fight.
Maj. Thornburg's orders were not to make the first fire on the
Indians, but to await an attack from them. After two lines had thus faced each
other for about ten minutes, Mr. Rankin, the scout, who is an old Indian
fighter, seeing the danger in which the command as placed, hurried direct to
Maj. Thornburg's side and requested him to open fire on the enemy, saying at the
same time that that was their only hope.
Maj. Thornburg replied: "My God! I dare not; my orders are
positive, and if I violate them and survive, a court-martial and ignominious
dismissal may follow. I feel as though myself and men were to be murdered."
By this time, the Indians had flanked the soldiers, and giving
the war-whoop, opened fire. The wagon-train was corraled about three-fourths of
a mile to the rear of the command, and the Indians got between the wagon-train
and the command. The cavalry was dismounted and fighting on foot and slowly
retreating.
Maj. Thornburg, seeing the danger which threatened his command
from the position of the Indians, at once mounted about twenty men, and at the
head of them he dashed forward with a valor unsurpassed by Napoleon at the
Bridge of of [sic] Lodi, made a charge on the savages between the command and
the train.
Maj. Thornburg and thirteen men were killed in this charge.
The balance of the command, then in retreat, succeeded in
reaching the corraled train, which was by this time surrounded by Indians. The
command then, with much haste, made breastworks with wagons and held their
position. In the engagement there were twelve killed and forty-two wounded.
Every officer in the command was shot with the exception of Lieut. Cherry, of
the Fifth Cavalry. The Indians also killed from one hundred and fifty to two
hundred head of mules belonging to the Government.
The scene of the attack was peculiarly fitted for the Indian
method of warfare, and showed plainly that it had been chosen by the chiefs in
command for the identical purpose to which it was devoted. When Thornburg's
command entered the cañon, they found themselves between two rocky bluffs, about
thirteen hundred yards apart and from one to two hundred feet high. Those
bluffs were held by the Indians in force, and some broken ground, reaching down
nearly to the crock, was also occupied by the savages, so that an advance
through the cañon was impossible, and, by cutting off retreat, the Indians could
effectually "bottle up" the command in the cañon. In effect, that was
accomplished, though the bravery of the troops in entrenching themselves
defeated the undoubted purpose of the Indians to annihilate them.
Capt. Payne, then in command, at once set about having the
wounded horses shot for breastworks, dismantling the wagons of boxes, bundles of
the bedding, corn and flour sacks, which were quickly piled up for
fortifications. The picks and shovels were used vigorously for digging
entrenchments. Meanwhile, a galling fire was concentrated upon the command from
all the surrounding bluffs which commanded the position. Not an Indian could be
seen, but the incessant crack of their Sharp's and Winchester rifles dealt
fearful destruction among the horses and men. The groans of the dying and
agonizing cries of the wounded told what fearful havoc was being made among the
determined and desperate command. Every man was bound to sell his life as
dearly as possible.
About this time, a great danger was approaching at a
frightfully rapid pace. The red devils, at the beginning of the fight, had set
fire to the dry grass and sage rush to the windward, and it now came sweeping
down toward the troops, the flames leaping high into the air, and dense volumes
of smoke rolling on to engulf them. It was a sight to make the stoutest heart
quail, and the fiends were waiting ready to give a volley as soon as the
soldiers were driven from their shelter. It soon reached the franks, and
blankets, blouses and empty sacks were freely used to extinguish the flames.
Some of the wagons were set on fire, which required all the force possible to
smother it. No water could be obtained, and the smoke was suffocating; but the
fire passed, finally, away.
About sundown, the savages charged the works, but were
repulsed, and retired to their positions on the bluffs, whence firing was
resumed early on the following morning. The men in the trenches were pretty
well protected by that time, but the horses and mules were constantly falling at
the crack of the sharp-shooters' rifles.
During the early part of the first night of the siege, the
scout, Rankin, who had warned Thornburg of his great danger on the previous day,
made his way out of the beleaguered camp and, mounted on a strange horse, his
own having been shot in the fight, started to carry the bloody news over the 160
miles that stretched between him and Rawlins. Rankin's ride bids fair to pass
into history with that of Sheridan, immortalized by Buchanan's famous poem. It
was a daring venture at best, and its danger was not the only feature which
marked it as extraordinary. The way was rough, as well as wild and lonely, and,
ordinarily, the the [sic]distance would hardly be covered in two days; yet
Rankin rode it in twenty-eight hours, leaving the battle-field at 10 o'clock
Monday night and reaching Rawlins Wednesday morning about 3 o'clock.
Other couriers were sent out from the camp on succeeding
evenings, through one of whom word was sent to Capt. Dodge's company of colored
cavalry, then approaching from the direction of Middle Park, informing them of
the outbreak and cautioning them to be on their guard. Capt. Dodge's command
only mustered about forty men, and was encumbered with a wagon train; but, with
almost unexampled bravery, they determined to advance and succor the beleaguered
garrison of the rifle-pits on Milk River. At the Rawlins Crossing of the Bear,
the wagon train was detached and sent north to Fortification Creek, while Capt.
Dodge and his intrepid followers galloped into the Indian country, not nowing
whether one of them would ever return alive. All honor to the "colored troops,"
who rode and fought so nobly for the defense of their white brethren.
Luck went with them. They escaped, for a wonder, the watchful
eyes of the Indians en route, and even when they approached the cañon where
Payne's command was entrenched. The history of the whole war, thus far,
furnishes no fact more curious than the escape of the colored troops from
destruction, for it is ell known that the Indians hate them tenfold more
intensely than they do white soldiers, and if Dodge's approach had been
discovered, the whole fighting force of the Utes, if necessary, would have been
detached to annihilate his command. As it was, he approached within hailing
distance of the rifle-pits without detection; but then arose a new difficulty
and a new danger. Payne's sentinels would certainly discover them if they
approached nearer, and how could they escape being fired upon as enemies in the
guise of friends?
In fact, an alarm was sounded in the trenches at their
approach, and the men sprang to arms to defend themselves, as they supposed,
from a new attack by the Indians. Dodge halted his command and sent out his two
guides, Gordon and Mellon, to communicate with Payne. They called out to the
pickets that it was a company of cavalry, come to the rescue, but the statement
was regarded as a ruse of the Indians. Finally, Gordon's voice was recognize by
some one in the trenches, and all doubts were at once dispelled. Capt. Dodge
then headed his men for the final dash necessary in order to reach the shelter
of the trenches.
The distance was 600 yards, and the ride was made in a rain of
rifle-balls from the surrounding bluffs, the Indians having been made aware at
the last moment of Dodge's approach. His luck did not desert him, however, and
not a man was hit. They were not much scared, apparently, for hardly had they
reached the pits and dismounted than they announced their readiness to storm the
bluffs. As this would have been certain death they were not allowed to attempt
it. Hardly had they dismounted when the Indians began to pick off their horses,
or, rather, one Indian, evidently a dead shot, began the work of destruction.
With every crack of his Winchester a horse fell dead or mortally wounded, and in
a short time forty fine cavalry horses, worth in the aggregate at least $4,000,
lay dead or dying. The paternal Government which cares so kindly for the Indian
is apparently blind to the fact that he is horridly expensive in peace and much
more so in war. This red devil who costs the Government $4,000 in half an hour
has probably been clothed and fed out of the public crib ever since he was born,
and will continue to draw his rations regularly hereafter, when the cruel war is
over.
Dodge reached Payne on the third day of the siege. His coming
was the occasion of much joy, but he brought no actual relief. The siege
continued, and the Indians only seemed more alert and watchful. Nothing escaped
their obervation. A hat raised on a stick out of the trenches was sure to have
a bullet-hole in it in a moment. The spring from which water was obtained was
at some distance from the trenches, and the men were forced to sally out
occasionally for water, usually at night. They seldom escaped without being
fired at, and several were wounded. Morever the stench of dead animals became
almost intolerable toward the last, and they were compelled to work at night
hauling off the dead horses or covering them up where they lay. Happily, the
Indians were too careful or too cowardly to come out much at night, and the
siege was thus robbed of some of its terrors, although enough remained to make
them pray most fervently for the coming of Gen. Merritt, who was hastening to
their relief.
It was their great confidence in Gen. Merritt which inspired
them with a strong determination to "hold the fort" at all hazards. The
soldiers said that "Old Wesley" -- Merritt's army sobriquet -- would "come with
a whirl," and so he did come. He marched continuously Saturday night, not
halting for a single moment, making seventy miles in twenty-four hours. The
command left Rawlins at 10:30 A. M. on Thursday, October 2. They marched forty
miles that day. The second day they marched fifty miles. The men endured the
march splendidly. They realized that a few of their comrades in arms were
surrounded and that their safety depended upon the quick movement of this
command. Consequently, there were no complaints. Several horses were so worn
out that they had to be abandoned, and died on the roadside.
The command arrived at the scene of action at 5:30 A. M.,
Sunday, October 5, after marching seventy miles the day previous. When
Merritt's advance guard reached Payne's pickets, they were commanded by the
guards to halt, and Gen. Merritt then ordered the guards to inform Capt. Payne
that it was the relief column that was approaching. He caused his trumpeter to
sound the officer's call, which is the night-signal of the Fifty Cavalry, and
seldom, if ever, did that signal fall more pleasantly upon listening ears than
it did upon those of the rescued garrison.
The following account of the arrival of Merritt and the
situation of affairs he found awaiting him is from the pen of one of his staff:
"We arrived with Gen. Merritt's command Sunday morning, the 5th
inst., at 5:30, after a march of seventy-five miles yesterday, stopping to rest
only half an hour Oh! What a happy crowd Payne's command was when Merritt
reached them in relief. They had been entrenched for six days. Capt. Payne
still commands. Lieut. Paddock is wounded in the side. Capt. Payne is wounded
in the arm. Lieut. Wolf, of the Fourth Infantry, is here. Lieut. Cherry, the
salvator of the command, is unhurt. Capt. Dodge, with Company F, of the Ninth
Cavalry, arrived here on Thursday. He fought his way in. Lieut. Hughes is with
him. There is a horrible stench all around. The wounded men are hobbling in
every direction. One hundred and fifty dead horses lying thirty feet from the
entrenchments present a horrible spectacle. Poor Paddock is bright, and will be
out in a day or two. I found him, with three others, lying in a deep hole. The
middle of the entrenchment was used as a hospital. They have been fired on
every day since Monday, particularly last night. No more fear is had, as A and
M, companies of the Fifth Cavalry, have reached here. The battle commenced by
the troops charging one dreaded and commanding point on our right, and I and M,
companies of the Fifth Cavalry, immediately took charge of a prominence on the
left. The appearance of the Fifth Cavalry entering under Gen. Merrit and Col.
Compton was a grand sight.
"The poor fellows in the entrenchment at first probably thought
we were Indians. We were challenged by a sentinel, and, in reply, answered that
we were friends. Gen. Merritt caused the trumpeter to sound the officer's call,
and at its end three big cheers rent the air. They were relieved at last. The
sight was one of the most affecting I have ever seen, and brave men shed tears.
The hospital wagon had just arrived, and Drs. Grimes and Kimmel are hard at
work, doing good service. Our march from Rawlins under Merritt was a grand
military effort."
Gen. Merrit was moved to tears at the sight of so much
suffering and the peril from which the garrison had been rescued. Capt. Payne
embraced his superior officer as a child would embrace its father. These brave
soldiers, who are familiar with Indian character, knew that it was almost a
miracle that every man of Thornburg's command was not massacred; but the
Interior Department has already forgiven the savages engaged in the Thornburg
fight, on the ground that it was an accidental engagement, and the poor Indians
were "not to blame." Every brave man should resent this insult to the memory of
Thornburg and the brave soldiers who died with him on that bloody field.
The Indians soon disappeared from the scene after Merritt's
arrival, and, after a short stop to arrange matters on the battle-field and to
send the wounded under guard to Rawlins, the march was continued toward the
Agency. Maj. Thornburg's body was found by Lieut. Hughes, still lying on the
battle-field, stripped, and mutilated by wounds and scalping. The remains were
forwarded to Rawlins, and thence to Omaha for interment.
Maj. Thomas T. Thornburg, whose tragic death at the hands of
the Utes is above noted, was torn in Tennessee, and first saw military duty
during the late civil war. In September, 1861, he enlisted as a private in the
Sixth Tennessee Regiment of Volunteers. He was in the service from that time
until August, 1863. During this term, he served for the first five months as a
private, for two months as Sergeant Major, and for the remainder of his term in
the serice as Lieutenant and Adjutant. He took part in the battle of Mill
Spring, was was ith our army when Gen. Morgan made his celebrated retreat from
Cumberland Gap to the Ohio River, and participated in the battle of Stone River,
September 1. He was entered at the United States Military Academy of West
Point, and was one of the Clas of '66, graduates from there June 17, 1867. He
was promoted to be Second Lieutenant in the Second Artillery, going then upon
leave of absence till January 1, 1868. He was first stationed at Presidio, San
Francisco, remaining there until February 26, 1868; from there, he went to
Fortress Monroe for artillery practice, being stationed there from April 13,
1868, to May, 1869; then, at Alcatraz, from June to November 10, 1871, excepting
a short while when he was detached and ent to Sitka, Alaska -- August 23 to
November 17, 1869. From December 6, 1869, till April, 1870, he was Profesor of
Military Science at San Diego, Cal. From April 21, 1870, until he became a
Second Lieutenant of Artillery, he was stationed in his native State, at the
East Tennessee University, as Professor of Military Tactics. From November 27,
1871, till June 20, 1873 (for two years), he was in the garrison at Fort Foote,
Md. Being ordered away from there on April 27, 1875, he was then promoted to be
Major of Staff, and July 12, of the same year, became Paymaster at San Antonio,
Texas, being transferred from there on the 13th of August following to Fort
Brown, in that State, and ordered away from there January 26, 1870. He next was
stationed at the barracks at Omaha for fifteen months, being ordered to the
frontier from that post on May 23, 1878. He became Major of the Fourth Infantry
at Fort Steele, Wyoming, holding this commission to June 29, of last year.
Since that time, he has done scouting duty, his knowledge of the country, which
he has scouted and hunted over, making him especially fitted for this duty. He
was a brother of ex-Congressman Thornburg, of Tennessee.
pp. 140-145