 |
Newsletter. Issue # 16 |
|
The Official Newsletter of the 9th U.S. Infantry Company G Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming Territory Issue #16 March-April 2001 OPENING COMMENTS: These newsletters definitely seem to be getting published at a much faster pace than before! I want to sincerely thank everyone who has contributed articles and pictures to this humble document. Through your efforts, it has truly become a worthwhile document we can all be proud of. As I try different «looks» for the newsletter, you will notice some subtle changes with each issue. Such as the column format I used in issue 15, which I won’t be using here. As the temperature gets warmer and the grass gets greener across the plains, we can all look forward to a great year of events, fun and comaraderie! On with the Herald! SICK CALL: Our good friend Bill Hutchinson (aka Dr Earhart), a surgeon of great renown, has written an article I think will prove to be both interesting and invaluable in the coming year. It deals with the treatment and care of arrow wounds! For those of us energetic enough, we could do a skit showing how a soldier was treated with this type of wound for the education of both ourselves and our audience. Here is the article: The qualifications of a private in the Hospital Corp, in addition to the physical soundness required of all soldiers, were the ability to read and write, natural intelligence, temperate habits and good general character. No married men were accepted, and if a private married, he could not be reenlisted. The acting hospital stewards were detailed by the secretary of war from the privates, after having served at least one year in the corps, and passing the examination in pharmacy, arithmetic, dictation, the regulations of the Medical Department of the army, the principles of cooking, minor surgery, and nursing. At every post in the army there were at least one steward and three privates, and at very large posts there could be as many as three or four stewards and twelve or fifteen privates. Many experienced military surgeons who had seen their share of arrow wounds between 1866 and 1889 remarked upon the rapidity with which the warriors discharged their arrows during a skirmish. They also stated that it was exceptional to see a single wound, because if one arrow had found it’s mark, it would be immediately followed by two or three others. Early methods of removing arrows from wounds involved the use of the famous «duck-bill forceps». In extracting arrows, it was recommended that the entrance wound be dilated, the barb of the arrowhead crushed by the strong pliers, or protected between the grooves of a split reed, and thus withdrawn without further laceration of the soft parts. Most arrows were 24-29 inches in length. The feathers were chiefly taken from the eagle or wild turkey. If the arrowheads were barbed and either had to be cut out or pushed through the body, they were war arrows. The arrowpoint was attached to the shaft at a horizontal plane because the ribs of a human are horizontal. The positioning of the feathers at certain angles controlled the arrow in flight, resulting in hardly any rotary turn occurring, with the tip hitting smartly between the ribs. Eight out of ten were successful hits. Time was important in removing an arrow from a wound. Body heat would begin to soften the arrow glue and sinew. If the shaft remained in the body for more than a half hour, it was certain that when extracted, the arrowhead would remain in the body. A wire snare was sometimes used to remove the arrowhead along with the shaft. Where arrowheads were lodged in bone and could not be detached, the surgeon procured a piece of well-annealed iron wire, two and a half feet in length, which had the ends passed through the holes in a long suture-wire twister and secured to it’s handle. The loop passed over the feathered end of the shaft, thrust down to snare the arrowhead, and the wire being tightened, the foreign body and instrument were to be withdrawn together. More than seven out of every ten with an arrow wound would die due to shock, blood poisoning, a severed artery, or infection by arrowpoints painted with snake venom or decayed livers of animals. The great fatality percentage of arrow wounds to the vulnerable abdomen was well known – so well known that the Indians always aimed directly at the umbilicus. NOTE: Here is a medical report on one of our own of the 18th Infantry, while he was stationed at Fort Phil Kearney in the 1860s. Private Patrick D. Smith, of the 18th Infantry, was attacked about six miles from Fort Philip Kearney, Dakota Territory, on the evening of September 26, 1866, by three Indians, who inflicted five arrow wounds, and removed part of his scalp. On the next morning he was seen by two physicians. Two of the arrows still remained in his body – one in the right side below the region of the kidney; the other had pierced the cartilage at the junction of the first rib with the sternum, inflicting a wound three inches in depth. The arrows were extracted, the wound dressed, and the patient supported until 10 o’clock the next morning, September 28th, when he expired. At the autopsy it was found that the wound in his chest had been the cause of death. The arrow had cut the edge of the right lung, and had inflicted a slight wound, one-eighth of an inch in length, in the descending vena cava. The right lung and surrounding tissues were considerably infiltrated with blood, and a large amount of coagulum was found in the cavity of the thorax. Many thanks to Dr Earhart for his informative contribution to our latest issue of the Post Herald! It will help to bring a more personal aspect to our efforts to educate and entertain. Thanks Doc! HISTORY LESSON: In his continueing efforts in researching all things infantry, my campaign partner, Lou Janack, has contributed this information concerning our company’s posting at Fort C. F. Smith on the Bozeman in the latter part of the 1860s, when our boys in blue were having problems with Red Cloud and his warriors. It will describe the post as it looked, and some of the actions the company saw as it escorted various wagon trains over the trail. It was a two-company post, built of light colored adobe (the garrison numbered approximately 165 men). The stockade, 125 yards square, was built in such a way as to form the soldiers’ barracks along the south. Through this wall two driveways entered. One corner of this south wall is all that is left standing of the fort at the present time. The east wall was an adobe structure supplied with port holes, as were the north and west walls. Behind the stockade the bank slopes abruptly away to the north where the Big Horn River flows, and here two large deep impressions mark the dugout stables that were guarded from above by a row of rifle pits. The rifle pits along the western wall are well defined also. The central part of the enclosure served as a parade and drill ground with three large officers’ quarters at the rear, facing the south. Elk, deer, antelope, Rocky Mountain sheep, bears, wolves, etc abound, and buffaloes roam in herds of thousands. The supply of fresh meat for the garrison consists entirely of elk and buffalo, diversified by choice mutton-chops and bear steaks. The finest trout, weighing 2 and 3 pounds, can be caught in great abundance in the smaller streams. The Sioux, Cheyennes and Arrapahoes have been encamped about one day’s ride distant. They number some 3500 lodges, which indicates a strength of about 16,500 warriors, it being the custom to estimate five warriors to each lodge. They are well armed, many of them having revolvers and Spencer carbines. The health of the troops has been remarkedly good. After deducting the wounded, the number sick would not average two per cent. Many times there is not a single patient under treatment. A trench was dug two feet wide and three feet deep; pine logs were cut 10-12 feet long to stand upon end in it to make a palisade all the way around the square. NOTE: The next section was copied from an official report written by our company Commander, Captain Burrowes, on the company’s actions during the Crazy Woman’s Fork fight in July of 1866. Sir: Marched the command to the springs four miles S.E. of the crossing of Clear Fork of Powder River and nooned for two hours and then pushed on toward Crazy Woman’s Fork. I noticed a small train corralled and also saw Indians around it. Presuming that the train was attacked I pushed forward with my infantry to relieve them. As I was moving to their rescue I found by the roadside the body of Lance Corporal Terrance Callery of G Co. 2nd Batt. Corpl Callery had without my knowledge ridden off from the train in pursuit of Buffalo and had struck the road in advance of the train and been killed by the Indians, before they were discovered by me. Upon the arrival of my train corralled with them and assumed command. All possible precautions were taken to guard against surprise and the camp placed in fighting condition. Arriving at the train before alluded to I discovered that it consisted of five officers of the 18th Inf. With their baggage and servants, with an escort of 10 or 12 men en route to Fort Reno D.T. 1st Lieut. J.M. Templeton 18th Inf in command. NOTE: Due to the length of the report, I will paraphrase from this point. Burrowes learned that Lt N.H. Daniels, riding out ahead of the small train, was attacked and killed, according to some reports, tortured at the stake in view of those under siege. Burrowes’ column arrived at the scene around 9 PM, and he didn’t allow anyone outside the corral until the following morning when Lt Daniels’ body was recovered. The body had been stripped of it’s clothing, scalped, mutilated and pierced with 22 arrows. A Lieut Kirtland of the 18th Inf arrived with 13 men arrived, and Burrowes grouped everyone under his command and moved out. At around 5 PM that Sunday, warriors attempted to stampede the mules but were driven off. No mules were lost. July 23rd, the column continued toward Ft Reno (Phil Kearney) when they overtook two trains under the command of Mr Kirkendall and William Dillon. While encamped near these trains, a knife fight between two teamsters of one of the trains occurred resulting in a stabbing. The wounds were dressed by Captain Burrowes in the absence of a surgeon, and the assailant was detained. As the combined column approached the Clear Fork crossing, Indians were seen in large numbers. The wagons were once again corralled and they prepared for an attack. The Indians were Cheyennes, about 300 men, women and children, who were carrying protection papers from Colonel Carrington (18th Inf Commander) and requested food. They were issued one box of hard bread, three sacks of flour, 100 lbs of sugar and 50 lbs of coffee. At about 8 PM, Burrowes received a message stating that Mr Kirkendall’s train was under attack by a large force of Sioux. Burrowes dispatched couriers to Ft Reno (Phil Kearney) and sent a sergeant and 15 men with an ambulance to the attacked train. The Indians stopped the attack. On the morning of July 25th around 5:30 AM, Captain Kinney arrived at Burrowes’ camp with 60 mounted men and one mountain howitzer. Kinney being the senior captain, Burrowes was ordered to continue on to Ft Reno (Kearney) which he did, arriving there at 2 PM.
The picture above is my attempt to portray what I think Captain Burrowes may have looked like while on campaign. I tried for a common sense, no-nonsense approach, mixed with a lot of battle experience in the way he may have dressed while away from the post. This look was more for the Big Horn/Yellowstone Campaign of 1876 under General Crook, more than what he may have looked like while at Fort C.F. Smith in the 1860s. IN CLOSING: I still can’t get over how quickly the newsletters fill up now. I guess better and more informative articles take more room! At this rate, this newsletter may turn out to be issued each month instead of bi-monthly (and to think I originally planned this humble rag to be issued only twice a year). I think I will need to concentrate more on upcoming events in the next two issues so everyone knows what is going on, the events that are closing in fast, and most especially, to get the blood a-thumping about this exciting campaign season! I have started saving each issue on CDs for a quick reference of information, so if you missed an issue or want to go over information from a specific issue, let me know; or you can review various issues on our web site, through the hard work of our web master, the proud and professional Pioneer of the company, Max Popov, at: mlp@ua.net Your most humble servant, |
