Sioux, Cheyenne & Arapahoe Warriors vs. US Army Soldiers : The Wagon Box Fight

welcome to history at the OK Corral don't forget to subscribe hit the like button and share this episode with a fellow history lover and now on to tonight's episode Wyoming August 2nd 1867 just before 7 a.m. 18-year-old Samuel Gibson peers out from over the top of a wagon box eyes wide and pulse quickening as he surveys the horrifying scene that lies before him hundreds of Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors swarm all around the enclosure made of simple wooden wagons detached from their wheels from here Gibson and 31 other men a combination of soldiers and civilian laborers will now in very short order be forced to fight for their very lives they are a mix of veterans old hands and teenagers all from a variety of backgrounds they have all however heard the accounts of what happened to the men who had been killed by many of these same Warriors less than a year earlier on December 21st of 1866 the day after the Dreadful battle the commanding officer of the nearby Fort Kerney then Colonel Henry Carrington led a Detachment of Cavalry to the side of the battle where they were greeted with the horrifying sight of their comrades bodies strewn about a frozen landscape in various stages of degradation his personal account of the event included descriptions of the bodies of soldiers that had been scalped eviscerated emasculated their tongues ears and noses cut off and bludgeoned until their faces were unrecognizable to even their close comrades news of the massacre had been the talk of a gast easterners in cities like New York and Philadelphia for weeks in the early part of 1867 all across the territory settlers and soldiers alike kept their eyes nearly perpetually cast to The Horizon in search of the Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors known to be riding under the command of the legendary Red Cloud the mere mention of the name redcloud often stirred up simultaneous feelings of intense rage and Primal Terror Amongst the inhabitants of Fort Phil Kerney to some degree or another nearly all feared bef falling a fate like that of their cohorts in the Federman Massacre now for the men trapped inside this ad hoc fortification of wagons and Supply boxes the reality staring them starkly in the face is that they might suffer the same fate today as their unfortunate comrades had only months earlier as the young Gibson surveys the horrifying scene he and the others busy themselves with the cold hard necessities of preparation for combat with several thousand rounds of ammunition on hand they are in fact amply armed in combination with their Springfield repeating rifles to combat the threat at hand despite their numerical disadvantage in what initially seems to be an inexplicable scene Gibson sees several of the older veterans hurriedly stripping off one of their boots and tying a 3-ft length of cord to their big toe while tying a larger Loop left hanging inside the trigger guards of their rifles in the event that they are overrun the men intend to slide the larger Loop over the trigger and deprive their attackers of a live prisoner the Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors now amassing all around them have already completed their battle preparations having dobbed themselves and their ponies in their bright war paint filled their quick wers loaded their rifles and checked to see that their bow strings are taught the Sue known amongst themselves as the Lota are the largest amongst them in number hailing from their ranks in addition to their leader Red Cloud is a young Warrior rapidly building a reputation as a Fierce and fearless fighter known as tashunka Witco or Crazy Horse the Cheyenne and arapo hail from the northern ranges of present day Colorado and Wyoming and though they are too decided ly distinct cultures they have been longtime allies and are often seen by many as Inseparable entities these Mighty tribes each comprising their own highly capable and highly consequential patch on the proverbial quilt of the Northern Plains peoples have come together and put aside any lingering disputes in order to pursue their common enemy in the Americans though the driving force in this desire is the decades if not centuries of encroachment on these lands they claim as their own they are also Keen to build their own reputations as Warriors unafraid to fight and die for their people these Warriors are actually the larger contingent of a group that is split off from another roving band of Sue Cheyenne and Arapaho who unbeknownst to their comrades at this moment have spent the previous day engaged in a vicious fight against another contingent of Civilian workers and army soldiers outside Fort CF Smith in present day Montana that fight had resulted in many of the Sue Cheyenne and and arapo warriors being cut down by the ultimately overwhelming Firepower the Americans were able to wield with the Advent of their new rifles in the preceding Decades of warfare between the tribes of the Northern Plains and the US Army and American settlers the Americans had been at the mercy of their diminutive rate of fire prior to the invention of the breach loading repeating rifle rifles were loaded via a cumbersome loading process that limited even experienced users to but a few rounds in a minute until now the tactics of most Plains tribes have consisted of essentially evoking and then weathering the first volley of rifle fire after which an advance could be made while the Americans hurried to reload in time comparatively though they also possessed the rifles the rate of fire that could be produced by a well-trained warrior with a traditional bow and arrows dwarfed that laid down by the American rifles countless times on the American frontier from Texas to Montana soldiers and settlers alike were overrun and cut down suffering Fates much the same as those of the Unfortunate Souls at fetterman's Massacre while advancements in weapon technology had certainly been made perhaps most notably with the Advent of the rise of the Colt Patterson and Colt Walker revolvers the need for a rifle capable of a greater rate of fire had long been an apparent one on the frontier now though in a scant few years since the Americans great civil war had concluded and so many more had flooded Westward the repeated rifle had drastically altered the landscape of pl's warfare Dynamics but while the Americans have their new weapon in their rifles the Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors assembling all around the desperate men inside the ring of wagon boxes have an invaluable weapon of their own the thus far incomparable leadership of their trusted leader red clap though his presence at the Battle today is disputed by historians his leadership and command are regardless palpable as the Young Warriors whip themselves into a fury knowing that many will inevitably meet their ends today they filled the air with cries of Hokah or it is a Good Day to Die back inside the wagon box Fort the commanding officers Captain James Powell and Captain John janess survey the situation at hand janess has one eye closed the other tucked snugly into the eyepiece of his army telescope he informs Captain Powell that he believes he has indeed spotted Red Cloud understandably this adds another layer of dread to the men preparing themselves to engage the Sue Cheyenne and Lakota in battle as the officers discuss any final Necessities in hushed tones an appalling silence Falls over the rest of the men as they peer out in all directions at the Warriors intent on ending their mortal stay before the sun sets on this day the teenag private Samuel Gibson though already a veteran of several small skirmishes but wholly new to combat on this level attempts to question his older cohorts as to what they think their chances might be in the fight to come you're going to have to fight like the Dickens if you want to get out of today alive kid remarked one referring to him under his deceptively endearing nickname finally overcome by the same resolve as his Elder companions the young man begins the process of removing one of his own boots and tying a cord to his big toe just as Gibson finishes tying his first Loop however the call comes down from Captain Powell men here they come take your places and shoot to kill the following is an excerpt from private Gibson's personal Recollections of the events that followed resting my rifle on top of the wagon box I began firing with the rest the whole plane was alive with Indians all mounted and visible in every direction they were riding madly about and shooting at us with guns bows and arrows first on one side and then on another of the coral then they would Circle and each time coming in closer uttering the the most piercing and unearthly war cries some of the most venturesome would ride in close and throw Spears at us and others still more daring would ride in within a 100 yards and then suddenly drop off one side of their ponies and all we could see would be an arm or a leg sticking up above the pony's back and whiz would come their arrows they paid dearly for their daring for we had steady rests for our rifles and the Indians were all within easy Point Blank Range and we simply mowed them down by scores the tops of the wagon beds were literally ripped and torn to slivers by bullets how we ever escaped with such a slight loss I have never been able to understand after we had commenced firing a great number of Indians rode in very close probably within 150 yards and sitting on their ponies waited for us to draw Ram rods for reloading as they supposed we were yet using old muzzle loaders but thanks to God and Lieutenant General Sherman the latter had listened to the appeals of Colonel Carrington the commander of Fort Phil Kerney the previous year and we had just been armed with a new weapon and instead of drawing ramrod and thus losing precious time we simply threw open the breach locks of our new rifles to eject the empty shell and slapped in fresh ones this puzzled the Indians and they were soon glad to withdraw to a safe distance though the attacking Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors are indeed incensed at the intruding Americans incursions into their lands the American soldiers and civilians fighting from behind the wagon boxes are themselves angered though they have all felt a sickening dread at the thought of being caught alive by these Mighty Warriors of the northern PL s most have also burned for revenge against those who had tormented and so cruy dispatched their friends and comrades at the Federman Massacre the year prior also most prominent in many of the men's Minds is the fact that a mere 6 miles away at Fort Phil Kerney are many of the men's wives and children who will be the next Target in line should they fail to repulse the Sue Cheyenne and a rapo here meanwhile the attacking Warriors now do their best to rescue their comrades who are wounded wed but still alive out on the coverless open ground in front of the wagon box Fort the sheer daring of their Ventures Sparks feelings of admiration in their adversaries Even In the Heat of the Dreadful fight continuing from private Gibson's account after recovering a great number of their dead and wounded at a fearful sacrifice of Life the Indians withdrew to a safe distance but while recovering their injured we witnessed the most magnificent display of horsemanship imaginable two mounted Indians would ride one on each side of the Wounded Savage reach over and pick him up on the run and carry him to a place of safety this was done many times and we could not help but admire their courage and daring during this relative Lull in the action the men scrambled to resupply themselves with ammunition literally crawling on their hands and feet to the ammunition boxes in order to procure themselves more cartridges some of the men take on these resupply duties While others continue to fire at the Wounded Warriors and their Rescuers at the same time on the Bluffs to the east and west of their position two parties of Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors are trading flashes from small signal mirrors determining their next move Gibson's account continues we did not know what to expect but we knew that they would soon attack us again something desperate had been determined upon by the Savages all we could do was wait and watch not a word was spoken it was a moment of suspense that was simply terrible as we sat and waited for what we thought would be the finish of us I looked along the wagon heads and saw my comrades sitting there watching the assembling Indians every man had his Jaws firmly closed with a grim determination to fight until we were overpowered we did not know what time it was and nobody cared the fight had commenced about 7:00 in the morning and I did not hear any man ask about the time of day during the fight nearly all of us were bareheaded as we used our caps and hats to hold ammunition the Sun Beat Down with the pitiless glare that terrible August day and it seemed like an eternity to us all suddenly L someone on the north side of the Corral yelled look out they're coming again a cry goes out amongst the men in the wagon box Fort the tents the line of tents had thus far presented a significant problem in firing upon the charging Warriors as they blocked the view of the Defenders until the Warriors came around their edges now seeing one last chance to improve their odds before the next attack several of the Defenders including Gibson hurriedly take down as many of the canvas structures as they can before being called back by their officers again from Gibson's account with the tense down we could see the Indians to much better advantage and were enable to deliver a more effective fire the whole plane was again alive with countless swarms of the Warriors assembling for another grand charge upon us our fire was terribly destructive and deadly in accuracy and we repulsed them again but our gun barrels were so overheated from the rapidity of our fire that the metal burned our hands and we were obliged to open the breach blocks during this lull to allow the barrels to cool off during one of these momentary lulls Grady asked me to go out for more ammunition I crawled out of the wagon box Westward and saw several other men after more ammunition and as I looked towards the West End I saw the body of Lieutenant janess shot through the head and heart within a few feet of the corpse private Jim Condon was fighting between a barrel of beans placed in between the interval of Captain Powell's wagon bed and the one wagon with the cover on horrified Gibson crawls back to his wagon with the ammunition and informs the others that Lieutenant janess has been killed good God the menic slam anyone else Gibson replies that he does not know and amidst the men's Terror grief and confusion they must now keep up their fire against their attackers young men of often similar ages to them and themselves in deep states of grief and rage at the loss of their own friends and comrades Gibson's account continues about this time word passed around that privates Henry Hagerty and Tommy Doyle had been killed on the north side of the Corral The Brave Little jerseyman Hagerty had been shot through the left shoulder earlier in the fight but the fact had been kept secret by the other men in the wagon pet lest some other man become disheartened the man in the wagon box with Hagerty wanted him to lie down after getting shot through the shoulder but with his left arm hanging useless at his side he had used his good right and kept on loading and firing for over 2 hours until the Indians on the North Ridge finally killed him by sending a bullet through the top of his head Doyle had been killed sometime after the first charge while bravely fighting behind a breast work of oxes he was struck in the forehead in addition to the casualties water is now running low as well prize for water ReSound inside the confines of the wagon box Fort and just when it seem like the plight of the thirst stricken men cannot possibly become worse the native Warriors begin to rain down arrows with flaming tips into the fort Catching Fire to the dry grass and manure pile used as fire fuel one of the water barrels lies roughly 20 ft outside the West End of the Corral and is now nearly empty after being perforated by numerous bullet holes however when it seems like all hope is lost for The Thirst stricken men the Camp's cook a man referred to as Mr Brown in Gibson's Memoirs informs the men of two of the Camp's coffee pots which had been filled early in the morning but he had not yet had time to boil the coffee pots are however precariously located underneath the camp Chuck Wagon a few yards outside the ad hoc Fort walls Gibson and another man named Johnny Grady volunteer to make a Scramble for the water and with the covering fire of their cohorts on the Northern wall they are able to secure both coffee pots albeit so narrowly that one pot is hit and largely drained by a native Warrior's bullet now another Lull in the attacks drags on taking its toll on the Defenders inside the wagon box Fort both mentally and physically returning again to Gibson's account the time between each charge dragged heavily the days seemed almost endless yet the Indians on the North Side Of Us hidden under the ridge kept us constantly on the alert and some of them on the East Ridge about 200 yds from the east side of the Corral would run out towards us once in a while armed with Spears and tomahawks each carrying a big shield made of Buffalo hide there they would brandish their weapons in a menacing Manner and utter shrill war cries there was one big giant of an Indian who had thus run out several times from the ridge to the east and he always managed to escape our fire until he apparently thought he bore a Charmed Life and that we could not kill him he had L all the previous charges from the East End Of The Ridge and must have been a subchief the last time he appeared must have been at about 2:00 in the afternoon and this time he came out slowly but grandly with his big buffalo shield in front of him brandishing his Spear and chanting a war song then he would hold his shield on one side and run toward us jumping into the air and alternating this Movement by dodging to one side side the sight was fascinating and we could not but admire this superb courage several of us had fired at him but without effect when one of the boys at the East End remarked we have simply got to get that fellow asz he thinks we can't hit him we carefully adjusted our sights taking accurate aim and just as he shifted his shield aside and began running towards us we fired together and he leaped into the air and came down limp as a rag fairly riddled with bullets we all breathed easier after this Warrior was killed for his death seemed to put a stop to any more charges from that direction the Sue Cheyenne and arapo again draw back again momentarily content to take pot shots at the men in the wagon box Fort but avoiding major charges by Gibson's account redcloud is indeed present and commanding the battle from a top of rdge to the east of the wagon boxes where the largest Congregation of Warriors are presently coalesced we could plainly hear him or some other chief hanging them in a loud voice presently a great number of Indians rode down the Big Piney Valley out of sight another party several 100 in number rode out on the plane toward us evidently for another charge we all knew that they had lost scores of their Braves and killed and wounded and their maddened frenzy would make another attempt to overwhelm Us by force of superior numbers and they would take a horrible revenge on us if they captured us it must have been after 3: in the afternoon when straining our eyes for sight of that line of skirmishers in the Glorious blue uniform meaning the reinforcements we could distinctly hear a sort of humming sound seemingly made by many voices below us in the Big Piney Valley some of us thought it was the squals Wailing over their dead Warriors and as the sound grew louder some of the men on the north side of the coral rose to their feet to see if they could discern anything below them in the Big Piney Valley but they had no sooner risen to their feet than the others yelled at them down down down or you will get hit as we waited in the silent wonderment of this strange sound unlike anything we had ever heard before the echo appeared to come from the northwest of the Corral the Indians to the east and south of us had come out on the plane where they were circling and coming nearer all the time brandishing their Spears and War clubs at us and giving voice to their war cries those of the Warriors who were armed with guns immediately opened fire again upon us and we at once replied killing and wounding many more of them during this time that awful humming chanting sound grew in volume intensity coming nearer and nearer now directly west of us the Indians to the South had withdrawn off the range and seem to be waiting for something to happen then something happens a cry comes out from the west side of the wagon box here they come as yet another charge of the Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors Cascades down upon the Defenders suddenly a site appears that according to Gibson no one present will live to forget his account continues it chilled my blood at the time we saw hundreds upon hundreds of Indians swarming up a ravine about 90 yards to the west of the Corral they were all on foot formed to the shape of a letter V or wedge and were led by Red Cloud's nephew who wore a gorgeous War Bonnet immediately we opened a terrific fire upon them under which nothing could stand and at the first Folly red Cloud's nephew fell pierced by many bullets nothing daunted the forces came on slowly and in great numbers the places of those who fell under our fire being taken immediately by others so close were the Indian hordes by this time that the heavy rifle bullets from our guns must have gone through two or three bodies they were soon so near us that we could even see the whites in their eyes as they swarmed toward us with the shrill cries and piercing whoops private Jim Condon jumped to his feet from behind his barrel of beans and shouted as he waved his rifle over his head come on you bla and Sons of guns we can lick you the whole damn bunch of you Captain Powell who was close by Condon at once ordered him to lie down despite condon's challenge or perhaps partly in response to it the dog at onslaught of Sue Cheyenne and arapo warriors continues until they are merely yards away from the wagon boxes at this point the men inside the confines of the ad hoc Fort open fire yet again yet again falling Warriors by the dozens Gibs account continues our fire was accurate cooly delivered and given with most telling effect but nevertheless it looked for a minute as though our last moment on Earth had come just when it seemed as if all hope was gone the Indians suddenly broke and fled they could not stand before the withering fire we poured into their ranks the several hundred mounted Indians on the plane south of us who were intently watching this foot charge never offered to assist their red Brothers by making a mounted charge but discretely remained out of rifle range according to Gibson redcloud himself continues to survey the battle from the ridge to the east Gibson and several others made shots at the party situated on the ridge even claiming to have killed some but no substantiation for this action Beyond Gibson's menoir can be assertain suddenly much to the confusion of the Defenders the warriors on the Eastern Ridge begin to break off riding out of sight in groups of twos threes and fours seeing this their foot bound comrades also Retreat the men in the wagon box Fort are momentarily unsure of the cause until they too hear the resounding War of the hoarder field cannons now being utilized against the Sue Cheyenne and arapo by the US army forces in route to reinforce the wagon box Defenders no native plan of attack in history involved the purposeful loss of warriors in order to hold strategic ground and with this in mind the Sue Cheyenne and arapo depart on under the plains almost as suddenly as they have appeared in their stad scant minutes later are the Silhouettes of their reinforcements eliciting all manner of reactions from the Overjoyed Defenders we all jumped to our feet and yelled we threw our caps in the air we hugged each other in the Ecstasy of our joy we cried laughed and fairly sobed like little children in the delirium of our Delight the awful strain was over the bodies of Lieutenant janess private Doyle and private Hagerty are laid with great care in the field ambulances brought by the reinforcements Captain pow is informed that they are shocked to find any survivors at all the survivors make their way back to Fort Phil Kerney eyes still wide and nerves at the're ready the entirety of the six-mile Trek Gibson would go on to a long career in the Army but for himself and the men who had survived this hellish day this fight that would come to be known to history as the wagon box fight would mark their most most trying day I have served in the Army 48 years taken active part in the Sue campaign of 1876 and also in the Wounded Knee campaign of 1890 to 91 at Pine Ridge agency but never before or since have my nerves ever been put to the test they sustained on that terrible second of August 1867 when we fought red Cloud's Warriors in the wagon box crown for redcloud as well as the Sue Cheyenne and a rapo the wagon box fight would spell the beginning of the end despite his tactical and strategic Brilliance the Americans weaponry and sheer numbers are beginning to take an irreparable toll on all the plains tribes within a few decades the way of life for the Sue Cheyenne and aapo that they had come to know and love so deeply would be brought to an end after Decades of brutal conflict but though the end may be in sight for Red Cloud and his Warriors their story is not yet over the Sue Cheyenne and arapo though there will scarcely have ever ever see this level of military success again have plenty of ir left for The Intruders coming to take their lands it will be many years before anything like peace will be seen on the Northern Plains years replete with Bloodshed and atrocities committed on both sides but the stories of those battles war crimes and other tragedies are for tonight other stories for other times thank you for joining us on this episode of history at the OK Corral be sure to click the like button share this episode with a friend and become a subscriber also if you'd like to support our work and gain Early Access to episodes as well as ad free viewing you can become a member of this channel by clicking the join button or click the link in the description below to become a member on patreon thank you again for watching and we'll see you next time on History the okay Corral home of History's Greatest shootouts and showdowns

Channel: History at The OK Corral

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Keywords: history at the ok corral, hokc, us history, military history, native american, american history documentary, native american history documentary, native americans history, us history documentary, history documentary, native americans, american history, red clouds war, fort phil kearny, native american history and culture, wyoming, old west history, history documentary full episode, history channel full episodes, full length documentary, military history full episode

Id: xaS8dqjbIgs

Length: 26min 51sec (1611 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 31 2024