The Big Horn Expedition

[markland]

I have begun scanning the official copies of the reports filed by the various officers after the return of their companies from the Reynolds fight of March 17, 1876. So far I have most of them with a few left plus two maps. Here are the ones completed (they are in PDF format so you will need Acrobat Reader to view them.)

Crook's Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Crook_Report.pdf

Capt. Mills Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Mills_Report.pdf

Capt. Noyes Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Noyes_Report.pdf

Lt. Johnson Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Johnson_Report.pdf

Paymaster & Chief of Scouts Stanton's Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Stanton_Report.pdf

Hopefully I can finish them tonight and tomorrow start on the court-martial file if Leavenworth has it.

Billy

[markland]

Added the remainder of the reports. Now only a couple of maps left.

Lt. Rawolle's Letter to Col. Reynolds

freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Rawolle_Letter.pdf

Lt. Rawolle's Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Rawolle_Report.pdf

Capt. Moore's Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Moore_Report.pdf

Col. Reynolds' Report
freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Reynolds_Report.pdf

[markland]

Corrected the URL for Crook's report. It is:

freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~familyinformation/Reynolds/Crook_Report.pdf

[markland]

An extract from a report, dated April 19, 1876, sent by 2d Lt. George Ruhlen who commanded the post at the Cheyenne River Agency.

"The interpreter also reports that a brother of 'Bull Eagle', who left the hostile camp on the 9th instant arrived here yesterday. This Indian says that the main camp of the hostile Indians was when he left it, located for a distance of about twenty five miles along the mouth of Powder River and and along the Yellowstone, and consisted of about three thousand lodges. This Indian also brings the first report that we have had through the Indians, of the recent fight that General Crook's command had with the Indians. He says the Indians of the camp routed by Genl. Crook's forces arrived at the main hostile camp a few days before he left it, and that he has conversed with Indians of the routed camp, and learned from them that the attack of the cavalry on their village was a complete surprise, the Indians not being aware that there were any soldiers within hundreds of miles of them, and that their first intimation of their presence was seeing the 'white horse soldiers' charge through the village; he further states that the Indian women and children at once ran to 'the rocks', that the men fired one volley at the soldiers and also ran to the rocks or cliffs and from there continued the fire on the troops while the fight lasted and that when this was over, they returned to the camp and found four dead soldiers and five dead Indian men and one woman. They positively assert that this was the only loss in killed they sustained, and also positively deny that any living (wounded) soldiers fell into their hands. They saved sufficient provisions from the burned camp to support them on the march to the main camp, a distance of about eighty miles, and recovered nearly all the ponies, which had been captured by the cavalry, within a day or two after the fight. The Indian says that the village attacked was not 'Crazy Horse's' band; that 'Crazy Horse' was at the time of the fight with the main camp on Powder River, and that the Indians routed were fifty-five lodges of Cheyennes and ten of Ogallalla Sioux."