The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 188

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

it was revealed that six of the impacts occur within a mile of our "Cannon
Hill." It seems likely, then, that this hill was an important location during
the battle and represents part of the central movement of the artillery un-
der Lieutenant Pope's command.28
The third column, under Major Biddle's command, was ordered to
take the left side of the battlefield, as was Lieutenant Baldwin and the
scouts. Lieutenant Baldwin, in his account of the battle, states: "the red
devils had collected a considerable number on a very high and prominent
point in our front and Captain Chaffey having moved forward on the
right of Biddle but getting considerably in advance, he moved to his left
flank down the entire front of the battalion and charged the hill which
was covered with Indians, taking it in a most handsome and gallant man-
ner." During the investigations, a substantial number of military and In-
dian cartridges were recovered on a prominent hill on what would be the
left side of the battlefield (labeled "Chaffey's Charge" in Figure 3). The
location of this prominent hill on the left side of the battlefield, which
would be in front of the scouts as described by Lieutenant Baldwin, and
the fact that it is a location where a substantial number of cartridges were
recovered suggest that the hill is the probable location of Captain Chaf-
fey's charge. Given that Baldwin and the scouts were on the left side with
Major Biddle's command, then this is also probably where the left column
moved through during the battle.29
During the two seasons of fieldwork at the site 1,2o3 artifacts were re-
covered. The artifacts are summarized by type in Table 1. Most of the arti-
facts are munitions-related and include Gatling gun cartridges used by the
U.S. Army, rifle and pistol cartridge cases of various calibers used by the
U.S. Army and the Southern Plains Indians, shrapnel from exploded Par-
rott shells fired by the military artillery, and metal arrowpoints and other
metal tools used by the Indians. Other artifacts not related to munitions
also were recovered and include horse tack, horseshoes and horseshoe
nails, wagon hardware, and personal items such as buttons from both mil-
itary and Indian clothing, harmonica parts, bells, and a spur.
The mapped distribution of the artifacts across the site has revealed dis-
tinct patterns, giving insights into specific battle events and the move-
ments of military and Indian combatants during the battle. The distribu-
tion of the Indian-associated cartridges suggest that the Indians were
spreading out across the landscape in small groups and occupying the
high points as temporary defensive positions. From these positions, they
"H Warren Ripley, "The Parrott," in Artillery and Ammunstron of the Cavzl War (New York: Van Nos-
trand Reinhold Co., 197o);Jack Coggins, Arms and Equzpment of the Czvzl War (New York: Double-
day, 1962).
29 Baldwin I.T. Expedition.

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