Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion Page: 41
xv, 255 p. : ill., ports. ; 26 cm.View a full description of this book.
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A BIOGRAPHIC XI ENex ('LOPEDIA BEN ([EN
of nine men. Before dawn on January 29 the combined
force located the campfires of their prey in the Guadalupe
Mountains. The cold was so severe that canteen water
froze and burst the containers, but the Rangers readied
themselves for an attack.
Five men were assigned as horse holders, while Baylor
led the others on foot. Sergeant L.B. Caruthers branched
off to one side with seven men; Baylor, Nevill, and eleven
Rangers advanced single file to within one hundred yards
of the camp. The Indians began to rise from their bedding
and Baylor ordered a volley, triggering the first shot
himself. The Rangers fired again, then charged the camp.
The astonished Indians retreated to the campfire, only to be
gunned down by Caruthers' men.
The surviving braves abandoned their women and chil-
dren and fltied on foot. Caruthers and several men chased
one bleeding Apache for a mile and a half before halting.
Baylor and Frank DeJarnett sprinted down an arroyo in
pursuit of warriors, and almost ran headlong off a cliff. One
Indian stopped to clear a jammed Winchester and was shot
to death. Three women and two children were killed in the
melee, and only two or three of the eighteen warriors
escaped into the bitter cold of the West Texas mountains.
Among the captured livestock and equipment were six
military saddles, taken probably during an 1 879 ambush of
seventy Ninth Cavalrymen at Ojo Caliente. The Rangers
ate breakfast among the Indian dead before heading back
toward El Paso.
Sources: Waller, "George Wythe Baylor," SWSSQ;
Goldblatt, "'Scout to Quitman Canyon," TIMH: Wilbarger,
Indian Depredatioi., 352 5 18- 19: Webb, Texas Ran,ers,
395-406, 408, 454; Stout, Apache Lighuitng, 113-14.
116. 125, 159-60, 163, 170, 171, 174. 175; Sonnichsen,
Mescalero Apaches.v, 102, 103. 217, 218: Thrapp, Victorio,
254. 299-300.
BExNaI N, FREDERi)ICK WiLIAuxu
(h. Virginia; d. .une 22, 1898. Soldier.) A native of
Virginia, Benteen had moved to Missouri by the time the
Civil War began, and he promptly enlisted on the side of
the Union as a first lieutenant of the Tenth Missouri
Cavalry. He fought at Pea Ridge and in numerous other
engagements, and by i 865 he had risen to the colonelcy of
the One Hundred Thirty-eighth U.S. Colored Infantry.
The end of the war brought the usual reductions in rank,
but Benteen became the senior captain in the Seventh
Cavalry. He fought with the Seventh during its most
famous Indian campaigns, and he feuded openly with the
flamboyant combat leader of the regiment. GeorgeWestern Publications Photo
As the senior captain of the Seventh Ca'alrv, Frederick
Benteen opeiily opposed George Armstron Custer, theni
helped rebuild the regiment following thel debacle at the
Little Bighorrn.
Armstrong Custer. Following the Battle of the Washita,
Benteen harshly judged Custer for not attempting to aid
Major Joel Elliott, who was massacred with seventeen
troopers. A scathing letter on the subject, written by
Benteen to a friend in St. Louis, appeared in St. Louis and
New York newspapers, and an incensed Custer assembled
his officers. Clutching a newspaper in one hand and a
riding quirt in the other, he reportedly threatened to thrash
the officer who had written the article. Benteen stepped
forward, examined the article, and announced that he had
written the letter without intending it to be published. He
handed the newspaper back to Custer. adjusted his holster.
then stated deliberately that he was the author and that
Custer could now attempt the thrashing. Custer's face
reddened, he snarled that he would see Benteen later, then
stomped away. The two men did not take up the issueA BIOGRAPHICAL. ENCYCLOPEDIA
BENTEEN
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Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion (Book)
This book "is a compendium of America's Indian Wars and the mountain men, soldiers, cowboys and pioneers who took part in them" (dust-jacket). It includes information about all the major American Indian battles, the lives of notable men who fought in the battles, and the combat techniques employed. The index begins on page 247.
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O'Neal, Bill. Fighting Men of the Indian Wars: A Biographical Encyclopedia of the Mountain Men, Soldiers, Cowboys, and Pioneers Who Took Up Arms During America's Westward Expansion, book, 1991; Stillwater, Oklahoma. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151417/m1/61/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Panola College.