Autographs
Directing Military Operations Against the Sioux
IRWIN MCDOWELL.
March 2, 1855, Document Signed "Irwin McDowell" as Assistant Adjutant General, 2 pages, 4.25" x 6.5", 1 page, double sided, Choice Fine. McDowell transmits an order from General Winfield Scott concerning operations against the Sioux, being General Orders No. 2. The orders concern the 1855 Harney expedition against the Sioux, the first major American military operation against Native Americans following the Mexican War. Scott ordered the expedition in retaliation for the Grattan Massacre in which 30 U.S. soldiers and civilians were killed by a band of Lakota Sioux near Fort Laramie, along the Oregon Trail. The orders read, in small part: "...The following arrangements have been ordered by the War Department with a view to the operations about to be undertaken against the hostile Sioux, and for the purpose of protecting form Indian hostilities the frontiers of Kansas and Nebraska, and the emigrant routes leading from the Missouri river to the West. 1. Brevet Brigadier General William S. Harney, Colonel 2d Dragoons, is assigned to the command above indicated...The following named military poses and troops...will constitute...Harney's command, viz: Military Posts--Fort Riley, Kearney, Laramie, and the Post to be established on the Upper Missouri. troops.-- The four companies of the 2d Dragoons, (D, H, E & K,) now at Fort Leavenworth...The preparations for the campaign will immediately be commenced, by establishing the preclinical depots, and collecting the necessary supplies... The movements necessary to place the troops in the positions above indicated will be commenced by their respective commanders, at such times as shall be indicated to them by the commander of the expedition, and be carried out as he shall direct..." The letter includes much more fine content with light toning at extreme margins and a few marginal chips.
Harney's expedition did not set out until August, 1855. They attacked the Sioux on September 3, 1855, killing 85 warriors at the Battle of Ash Hollow. Harney encountered no further resistance and the Oregon Trail remained relatively peaceful for a decade to follow.
Directing Military Operations Against the Sioux
IRWIN MCDOWELL.
March 2, 1855, Document Signed "Irwin McDowell" as Assistant Adjutant General, 2 pages, 4.25" x 6.5", 1 page, double sided, Choice Fine. McDowell transmits an order from General Winfield Scott concerning operations against the Sioux, being General Orders No. 2. The orders concern the 1855 Harney expedition against the Sioux, the first major American military operation against Native Americans following the Mexican War. Scott ordered the expedition in retaliation for the Grattan Massacre in which 30 U.S. soldiers and civilians were killed by a band of Lakota Sioux near Fort Laramie, along the Oregon Trail. The orders read, in small part: "...The following arrangements have been ordered by the War Department with a view to the operations about to be undertaken against the hostile Sioux, and for the purpose of protecting form Indian hostilities the frontiers of Kansas and Nebraska, and the emigrant routes leading from the Missouri river to the West. 1. Brevet Brigadier General William S. Harney, Colonel 2d Dragoons, is assigned to the command above indicated...The following named military poses and troops...will constitute...Harney's command, viz: Military Posts--Fort Riley, Kearney, Laramie, and the Post to be established on the Upper Missouri. troops.-- The four companies of the 2d Dragoons, (D, H, E & K,) now at Fort Leavenworth...The preparations for the campaign will immediately be commenced, by establishing the preclinical depots, and collecting the necessary supplies... The movements necessary to place the troops in the positions above indicated will be commenced by their respective commanders, at such times as shall be indicated to them by the commander of the expedition, and be carried out as he shall direct..." The letter includes much more fine content with light toning at extreme margins and a few marginal chips.
Harney's expedition did not set out until August, 1855. They attacked the Sioux on September 3, 1855, killing 85 warriors at the Battle of Ash Hollow. Harney encountered no further resistance and the Oregon Trail remained relatively peaceful for a decade to follow.
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Auction details
Coins-Currency-Autographs-Americana
9:00 AM PT - May 18th, 2008
offered by
Early American
P.O. Box 3507
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
