History of Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River, Volume 2 (of 2) / Life and Adventures of Joseph La Barge

by Hiram Martin Chittenden

Two years later, 1825, General Atkinson took a large body of troops from Fort Atkinson to a point about one hundred miles above the mouth of the Yellowstone and return. His purpose was to make treaties with the Indian tribes along the valley and acquaint them with the power of the United States. Keelboats were used, and a novel feature was introduced in propelling them—a wheel, or wheels, which were operated by hand power, the soldiers being used for this purpose.

No further use of steamboats in the military service except at Forts Leavenworth, Kearney, and Croghan, and in connection with the Mexican War, occurred until Harney’s campaign of 1855. All the troops that went up the river at that time were transported in steamboats. The transfer of ownership of Fort Pierre from the American Fur Company to the army, and the movement of material connected therewith, were also done by steam. The establishment of Fort Randall and the subsequent maintenance of that post were mainly accomplished by the aid of the steamboat.

A LONG WAY AROUND.

The outbreak of the Sioux War in 1863 and the campaigns of 1863–64 called the steamboat again into extensive use. A remarkable instance of this use was the transportation of the Winnebago Indians from their home near Mankato, Minn., to their new home on the Missouri River. The feeling against the Indians after the Minnesota massacre was so bitter that it was taken advantage of to move them all from the State. It does not appear that the Winnebagos were active participants in the outbreak, but the hand of vengeance fell upon them as upon the others. They were moved westward several hundred miles, and in exchange for the fertile lands of the Minnesota Valley were given a home on the sterile wastes of the Missouri. In making this transfer the Indians were not taken directly across the country, which was perfectly practicable for wagons all the way, but were transported by steamboat. They were put on board the Favorite and other boats at Mankato on the Minnesota River, taken down that stream to the Mississippi at Fort Snelling, down the Mississippi to the Missouri, and up the Missouri to the mouth of Crow Creek, twenty miles above the present site of Chamberlain, S. D. The distance around was 1900 miles, against about 300 miles across. The Indians arrived at Crow Creek on May 30, 1863. A reservation was laid off, the necessary agency buildings were erected in a stockaded inclosure, and the place was named Fort Thompson, in honor of Clark W. Thompson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Northern Superintendency. Mr. Thompson personally supervised the work of locating the Indians on this new reservation.

STEAMBOATS IN SULLY’S CAMPAIGNS.

In the campaign of General Sully in 1863 he relied entirely upon steamboats for transporting his supplies from Sioux City to the field of operations, and one boat accompanied him from Fort Pierre well on his way to the scene of actual hostilities. It was on this campaign that General Sully impressed Captain La Barge’s boat, the Shreveport, into his service for a time.

The campaign of 1864 from Fort Rice to the Yellowstone River was conducted in connection with steamboats. Three boats were sent around into the Yellowstone to meet the troops at the Brasseau Houses. They were loaded with rations, forage, and material for a new post which it was proposed to build on the Yellowstone River near the mouth of Powder River. These boats were the Chippewa Falls, the Alone, and the Island City. The last-mentioned boat had all the forage for the animals on board and was unfortunately wrecked just below the mouth of the Yellowstone River. This occurrence caused General Sully to abandon for the time his contemplated establishment on the Yellowstone.

During the next twelve years steamboats were constantly in the service of the government in transporting troops and supplies along the river. It is impossible to estimate the great value in the military operations of the valley of this important line of communication. Forts and cantonments were strung all along the river from Fort Randall to Fort Benton, and all of them, as well as the troops in the field, depended for their support upon the river boats. The conquest of the Missouri Valley would have been a very different matter had the government been deprived of this important aid in its operations.

STEAMBOATS IN CAMPAIGN OF 1876.

In the Sioux campaign of 1876 steamboats bore a prominent part, one of the very highest importance, and one which had its full share of the thrilling incidents of that tragic conflict. A considerable fleet of boats was sent up the river from Fort Abraham Lincoln to co-operate with the troops under Terry, who marched across the country to the Yellowstone. They not only carried supplies, but assisted in patrolling the river to prevent the Indians from crossing, and moved the troops from point to point as their services were needed. One boat in particular, the Far West, Captain Grant Marsh, master, performed a service which will go down in the history of the campaign as one of its most thrilling episodes.