Hancock's War

"I have a great deal to say to the Indians, but I want to talk with them all together. I want to say it at once."

- Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, Fort Larned, 1867

General Winfield S. Hancock.

Public Domain

As American society pushed west and disrupted the livelihoods of the American Indian nations on the Southern Plains, conflict was inevitable. Violence, however widespread, was typically small-scale in western Kansas prior to 1867. Much of the violence took the form of raiding along the Santa Fe Trail. In response, Fort Larned was established in 1859. Fort Larned, as part of a system of forts, allowed for a permanent military presence on the frontier aimed at converting the land from tribal to U.S. control.

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, the U.S. Army and its ambitious officers turned their attention westward, where tribes stood in the way of American expansion. From among the tribes' leaders, several stood out to officers at Fort Larned by March, 1867, including Satanta and Kicking Bird of the Kiowa; Tall Bull, White Horse, Bull Bear, Roman Nose, and Black Kettle of the Cheyenne; and Little Raven of the Arapaho. In March 1867, Captain Henry Asbury of the 3rd Infantry reported on his view of the situation from Fort Larned, noting, "The 'Cheyennes' talk but little but are among the most dangerous of the Indians on the Plains, on account of their superior qualities as soldiers."

General Winfield Scott Hancock, a Union hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, arrived in western Kansas in 1867. Hancock was inexperienced dealing with American Indians, though was confident in his ability to bring them under control. Hancock met with several Cheyenne chiefs at Fort Larned on April 12. Legally unable to forge treaties with the tribes, Hancock instead sought to intimidate them into alignment with U.S. interests. "You know very well, if you go to war with the white man you will lose….I have a great many chiefs with me that have commanded more men than you ever saw, and they have fought more great battles than you have fought fights," Hancock warned the chiefs.

Hancock concluded the April 12 meeting by indicating that he wanted to meet with the other chiefs. To that end, Hancock and his troops rode west of Fort Larned toward a combined Cheyenne and Lakota village. As the army drew nearer the village on April 14, a group of Cheyenne warriors rode out to meet them, mirroring the army's display of military strength. Colonel Ned Wynkoop, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agent at Fort Larned from 1866 to 1868, rode out between the lines to ask the warriors to stay calm and stay put. The warriors agreed; the army marched to within one mile of the village. Capt. Albert Barnitz of the 7th Cavalry later wrote of the camp, "I was astonished at its magnitude – and magnificence!"

The Jerry Thomas painting "Bold and Fearless" depicts the Cheyenne and Lakota warriors riding out to meet Hancock's forces as they approach the Indian village.

NPS Photo of the original painting which hangs in the Fort's Visitor Center.

The sight of a massive formation of troops so near their village evoked memories of the Sand Creek Massacre, prompting the women and children to flee on the evening of the 14th, leaving most of their lodges and belongings behind. Hancock, who had brashly moved his troops to within sight of the village, evidently could not conceive of why the people would flee. Furious at what he took to be an offense, Hancock demanded their return. Some of the Cheyenne warriors obliged Hancock and rode to look for the women and children, but returned empty-handed. Fearing the repercussions of Hancock's anger, the remaining warriors also fled, eluding Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry as night fell.

Copy of Hancock's orders to destroy the Indian village. The original copy of these orders are in the park's curatorial collection.

NPS Photo

Hancock’s troops, particularly the 7th Cavalry, attempted to locate the villagers for several days but were unsuccessful. Assuming their flight indicated a disinterest in peaceful negotiation, Hancock concluded that the Indians meant war. Hancock ordered the abandoned village burned to the ground. "I am satisfied that the Indian village was a nest of conspirators," Hancock reported. It was the opening round in what became known as "Hancock’s War," an unprecedented season of violence on the plains of Kansas.

"I am satisfied that the Indian village was a nest of conspirators."

- General Winfield S. Hancock

Word of the village's destruction quickly spread among the tribes. Battles raged across Kansas: Fort Dodge, June 12; Fort Wallace, June 21-22; Baca’s Wagon Train, June 22; Pond Creek Station and another at Black Butte Creek, June 26; Kidder’s Fight (in which Kidder's entire detachment was killed), July 2; Saline River, August 1-2; Prairie Dog Creek, August 21-22; Davis’s Fight, September 15. Raiding along the Santa Fe Trail also increased.

With the cost of war increasing, the U.S. Government looked for alternatives. By the end of the summer, Hancock had been transferred to another command and was replaced by General Philip Sheridan. Fort Larned, where diplomacy had begun to unravel that spring, played a significant role in ending the season of warfare in October 1867 by supporting the negotiations for the Medicine Lodge Treaty.

Artifacts from the Cheyenne village destroyed by Hancock's troops are on display in the Fort Larned visitor center. The village site is privately owned by the park's friends' group, Fort Larned Old Guard, and is closed to the public.

Colorized version of the drawing appearing in Harper's Weekly depicting Hancock's troops burning the Cheyenne-Lakota Indian village.

NPS Photo