Smithsonian “Silent” Jack Corbin (ca. 1845 – 1870) was considered a dependable and reliable man by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer. He was the quiet partner of Moses “California Joe” Milner and, unlike his friend, he seldom indulged a remark or suggestion unless prompted by a question. He carried two colt revolvers in his belt, and a Sharps carbine with him on his gray charger. On November 26, Jack Corbin “rode up with news that two large Indian trails, one less than twenty-four-hours old and reflecting use by as many as 150 warriors, had been discovered twelve miles distant heading south-southeast across the Canadian from Major Joel H. Elliott’s position.” Custer sent Corbin back on a fresh mount with instruction for Elliott to stay on the trail and notify him of any change of direction. After reaching the village “Custer directed Ben Clark to advance and determine whether the camp lay to the north, south, or astride the Washita. Clark moved out with Jack Corbin and Rafael Romero, descending into the valley towards the river, about a mile away, careful not disturb the ponies or camp dogs. They reached the riverbank and from there could see many of the fifty-one lodges silhouetted in the starlight and stretching along the flat bordering of the south side of the Washita for a distance of perhaps a quarter mile. From this point Romero crept ahead into the camp, seeking more information, then withdrew back to the hill to the north where Custer and his officers waited. Clark reported the estimated warrior strength of the village around 150, less than one-fifth that of the command.” After the Battle of the Washita, while the command rested along Hackberry Creek, Custer dispatched Milner and Corbin to Camp Supply with news about the Battle of the Washita. General Philip Sheridan sent the two men back with his congratulatory message and the mail. On their return Milner and Corbin found Custer and his men along Wolf Creek. On November 8, 1870 while serving as a scout for Custer out of Fort Hays, Kansas, (just north of Douglas, Kansas) Jack Corbin was executed by a vigilante group that believed him to be a member of a horse-stealing gang. Corbin was taken prisoner and though he claimed to be a US Army scout and had a warrant for the arrest of a Scotsman named Crawford, he was hanged from a sycamore tree. There was no evidence presented then or later that Corbin was indeed a horse thief. Bibliography Jerome A. Greene. Washita: The U.S. Army and the Southern Cheyenne, 1867-1869, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. (Pgs. 95, 100, 111, 128, 138 and 162) George Armstrong Custer. My Life on the Plains, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1962. (Pgs. 224, 262-265) Richard G. Hardorff. Washita Memories, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006. (Pgs. 135, 145, 185, 206, 227, and 383) Dan L. Thrapp. Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1988. (Pg. 322) |
Last updated: September 17, 2021