The Man Who Won The West Mexican War 1846 – 1848
The Man Who Won The West Mexican War By Page #
LETTER NUMBER 4
by COLONEL S. W. KEARNY on JULY 7, 1842
Fort Gibson ~ Established 1824
Figure No. 4 July 7, 1842 Cantonment Gibson, Arkansas
To Adjutant General U. S. Army, Washington, D. C.
On Public Service FREE
Head Quarters, 1st Regt Dragoons
Camp at Fort Gibson. July 4,1842
Sir, Incompliance with instruction from the Commandant General of the 2nd Department, I shall leave here this day, to resume command of the Post of Fort Leavenworth.
Very respectfully Yours Db. Servt.
S. W. Kearny Col. 1st Drag’s
Headquarters 1st Regt Dragoons
Camp at Fort Gibson July 4th 1842
S. W. Kearny Col. 1st Dragoons
The History of Fort Gibson
Fort Gibson served a pivotal role in the political, social, and economic upheaval that marked the westward expansion of the United States. The fort was build at the crossroads of the Three Forks where the Arkansas, Verdigris, and Grand Rivers converge south of the Ozark Plateau.
Colonel Mathew Arbuckle commanded the 7th Infantry Regiment from Fort Smith, and moved some of his troops to establish Cantonment Gibson on April 21, 1824. The location selected was on the Grand River in what is now the state of Oklahoma just above its confluence with the Arkansas River. Fort Gibson was key to river navigation, but the primary purpose was to established and keep the peace between the Osages and Cherokees Indian tribes.
It also served as an outpost on the Texas Road connecting settled Missouri with the new country of Mexico after independence from Spain in 1820. It figured prominently in the Indian removals and was home to many of our Indian nation’s leaders during the 1840s and 1850s. Fort Gibson served as a starting point for several military expeditions that explored the West. It was occupied through most of the Indian removal period, but abandoned in 1857. During the Civil War the post was reactivated. It was renamed Fort Blunt and served as the Union headquarters in Indian Territory.
The army stayed through the Reconstruction and Indian Wars periods, combating the problem of outlaws and squatters. Abandoned in 1890, the fort was later the headquarters of the Dawes Commission for their work enrolling members of the Five Tribes at Fort Gibson, the Commission members focused their attention on Cherokee Freedmen.
Fort Gibson is a historic military site located next to the present day city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 until 1888. When constructed, the fort lay farther west than any other military post in the United States. It formed part of the north–south chain of forts intended to maintain peace on the frontier of the American West and to protect the southwestern border of the Louisiana Purchase. The peace keeping efforts worked well for more than 50 years, as no massacres or battles occurred there. The fort site is now managed by the Oklahoma State Historical Society.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma State Historical Society
LETTER NUMBER 5
by Lt. COLONEL RICHARD B. MASON on JULY 7, 1842
Fort Gibson July 7, 1842
To Brig. Genl R. Jones Adj Genl. U.S.A.
Washington, D. C.
Fort Gibson
Dateline July 6, 1842
Lt. Col. Masons 1st Dragoons
Reports a detachment under Col. Kearny left on the
4th for Fort Leavenworth. Also of departure of
Companies E R & H 1st Dragoons on the 3rd July
Docketed Received July 30, 1842 # 281 Washington, D. C.
Figure No. 5 Cantonment Gibson, Arkansas July 7, 1842
Letter to Brig. Genl. R. Jones, Washington, D. C.
from Lt. Colonel Mason of 1st Dragoons
Black datestamp marked “Free” with manuscript “On Public Service“
Docketed at Washington, D. C. “at Fort Gibson” that reports on
detachments under Col. Kearny leaving on the 4th for Fort Leavenworth.
DOCUMENT NUMBER 6
by COLONEL S. W. KEARNY on JUNE 16, 1846
Order No. 17
Fort Gibson July 7, 1842
To Brig. Genl R. Jones Adj Genl. U.S.A.
Washington, D. C.
Fort Gibson
Dateline July 6, 1842
Lt. Col. Masons 1st Dragoons
Reports a detachment under Col. Kearny left on the
4th for Fort Leavenworth. Also of departure of
Companies E R & H 1st Dragoons on the 3rd July
Docketed Received July 30, 1842 # 281 Washington, D. C.
Figure No. 6 Order No. 17
Head Quarters of the 1st Regt. of Dragoons
June 16, 1846 Fort Leavenworth Missouri
Signed Order by S. W. Kearny Col. 1st Dragoons
“Extract” Sergeant John Haley of Company “I”, is hereby appointed Sergeant Major of the Regiment, in the place of John Walker, who has this day tendered his resignation, in consequence of the period of his service being about to expire.
Private Circumstances not admitting of his re-enlisting and the necessity of there being a Sergeant Major on the expedition to Santa Fe now before us.- Sergeant Major Walker is entitled to great credit for the manner in which he has discharged his duties, during the time he has held that office. He will be reported in Company “F”.
S. W. Kearny , Col. 1st Dragoons
This special order was issued just two days before Col. Kearny ordered his troop of 300 Dragoons and 1,358 men of the 1st Regiment of Missouri Mounted Volunteers to depart on the long 900 mile journey to Santa Fe.
The Man Who Won The West Mexican War By Page #