Society of Friends of Historic Fort Hays
The 31st annual meeting of the Society of Friends of Historic Fort Hays will at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Historic Fort Hays visitorʼs center.
The meeting will begin with a program by Lt. Col. Dennis K. Clark (U.S. Army Ret.). From 2004 until his retirement in 2015, Lt. Col. Clark was an associate professor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth. Lt. Col. Clark will talk about the Battle of Beecher Island, which occurred Sept. 17 to 25, 1868.
It was 150 years ago that Major George A. Forsyth gathered a group of about 50 civilians, many of whom had scouting experience, from the Forts Hays, Harker and Wallace areas. They ended up on the Arikaree Fork of the Republican River in extreme northeastern Colorado.
Early on the morning of Sept. 17, they were confronted by Cheyenne, Arapaho and Sioux warriors that drove the command to an island in the middle of the Arikaree. It was here that one of the most famous Indian charges in Plains history occurred. Behind the great Cheyenne warrior Roman Nose, approximately 600 Native Americans charged down the river to the island. As they reached the scouts, Roman Nose was shot off his horse and died a short time later. After the first day the battle became a siege, causing the scouts to eat putrefied horse meat and anything else they could find to survive. Eventually two scouts managed to escape and reach Fort Wallace. On Sept. 25, a relief party of Tenth Cavalry troops arrived at the battle site.
About 10 years ago, Lt. Col. Clark visited Beecher Island Battleground. As he had done most of his life, it was not just a chance visit; he had researched Major Forsythʼs 1868 campaign thoroughly and envisioned what had taken place along the Arickaree. Within minutes of arriving at Beecher Island Battleground, Lt. Col. Clark knew the battle had not occurred there. Over the following years, he conducted further research, including
satellite imagery, information from Major Eugene Carrʼs 1869 campaign, and an accidental discovery of a misfiled survey map at the State Archives in Topeka. This information led him to what he believes is the actual site of the battle, more than 7 miles to the west of the National Historic Place.
Following the program will be a short break. Cookies, coffee, and tea will be provided. After the break, a meeting of the Society of Friends of Historic Fort Hays will be held. This will allow the members of the Friends to hear first-hand the progress that has been made in developing the site as well as future plans.
The program is open to the public. There is no charge to attend the program and meeting.
Fort Hays State Historic Site is located four miles south of I-70 exit 157 at Hays. For more information, contact Fort Hays State Historic Site, 1472 Highway 183 Alt., Hays, KS 67601-9212: 785-625-6812 or [email protected].