Last Full Measure

 

Many of your comrades fell in these conflicts; their names are on yonder monument; but when that has crumbled and the winds of the prairie shall have scattered the last mouldering remnant from its pedestal, the names of the men written there will still be remembered and cherished as heroes who died for their country…
–Honorable J. R. Burton, 1893, at the dedication of the Wounded Knee Monument at Fort Riley–

During the Pine Ridge Campaign of 1890-’91, forty-five soldiers, including one Indian scout, lost their lives. One of the main purposes of this blog is to document the lives of the soldiers who gave their last full measure during that winter campaign, and this page serves as a compilation of those fallen. 

Amazingly, only two of the soldiers died of disease, a fifty-four-year-old captain that suffered a heart attack and a thirty-four-old first lieutenant who died from the effects of exposure. Only three died from non-battle related injuries. One was a Nebraska National Guardsman that was accidentally shot by a comrade while on picket duty. The other two were killed in a railroad accident on the return trip to Fort Riley. Forty were killed in action or died of the effects from wounds received in battle. The ranks of the dead included two Captains, three First Lieutenants, one Sergeant Major, one First Sergeant, one Quartermaster Sergeant, five Sergeants, three Corporals, one Blacksmith, one Saddler, one Hospital Steward, and twenty-six Privates including one Buffalo Soldier and one Oglala Indian Scout. Eighteen of these soldiers were foreign-born, all from Europe, with half of those coming from the United Kingdom. There were only two soldiers among the dead that were from the South, both from South Carolina.

On New Years Eve, 1890, the troopers of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment paid their final respects to thirty of their fallen comrades in a make shift cemetery at the Pine Ridge Agency. Nebraska State Journal correspondent, William F. Kelley, recorded the funeral of the thirty in an article entitled “Remains of Fallen Soldiers Laid at Rest.”[1]

Pine Ridge Agency, S. D. (via Rushville, Neb.), Jan. 1, 1891—[Special]—A blizzard was blowing, the wind swept over the plain in fearful gusts, with all strength and violence, and snow filled the air so dense that objects fifty feet away were not visible. It is a terrible day. The long delayed storm is upon us and over the hills the army wagons wended their way, followed by the army in mournful silence. Amid this blinding roar they go to place the bodies of those who, but two days ago were their comrades, in the frozen ground, daily companions some for many a year, sharing the pleasures and hardships of many a rough march of a soldier’s life. Fifteen ambulances were there bearing the bodies of thirty men, escorted by Troops A, B, D and E and the little body that remains of K Troop of the Seventh Cavalry. These were followed by the Second Regiment of infantry. The little cemetery lies on the top of a hill, one mile to the south and hither the soldier boys slowly took their way plodding through the heavy snow. The bell upon the Episcopal chapel rang out dismally as the troops marched by. Many an eye was filled with tears, many a voice choked with a sob as the rough pine boxes were lowered into the cold ground. Trumpeter Hardy of the Seventh pealed forth a last farewell upon his cornet as he sounded the “taps call.” The old veteran bugler deeply affected all by the pathetic tones he sounded to the brave comrades who, alas, would never more answer any earthly calls.

Rev. Cook of the Episcopal chapel and his assistant conducted the services according to the ritual of that church. They were surrounded by Colonel Forsythe and all the regimental officers. The Seventh then gradually dispersed, allowing the infantry men to fulfill the last sad rites.

Gallant soldiers, you fought the foe most nobly; you wavered not in the hour of danger, when the treacherous Indian, without warning, shot you down upon Wounded Knee; you fought better than the world can ever know. Those alone who saw you know best how, like heroes, you stood and fell. Although great monuments may not be erected to your memories, although you were not entombed in banks of flowers, your deeds on that bloody day will live long in the hearts of many whom fortune destined should look on and sing of your deeds and courage.

Five more soldiers would be buried in that same cemetery over the next two weeks. Three of the soldiers were disinterred by their relatives and moved to family plots or local cemeteries in the soldiers’ home towns. In October 1906, all but one of the soldiers were exhumed with twenty-nine being re-interred at Fort Riley, Kansas, and one at Fort Robinson, and later Fort McPherson, Nebraska. The lone remaining soldier buried at the Pine Ridge Agency is the U.S. Indian Scout, High Back Bone, or Blueshield as recorded on the cemetery records. [4] Mr. W. A. Luke was employed to disinter the soldiers at Pine Ridge and prepare them for relocation to Fort Riley. He later provided detail of the conditions when disinterring the remains:

 We found the remains in very shallow graves, some in coffins inside of rough boxes, others because of the frozen condition of the body could only be placed in rough boxes. They were buried in the clothing they were wearing at the time when they fell, including uniform, gloves, overcoat, spurs, with personal effects including signet ring, watch, and other possessions such as small amounts of money.

[W]e found one grave empty; possibly relatives or friends had been there first. The 29 cases containing the remains of the 29 deceased of the Seventh Cavalry were shipped to Fort Riley, Kans., to be re-interred in the Post Cemetery, and the case containing the remains of the one member of the Ninth U.S. Cavalry (negro) were shipped to Fort Robinson, Nebr., to be re-interred in the Post Cemetery.[6]

Following is the list of all forty-five soldiers that died during the Pine Ridge Campaign November 1890 – January 1891; they are listed from youngest to oldest.

Private Harry B. Stone, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born November 20, 1871, Monterey, Michigan
Died January 12, 1891, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred January, 1891, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private William F. McClintock, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born May, 1870, Freedom, Ohio
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred, Freedom West Cemetery, Freedom, Ohio

 ~

Private John Costello, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born July 27, 1869, Limerick, Ireland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private James E. Kelly, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born January 7, 1868, Chicago, Illinois
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred, Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, Illinois

~

Private Ralph L. Cook, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1867, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Pierce Cummings, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1867, Waterford, Ireland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Bernhard Zehnder, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1867, Einsiedeln, Switzerland
Died December 29, 1890, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Corporal Harry R. Forrest, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1866, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Dominick Franceschetti, G Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1866, Cologna, Austria
Died December 30, 1890, White Clay, South Dakota
Interred January 7, 1891, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private William M. Adams, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1866, Paisley, Scotland
Died December 30, 1890, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private George L. Elliott, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1866, Lewiston, Maine
Died January 13, 1891, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred January, 1891, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

First Sergeant Dora Sherman Coffey, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born July 1866, Ellettsville, Indiana
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred January 21, 1891, Methodist Cemetery, Ellettsville, Indiana

~

Private Philip Schwenkey, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born January 8, 1865, Orange, New Jersey
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred, February 5, 1891, Rosedale Cemetery, Montclair, New Jersey

~

Private William S. Mezo, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1865, Franklin County, Illinois
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Hospital Steward Oscar Pollak, 7th Cavalry

Born 1865, Pest, Hungary
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Sergeant Henry Howard, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1865, Chicago, Illinois
Died January 23, 1891, Fort Riley Kansas
Interred January, 1891, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Joseph Murphy, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1865, Roscommon, Ireland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Charles Haywood, D Troop, 9th Cavalry

Born 1865, Charleston, South Carolina
Died December 30, 1890, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October, 1906, Fort Niobrara Post Cemetery
Re-interred, Fort McPherson National Cemetery

~

Private George P. Johnson, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1864, Svanninge, Germany
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private James Logan, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1864, Lancaster, England
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas Schartel, E Battery, 1st Artillery

Born June 1864, Buffalo, New York
Died January 26, 1891, Irving, Kansas
Interred January, 1891, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Saddler Henry Frey, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1863, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private John M. McCue, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1863, Maple Grove, Wisconsin
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Sergeant Alvin H. Haselwood, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born March, 1862, Grant County, Kentucky
Died March 11, 1891, Fort Riley, Kansas
Interred March, 1891, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Michael Regan, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1862, Sligo, Ireland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Daniel Twohig, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1862, Cincinnati, Ohio
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Herman Granberg, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born January 18, 1861, Eskilstuna, Södermanland, Sweden
Died December 30, 1890, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private August Kellner, E Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1861, Klein Schönwalde, Stralsund, Pomerania, Prussia
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private John W. Meil, G Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1861, Cincinnati, Ohio
Died January 26, 1891, Irving, Kansas
Interred January, 1891, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Sergeant Arthur C. Dyer, A Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1860, Ottawa, Illinois
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Corporal Charles H. Newell, B Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1859, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private Jan DeVreede, C Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1858, Antwerp, Belgium
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Corporal Albert Symes Bone, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1858, Basingstoke, England
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

First Lieutenant John Sanford Mason, Jr., C Company, 1st Infantry

Born April 26, 1856, Benicia, California
Died February 13, 1891, Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota
Interred 1891, Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery

~

Private Frank T. Reinecky, D Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1860, Long Island, New York
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

First Lieutenant James DeFrees Mann, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born May 15., 1854, Syracuse, Indiana
Died January 15, 1891, Fort Riley, Kansas
Interred January, 1891, Fort Riley Post Cemetery
Re-interred June, 1891, Arlington National Cemetery

~

Sergeant William Thomas Hodges, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born June 16, 1853, Street, England
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private George Wilhower, C Company, 2nd Regiment, Nebraska National Guard

Born December 8, 1853, Virginia
Died January 12, 1891, Gordon, Nebraska
Interred January 21, 1891, Schuyler Cemetery, Colfax County, Nebraska

~

Sergeant Robert H. Nettles, E Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1852, Limerick, Ireland
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Blacksmith Gustave Korn, I Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born 1852, Sprotau, Germany
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

First Lieutenant Edward Wanton Casey, 22nd Infantry

Born December 1, 1850, Benicia, California
Died January 7, 1891, White River, South Dakota
Interred January 12, 1891, Silas Casey Lot, North Kingstown, Rhode Island

~

Captain George David Wallace, K Troop, 7th Cavalry

Born June 29, 1849, York, South Carolina
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred January, 1891, Rose Hill Cemetery, York, South Carolina

~

Sergeant Major Richard Winick Corwine, 7th Cavalry

Born July 19, 1844, Maysville, Kentucky
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery
Re-interred October 20, 1906, Fort Riley Post Cemetery

~

Private High Back Bone or Blueshield, U.S. Indian Scouts

Birth unknown,
Died December 29, 1890, Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Interred December 31, 1890, Pine Ridge Agency Cemetery

~

Captain William Mills, C Company, 2nd Infantry

Born September 19, 1836, Michigan
Died December 30, 1890, Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Interred January, 1891, Elmira, New York

 ~

Endnotes:

---

[1] Keith Stokes, “Visiting Fort Riley, Junction City & Manhattan, Kansas,” KansasTravel.org, http://kansastravel.org/fortriley.htm accessed 17 Aug 2013; William McHale and Robert Smith, Images of America: Fort Riley, (San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2003), 21; Associated Press,”Wounded Knee Heroes,” Abilene Weekly Reflector, X (48) (1893, July 27), p. 5.

[2] William F. Kelley, ed. by Alexander Kelley and Pierre Bovis, Pine Ridge 1890:An Eye Witness Account of the Events Surrounding the Fighting at Wounded Knee, (San Francisco: P. Bovis, 1971), 205-207.

[3] Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations, 1768-1921, (National Archives Microfilm Publication M2014, 1 roll);

[4] James Mooney, The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890, (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1896), 871-872; Eli S. Ricker, Richard E. Jensen, ed., Voices of the American West, Vol. 2, The Settler and Soldier Interviews of Eli S. Ricker, 1903-1919, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005), 55, 391-392; Associated Press, “Sleeps His Last Sleep,” Omaha Daily Bee, (Omaha, 31 December 1890), 8.

[5] Dakota County herald., October 05, 1906, Image 1, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/2010270500/1906-10-05/ed-1/seq-1/ accessed 11 Dec 2013.

[6] W. A. Luke as quoted in Renee S. Flood, Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, (New York: Da Capo Press, 1998), 82.

Citation for this article: Samuel L. Russell, “Last Full Measure,” Army at Wounded Knee (Sumter, SC: Russell Martial Research, 2013-2015, http://wp.me/P3NoJy-3Q), last updated 8 Feb 2015, accessed date __________.