The following action was fought in May of 1981 by our local Champaign/ Bloomington group usinga house set of skirmish rules. It is best represented as a series of documents used to set up the game, as well as an afteraction report of what happened. The game was influenced by an awful British comic strip by the name of Lieutenant Blueberry.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR
Robert T. Lincoln
April 1, 1881
Second Lieutenant Epstace K Raspberry 1st Cavalry
Fort Meyers, Virginia
Sir;
Your request for permission to marry is again returned as disapproved-Robert T. Lincoln
UNITED STATES SENATE
Office of Clarence E. Throckmorten MASSACHUSETTS
Chairman, Senate Committee on Military Affairs
April 5th, 1881
Robert T. Lincoln Secretary of War, War Department
Dear Bob;
Thank you very much for your help and warning. I have told Abigail that she is not to see that young whippersnapper again, and I shall send her back to Boston as soon as possible. Would it be possible to send that young man as far west as possible as soon as possible?
P.S. I think that the budget will pass as soon as you want it.
ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE
U.S. ARMY WAR DEPARTMENT
April 8th, 1881
Second Lieutenant Epstace K Raspberry 1st Cavalry
Fort Meyers, Virginia
Sir;
As of April 15th, 1881, you will be relieved of duty with the 1st Cavalry and assigned to duty with the 6th Cavalry. You shall report to Fort Apache, Arizona Territory, no later than May 15, 1881.
Transportation for you and your equipment will be arranged as far as Smiths Sink, where an escort from the fort shall meet you. On arrival at the fort, you will be assigned to B Company.
By Order of the Secretary of War
HEADQUARTERS
6th Cavalry Fort Apache, AT.
May 6th, 1881
First Sergeant Quincannon
You are hereby ordered to proceed to Smiths Sink, Arizona Territory, from this post, taking with you an escort of one other NCO and eight enlisted men, as well as an ambulance and a supply wagon.
You shall escort Captain Colhill and his family to Smiths Sink, and see that they make their connections eastward Before returning, you shall check the express office and post office for any packages or mail due this post. In addition, you shall await the arrival of a newly posted officer, Second Lieutenant Raspberry and return to the post with him and his equipment.
First Lieutenant Pernell Commanding B Troop
HEADQUARTERS 6th Cavalry Fort Apache, AT.
May 6th, 1881
Lt. Col. Nathan Brittles Chief of Scouts
Nathan;
A note to remind you that Captain Colhill and family are returning east. I told Ross Pernell to send Quincannon in charge of the escort, knowing that he will take care of them. You may wish to meet them on the way to Smiths Sink and say goodby.
Reports are coming in that small numbers of Chiricahua Apache are leaving the reservation - will attempt to keep you informed.
NOTE: Now we switch to the evening of the 12th of May, where a small band of Indians has come together. There are no written records of this meeting but if there were, it would be something along these lines:
"Again the white eyes have broken their promises to us - again the children and women starve; again they try to break our spirit. We have taken enough from them - it is time that they fear the wrath of the Apache.
"There are five among us who want to be chief - each with his own followers. Tomorrow we shall fall on the Bluecoats coming from Smiths Sink. He that leads his band of 3/4 best, and shows that he is a true warchief, A will be accepted by all as chief."
NOTE: There was a total force of 24 Indians, run by 5 different players. The player who acquired the largest number of weapons and horses, while losing the fewest men, would be the new chief. By die roll, three of the bands were on the board at start, while two were off board and would arrive later.
The Indians present bore such names as Limp Lance, Steady Hand, Brave Eagle, Victrola, Two Dogs I, Two Dogs 11, Two Dogs III, Large Lance, Knocks Down Soldier with Stick - Harvard 80, All By Himself, Pony That Walks, Red Shirt, Built Like Horse, DrinksToo Much, Brule, Yellow Moccasin, Likes Little Boys, Buffalo Breath, and that cunning brave, GIFT OF BUFFALO SOLDIER.
Lead by Gift, they set up a perfect "L" ambush, usingone band of Indians to occupy the hills, and to fire as the bluecoats neared the ravine. Assuming that the bluecoats took cover in the ravine, the remainder of the force would be in position across Broken Knee Creek to fire up the ravine.
REPORT OF ACTION BETWEEN ELEMENTS OF THE 6th CAVALRY AND HOSTILES FROM THE CHIRICAHUA APACHES, MAY 13th, 1881
Sir;
On the morning of the 8th, my detail of five was engaged in tracking a war party of Chiricahua Apache who had departed the reservation, some 20 strong. Myparty, in addition to myself; consisted of the Mesqualero Apache Squalito, the civilian scout Buffalo (no other name known), and troopers O'Brien and O'Hara detached from the 6th Cavalry.
Having been informed that an escort party was in the area, I met it at the ford across Broken Knee Creek and there shared what information I had with Captain Colhill and Sergeant Quincannon of that party. Captain Colhill and his wife were to be escorted to the depot at Smith's Sink, where Quincannon's detachment was to pick up and escort back a new officer.
Alert to the possibility of an ambush, the area around Broken Knee Creek ford seemed to be the most dangerous spot along Quincannon's route. I enclose a rough sketch of the surrounding terrain as we viewed it. Quincannon believed the Apache might use the large bluff as an ambush point, but it was my feeling that they would not, as the bluff could be easily bypassed and the surrounding trees and scrub offered too much cover to our men. I stated that if I were Apache, I would man the long ridge on the other side of the saddleback through which the road ran, and trigger the ambush after the detail had crossed the ford once it was in the open. The wooded area east of the creek could then be used to bring flanking fire on the party. Captain Colhill concurred in this view.
At this point, we parted company, but I told Quincannon that I would meet him at this point on the return trip. He stated that he would return with the new officer on the 13th I then continued my scouting sweep.
Over the next few days we swept the area, finding scattered sign of the Apaches in small groups, but no evidence that they had yet joined together as a war party. On the 12th I began to worry, as the Indian sign showed that the groups were making for the area of Broken Knee Creek
On the following day, when approaching the ford from the Southwest, I heard gunshots and hurried the pace. Arriving on the ridge south of the ford, I saw that the party had indeed been ambushed while between the ford and the saddleback, and had taken refuge in a ravine. While this position offered good protection from the long east-west ridge, Apaches were moving in the wooded hills east of the creek and delivering a dangerous flanking fire up the open end of the ravine. I therefore took my detail to the bluff to attempt to flank this force and prevent hostiles from crossing the creek and working around behind our people in the ravine.
Once on the bluff, our fire accounted for at least one hostile immediately, drove others to the ground, and denied several good firing positions to them. Several mounted warriors, however, braved our fire and reached the foot of our bluff while others had already managed to reach the woods behind our people in the gully.
At this time, the men in the gully were returning the Apache fire briskly to all sides and semed in no immediate danger. In my mind the best course of action seemed to be to first clear the base of the bluff then cross the creek to clear the woods. This would relieve much ofthe pressure on our people in the gully and open a relatively secure route of withdrawal for them. As the volume of fire indicated upwards of40 engaged hostiles, I did not feel that I and my four men were capable of more ambitious operations.
I dispatched Squa]ito and O'Brien to the left while O'Hare and I, both dismounted, circled the base of the bluff from the right. Buffalo stayed on the bluff to lay down fire on the hostiles across the creek. O'Hare and I dispatched the warrior guarding the two tethered mounts, and several shots from the other side indicated that Sqi ra.lito and O'Brien were engaging the other. As O'Hare and I were reloading our revolvers, however, I noticed a marked slacking in the fire volume of the cavalry carbines from the escort detail's position and the sound of many war whoops as if from a charge.
Rather than return to our mounts, O'Hare and I splashed across the creek on foot and began moving through the woods as fast as possible to render what support we could At the same time, Buffalo rode across the creek on the east side, gained the open slope, and began laying down fire in the vicinity of the gully.
Emerging from the scrub and woods, I saw that all firing had ceased in the fully, and although I was able to dispatch by rifle fire a hostile who was on the southern lip of the ravine, I cannot believe that this was of material aid to those soldiers around the wagons.
At this point O'Hare yelled that Buffalo had been killed and that there was a white woman in the creek. Shortly therafter she joined me, armed with trooper O'Hare's Colt revolver, and introduced herself as Mrs. Raspberry. I yelled to O'Hare to fall back and escorted Mrs. Raspberry across the ford where Squalito, wounded, was waiting with our mounts. He informed me that O'Brien was dead and that hostiles were working their way across the creek to our east.
As O'Hare had still not emerged from the woods, and as he was now armed only with his carbine, I knew he would be in some trouble. I therefore placed Mrs. Raspberry in Squalito's charge, and told him to get her back to the station at Smith's Sink I mounted and took O'Hare's horse back to him.
O'Hare and I met in the middle of the ford, and at the same tame, there were hostiles emerging from the woods onto the creek's banks and also on the bluff behind us. While O'Hare mounted, I drove several Indians to cover by rifle fire, but no sooner was O'Hare in the saddle than he took a bullet in the chest and fell into the creek.
Apache fire on us was quite intense now, but somehow they missed as I dismounted, got O'Hare onto his horse, remounted my horse, and secured the reins of O'Hare's horse to my saddle. Shortly after leaving the ford, I received the wound that left me semiconscious, and barely able to remain on my horse.
Fortunately, Trooper O'Hare's horse's reins remained attached to the saddle and both of us managed to escape.
I would like to call attention to the conduct of Trooper O'Hare and the civilian scout Buffalo, both of whose conduct was in keeping with the highest traditions of the cavalry.
Respectfully submitted,
Nathan Brittles Lt. Col. & Chief of Scouts
NOTE: The above was sent me by Lt. Col. Brittles (Frank Chadwick) a week after the action and is true in every detail. I have never seen anyone play a character in detail as Frank did when Lt. Col. Brittles went back for Trooper O'Hare.
For the record, when the opening shot of the ambush took place, Sergeant Quincannon protested Lt. Raspberry's decision to take cover in the gully - Quincannon wanted to push through the saddle, an action that would have been successful. Odds were 16 cavalry to 24 Indians, with the Indians very short of ammunition for their weapons.
Also for the record, GIFT OF BUFFALO SOLDIER ended up as chief, for while the other chiefs were busy killing soldiers, Gift was busy collecting weapons, horses, and ammunition.
Mrs. Raspberry's escape was due to the fact that the Indians wanted to capture her, lusty lads that they are, rather than kill her when they had the chance.
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