Carrington, Henry B.:

$1,500 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

[MANUSCRIPT LETTER, SIGNED, FROM COL. HENRY B. CARRINGTON TO THE ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PLATTE, REQUESTING ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING HIS DISMISSAL FROM COMMAND ... An intriguing manuscript letter, signed by Colonel Henry B. Carrington, written just after the notorious Fetterman Fight or Massacre. Henry B. Carrington (1824-1912) was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, graduated from Yale in 1845, and attended Yale Law School. After graduating he relocated to Ohio, where he practiced law and became involved in the state militia. During the Civil War he served as adjutant general in Ohio, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general. Following the war he was sent west to Wyoming, where he supervised the construction of Fort Phil Kearny, with the goal of guarding travelers on the Bozeman Trail. A few months later, on Dec. 21, 1866, a force led by Capt. William Fetterman (one of Carrington's officers) was attacked by a force of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho as part of Red Cloud's War, resulting in the deaths of Fetterman and his entire command of eighty men. It was the highest casualty event for American troops in the Frontier Wars to date, and Carrington, who had been criticized for his timidity in engaging hostile natives, took much of the blame. He was immediately relieved of his command, and spent much of the following decades defending his honor and reputation.This letter was written early the following year, datelined at Fort McPherson, Ne

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