- First Dragoon Expedition
The First Dragoon Expedition of 1834 (also called the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition) was the first official contact between the American government and the Plains Indians.
The United States Dragoon Regiment left Fort Gibson, Indian territory,on June 20, 1834, under the command of General
Henry Leavenworth . The expedition made slow progress at first, slowed by theCross Timbers , summer heat, sickness, and death—one hundred fifty of the five hundred men would die. The expedition stopped at Camp Leavenworth where Gen. Leavenworth, sick and injured from a buffalo hunt, sent the troops on ahead under the command of ColonelHenry Dodge . Leavenworth would die on July 21. On July 16 the expedition encamped at Camp Commanche leaving 75 sick men, including the artistGeorge Catlin , with Dodge and the rest of his men continuing on.On July 21, Dodge and the remaining men reached a Toyash Village (Wichita Indians) at Devils Canyon. There, Dodge exchanged prisoners, traded, and secured peace treaties with several of the Plains tribes. The expedition returned to Ft. Gibson August 15, 1834.
:"Note: The
Second Dragoon Expedition was from Fort Leavenworth to the Rocky Mountains in 1835."ee also
*United States Regiment of Dragoons
References
*Shirk, George H. " [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v028/v028p002.pdf Peace on the Plains] ," "Chronicles of Oklahoma" 28:1 (January 1950) 2-41 (retrieved August 16, 2006).
*Perrine, Fred S. " [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/Chronicles/v003/v003p175.html The Journal of Hugh Evans] ," "Chronicles of Oklahoma" 3:3 (September 1925) 2-215 (retrieved August 16, 2006).
*Wheelock, T.B., "Journal of Col. Dodge's Expedition from Ft. Gibson to Pawnee Pict Village." American State Papers, Class V, Military Affairs, (Washington, 1860) , pp. 373-382.
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