de on supplies moved there in the
middle of winter, at great cost and suffering. The Quartermaster and
Commissary at Fort Leavenworth made contracts for supplies to be delivered
in June, and General Grant sent to Fort Leavenworth something like 10,000
troops, very few of whom got into the campaigns from the fact that the
troops would no sooner reach Fort Leavenworth than they would protest,
claiming that the Civil War was ended and saying they had not enlisted to
fight Indians. The Governors of their States, Congressmen, and other
influential men, would bring such pressure to bear that the War Department
would order them mustered out. While the Government was at great expense
in moving these troops to the plains, some even reaching as far as
Julesburg, we never got any service from them; they were a great
detriment, and caused much delay in our plans, so that the overland routes
had to be protected by about one-half of the troops that it was at first
thought necessary to accomplish the work. Three Regiments of infantry,
eleven Regiments of cavalry, and three Batteries of artillery, that
reported to me under the order of General Grant, were mustered out on the
march between Fort Leavenworth and Julesburg.

There was enlisted for the Indian campaign, five Regiments of United
States volunteers, recruited from the rebel prisoners, who, desiring to be
at liberty, were willing to enlist under the United States flag to fight
Indians, and these five Regiments had to be depended upon mostly for
taking care of all the country west of the Lakes,--the overland routes on
the plains, to man the posts on the upper Missouri and Mississippi Rivers,
and for escorts for surveying parties, etc. So when I was ready to move
all five columns I had less than 7,000 officers and men in my department.
The Indians commenced their depredations on all the routes in April,
especially on the Arkansas route, where we had to contend with the South
Cheyennes, Comanches, Apaches, Kiowas, and Arapahoe tribes. This district
was under the command of Brigadier-General Ford, a very efficient officer,
and it was planned that he should make a campaign in May and June into the
Indian country, crossing the Arkansas and moving south for their villages,
which we knew were situated in the Wichita Mountains. General Ford had a
compact veteran command, and fought one or two battles before crossing the
Arkansas. Just about the time he was ready to cross the Arkansas the