National Cemetery
There were several small cemeteries around Fort Gibson in which the dead were buried from the earliest days of the fort. The number of interments was increased to such an extent during the Civil War that more space was required, and in 1869 the National Cemetery was established on land that was originally part of the military reservation of Fort Gibson. After the abandonment of the fort, the reservation was transferred to the Department of the Interior on February 11, 1891, a parcel of seven acres being reserved for cemeterial purposes.
On August 6, 1872, William W. Belknap, Secretary of War, gave instructions to have the remains of his father, General William Goldsmith Belknap, removed from Fort Washita, where they were interred in 1851, to the cemetery at Keokuk, Iowa, the home of the Secretary. At the same time he directed the quartermaster general to arrange for the removal of the remains of other soldiers and their families found at Fort Washita, Fort Towson and Fort Arbuckle to the National Cemetery at Fort Gibson. Bids were advertised for, and a contract was let to P. J. Byrne of Fort Gibson, who succeeded in removing the remains of forty-six persons in 1872; only two of them, however, were definitely known to be soldiers. Owing to the careless manner in which the men who served at these remote posts had been buried, and the fact that fires had been permitted to run through the cemeteries and burn off all wooden headboards, and the difficulty of finding other marks of identification in the graves, or indeed, of finding the remains and the boxes containing them in such condition that they could be removed at all, instructions were given to abandon further removal. However, information was later acquired of forty-six additional graves at Fort Washita, fifty-four at Fort Arbuckle, and eighteen at Bin Sandy Creek on the Fort Smith and Fort Arbuckle road. Efforts were then renewed, and another contractor undertook to remove the remains to the Fort Gibson National Cemetery but this effort proved abortive also.
In 1873 it was reported to the office of the Adjutant General at Washington that the bodies of one hundred and twenty-five soldiers killed in the Battle of the Washita were buried on that battlefield. This again stimulated interest in the subject of removal, and the visitor will see in the Officers' Circle in the National Cemetery the grave of Major Joel H. Elliott of the Seventh Infantry, killed on November 27, 1868, at the Battle of the Washita.
The removal of remains from all these burial places was attended with much difficulty because of the lack of identifying marks. It was impossible to determine whether they were removing soldiers or civilians, and the whole undertaking was attended with much confusion. It appeared that during the Civil War a large number of Confederates died and were buried near Fort Washita. The correspondence relating to the subject would indicate that removal of the dead from this cemetery was limited to those known to have been in the service of the Union Army, and the Confederate dead were probably not disturbed.
The result was summarized in a report of December 31, 1893, which accounted for graves in the National Cemetery at Fort Gibson, of 231 known to be soldiers and 2,212 whose identity and service were unknown. Of the comparatively few who are identified by inscriptions on monuments, the greatest number are to be seen within what is known as the Officers' Circle. Among these is Flora, the young Cherokee wife of Lieutenant Daniel H. Rucker, who died at Fort Gibson June 26, 1845. Her husband survived her to become in later years Quartermaster General of the United States Army. John Decatur, brother of Stephen Decatur, died on November 12, 1832, while a sutler at Fort Gibson. Lieutenant John W. Murray of the West Point Class of 1830, of the Seventh Infantry, was killed on February 14, 1831, by being thrown from his horse. Murray's classmate, Lieutenant James West, died at Fort Gibson on September 28, 1834.
On May 27, 1831, Lieutenant Frederick Thomas of the Seventh Infantry, a West Point graduate of 1825, was drowned in the Arkansas River. His classmate, Lieutenant Benjamin W. Kinsman, also of the Seventh Infantry, died May 14, 1832. Lieutenant Thomas C. Brockway, a graduate of West Point of the class of 1828, died at Fort Gibson, September 28, 1831. Among those removed from Fort Towson were West Point graduates of the class of 1826, Lieutenants Charles L. C. Minor and Alexander G. Baldwin, both of the Fifth Infantry, who died at Fort Towson in 1833 and 1835 respectively, and Lieutenant James H. Taylor of the Third Infantry, who was drowned near Fort Towson in the Cositot River, in 1835. Also in the Officers' Circle is the monument of Captain Billy Bowlegs, the celebrated Seminole warrior, who served in the Union Army and died during the Civil War, and who is buried in another part of the cemetery.
General John Nicks (also buried in this cemetery) acquired his title from the appointment, by the Governor of Arkansas Territory, as commanding general of the Arkansas militia. He was later sutler at Fort Gibson, where he died December 31, 1831. He was survived by his widow, Sallie Nicks, who continued to "sutle" at the post. Sallie was a popular young widow whose charms were enhanced by the fact that the estate left by the General was valued at $20,000. When Washington Irving visited the post in 1832, he recorded in his notebook that several of the officers at the post paid court to her, and the quartermaster serenaded her so often and so vigorously that he disturbed the sleep of others, and made himself a good deal of a nuisance in the post. According to Irving, General William Clark and Colonel Arbuckle were both fascinated by the young widow, and a civilian named Lewis paid such ardent court that all of the officers united against him.
Sutlers were licensed to do business in the post, and there was considerable rivalry for the privilege, as the profits were tempting. At one time Sam Houston was an aspirant for the position of sutler at Fort Gibson. During his absence in the East on a political mission, he heard that General Nicks was to be removed from his post as sutler, and on his way back to Fort Gibson he wrote a letter to the Secretary of War, making application for the post. Houston was returning with a keelboat load of supplies for Wigwam Neosho, his little store northwest of Fort Gibson. They included nine barrels of whiskey brandy, gin, rum, wine and other goods with which he meant to stock the sutler's store he intended to take over if Nick's removal should pave the way for his appointment. However, after arriving at Fort Gibson and learning of the gossip said to have emanated from Washington concerning him, he indignantly withdrew his application with an excoriating letter to the Secretary of War, obviously written while he was drunk.
To one who wonders what care the soldiers at Fort Gibson took of their personal appearance, a long inventory of merchandise in the sutler's store at Fort Gibson in 1845 will be illuminating. The following is about one-sixth of the total list. It was submitted to the commandant for the purpose of establishing the prices at which these articles might be sold to the soldiers:
Cigars, shaving boxes, round shaving soap, transparent soap, flotant soap, crystalline wash balls, whisker pomatum, spontaneous compound, oleophane, bear's oil, philocome, fancy soap, perfume boxes, fancy cologne water, round cologne water, farina cologne water, prevost cologne water, red and white powder, sweeping brush, clamp brush, horse brush, shoe brush, counter brush, hat brush, hair brush, wall brush, cloth brush, shaving brush, teeth brush, ivory brush, nail brush, violin strings, razor strops, mirrors, shirt butts, cotton purses, silk purses, pencil cases, whalebone, suspenders, snuff boxes, necklaces, fishing lines, guard chains, flasks, thimbles, court plaisters, hooks and eyes, silk guards, pocket combs, English combs, dressing combs.
List of officers who commanded at Fort Gibson, with beginning date of service; graduates of United States Military Academy, West Point, are indicated by year of graduation following name. Names of temporary commanding officers are indented.
From | To | ||
Colonel Matthew Arbuckle | 7th Infantry | Apr. 1824 | Feb. 6, 1839 |
Major Alex Cummings | 7th Infantry | Apr. 24, 1825 | Aug. 1825 |
Lieutenant Colonel James B. Many | 7th Infantry | Aug. 1825 | Sept. 6, 1825 |
Captain John Philbrick | 7th Infantry | Sept. 1825 | Oct. 1825 |
Captain Benjamin L. E. Bonneville | 7th Infantry, 1815 | Apr. 1828 | May 1828 |
Captain N. G. Wilkinson | 7th infantry | Feb. 6, 1829 | Apr. 20, 1829 |
Captain N. G. Wilkinson | 7th Infantry | Mar. 26, 1830 | Apr. 23, 1830 |
Captain N. G. Wilkinson | 7th Infantry | Oct. 14, 1830 | Nov. 1830 |
Lieutenant Colonel J. B. Many | 7th Infantry | Feb. 1, 1832 | July 7, 1832 |
Lieutenant Colonel J. B. Many | 7th Infantry | May 15, 1834 | Sept. 30, 1834 |
Major Sullivan Burbank | 7th Infantry | Oct. 1, 1834 | Nov. 4, 1834 |
Lieutenant Colonel William Whistler | 7th Infantry | Aug. 6, 1835 | Sept. 10, 1835 |
Lieutenant Colonel William Whistler | 7th Infantry | Apr. 20, 1836 | May 5, 1836 |
Lieutenant Colonel William Whistler | 7th Infantry | May 11, 1837 | Sept. 13, 1837 |
Major C. Wharton | 1st Dragoons | Sept. 14, 1837 | Oct. 23, 1837 |
Major J. S. McIntosh | 7th Infantry | June 15, 1838 | Aug. 1838 |
Captain E. S. Hawkins | 7th Infantry, 1820 | Aug. 1838 | Sept. 1838 |
Major J. S. McIntosh | 7th Infantry | Sept. 1838 | Jan. 28, 1839 |
Lieutenant Colonel William Whistler | 7th Infantry | Jan. 29, 1839 | Feb. 6, 1839 |
Major Bennett Riley | 4th Infantry | Feb. 7, 1839 | Apr. 1839 |
Colonel Enos Cutler | 4th Infantry | Apr. 1839 | Jan. 1840 |
Major B. Riley | 4th Infantry | June 21, 1839 | Jan. 17, 1840 |
Colonel & Brevet Brigadier General M. Arbuckle | 7th Infantry | Jan. 18, 1840 | Feb. 4, 1840 |
Colonel Alexander Cummings | 4th Infantry | Jan. 1840 | Aug. 1841 |
Major Clifton Wharton | 1st Dragoons | Feb. 6, 1840 | Feb. 16, 1840 |
Lieutenant Colonel Riley | 2nd Infantry | Feb. 17, 1840 | Feb. 24, 1840 |
Major C. Wharton | Feb. 25, 1840 | Mar. 3, 1840 | |
Colonel & Brevet Brigadier General Arbuckle | Apr. 10, 1841 | May 27, 1841 | |
Lieutenant Colonel J. Garland | 4th Infantry | May 27, 1841 | June 19, 1841 |
Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Mason | 1st Dragoons | June 20, 1841 | Aug. 1841 |
Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Mason | 1st Dragoons | Aug. 1841 | Apr. 28, 1842 |
Colonel S. W. Kearney | 1st Dragoons | Apr. 29, 1842 | July 3, 1842 |
Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Mason | 1st Dragoons | July 4, 1842 | Oct. 7, 1842 |
Captain Jacob Brown | 6th Infantry | Oct. 8, 1842 | Jan. 16, 1843 |
Major Clifton Wharton | 1st Dragoons | Jan. 17, 1843 | Jan. 31, 1843 |
Colonel William Davenport | 6th Infantry | Feb. 1, 1843 | Sept. 17, 1843 |
Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Mason | 1st Dragoons | Sept. 18, 1843 | Dec. 17, 1843 |
Captain W. S. Ketchum | 6th Infantry | Sept. 20, 1843 | Sept. 26, 1843 |
Captain N. Boone | 1st Dragoons | Sept. 27, 1843 | Dec. 17, 1843 |
Lieutenant Colonel Gustavus Loomis | 6th Infantry, 1811 | Dec. 18, 1843 | June 19, 1844 |
Lieutenant Colonel R. B. Mason | 1st Dragoons | June 20, 1844 | Feb. 27, 1846 |
Captain Nathan Boone | 1st Dragoons | May 30, 1845 | Aug. 13, 1845 |
Captain Albemarle Cady | 6th Infantry, 1829 | Feb. 26, 1846 | Mar. 27, 1846 |
Lieutenant Colonel Gustavus Loomis | 6th Infantry, 1811 | Mar. 28, 1846 | Feb. 24, 1848 |
Captain A. Cady | 1829 | Apr. 30, 1846 | May 26, 1846 |
Major B. L. E. Bonneville | 6th Infantry | Feb. 26, 1848 | Nov. 4, 1848 |
Captain E. Steen | 1st Dragoons | June 16, 1848 | July 25, 1848 |
Captain William 5. Ketchum | 6th Infantry | July 26, 1848 | Nov. 4, 1848 |
Major Dixon S. Miles | 5th Infantry, 1824 | Nov. 5, 1848 | Dec. 18, 1848 |
Captain C. L Stevenson | 5th Infantry, 1838 | Dec. 1, 1848 | Dec. 18, 1848 |
Lieutenant Colonel & Brevet Brigadier General William G. Belknap | 5th Infantry | Dec. 19, 1848 | May 14, 1851 |
Captain Isaac Lynde | 5th Infantry, 1827 | Dec. 8, 1849 | Jan. 6, 1850 |
Captain Isaac Lynde | 5th Infantry, 1827 | Feb. 22, 1850 | Mar. 17, 1850 |
Captain Isaac Lynde | 5th Infantry, 1827 | May 12, 1850 | June 8, 1850 |
Captain William Chapman | 5th Infantry, 1831 | June 9, 1850 | July 16, 1850 |
Major Henry Bainbridge | 7th Infantry, 1821 | May 15, 1851 | July 26, 1851 |
Captain Henry Little | 7th Infantry | July 5, 1851 | July 26, 1851 |
Major George Andrews | 7th Infantry | July 27, 1851 | Oct. 5, 1852 |
Captain Henry Little | 7th Infantry | Oct. 6, 1852 | Oct. 30, 1853 |
Captain Charles H. Humber | 7th Infantry, 1840 | Jan. 15, 1853 | July 27, 1853 |
Captain Braxton Bragg | 3rd Artillery, 1837 | Oct. 31, 1853 | Dec. 1, 1853 |
Lieutenant Colonel Pitcairn Morrison | 7th Infantry | Dec. 2, 1853 | May 7, 1855 |
Colonel Henry Wilson | 7th Infantry | May 8, 1855 | June 22, 1857 |
Captain Henry Little | 7th Infantry | Feb. 16, 1856 | Apr. 2, 1856 |
Lieutenant Colonel P. Morrison | 7th Infantry | Apr. 3, 1856 | June 21, 1856 |
Captain Henry Little | 7th Infantry | May 21, 1857 | June 22, 1857 |
Lieutenant W. L Cabell | 7th Infantry, A. Q. M., 1850 | June 23, 1857 | Sept. 1857 |
Colonel William A. Phillips | 3rd Indian Home Guards | Apr. 14, 1863 | June 1863 |
Major General Jones G. Blunt | Volunteers | July 1863 | |
Colonel Wm. A. Phillips | 3rd Indian Home Guards | Nov. 1863 | July 1864 |
Colonel Stephen H. Wattles | Hq. Indian Brigade | Aug. 1864 | |
Colonel James M. Williams | Frontier Div. (Hq. 2d 8rig.) 7th Army Corps | Sept. 1864 | |
Colonel Wattles | Sept. 1864 | Nov. 1864 | |
Colonel Phillips | Dec. 1864 | Mar. 1865 | |
Major General James G. Blunt | May 1865 | ||
Brevet Brigadier General John Ritchie | 3rd Indian Home Guards | May 1865 | |
Major General Blunt | May 11, 1865 | June 15, 1865 | |
Colonel John A. Garrett | 40th Iowa Volunteers | June 15, 1865 | Aug. 3, 1865 |
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis C. True | 62nd Illinois Volunteers | Aug. 4, 1865 | Nov. 1865 |
Captain E. M. Jordan | 62nd Illinois Volunteers | Nov. 1865 | Dec. 1865 |
Lieutenant Colonel Lewis C. True | 62nd Illinois Volunteers | Jan. 1866 | Feb. 17, 1866 |
Captain James B. Mulligan | 18th Infantry | Feb. 18, 1866 | Mar. 1, 1866 |
Major Pinkney Lugenbeel | 18th Infantry, 1840 | Mar. 1, 1866 | May 1867 |
Captain Robert Ayres | 19th Infantry | May 1867 | June 19, 1867 |
Captain M. Bryant | 6th Infantry | June 20, 1867 | Nov. 3, 1867 |
Colonel DeL. Floyd-Jones | 6th Infantry, 1846 | Nov. 4, 1867 | May 1868 |
Captain M. Bryant | 6th Infantry | Jan. 20, 1868 | May 1,1868 |
Captain M. Bryant | 6th Infantry | May 1868 | Feb. 26, 1869 |
Colonel DeL. Floyd-Jones | 6th Infantry, 1846 | Feb. 27, 1869 | Apr. 1869 |
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Huston, Jr. | 6th Infantry, 1848 | Apr. 24, 1869 | Jan. 29, 1871 |
Captain Jeremiah P. Schindel | 6th Infantry | Aug. 8, 1869 | Sept. 25, 1869 |
Captain Jeremiah P. Schindel | 6th Infantry | Oct. 27, 1869 | Nov. 20, 1869 |
Lieutenant Jacob F. Munson | 6th Infantry | Aug. 22, 1870 | Sept. 4, 1870 |
Colonel William B. Hazen | 6th Infantry, 1855 | Jan. 30, 1871 | Sept. 30, 1871 |
Captain Jeremiah P Schindel | July 26, 1871 | Aug. 29,1871 | |
Captain William W. Sanders | 6th Infantry | Aug. 30, 1871 | Sept. 3, 1871 |
Post re-established G. 0. 1, Headquarters, Fort Gibson, July 31, 1872.
Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson | 10th Cavalry | July 31, 1872 | Jan. 5, 1873 |
Captain Gaines Lawson | 25th Infantry | Oct. 29, 1872 | Nov. 11, 1872 |
Captain Gaines Lawson | 25th Infantry | Jan. 5, 1873 | Feb. 23, 1873 |
Lieutenant Colonel J. W. Davidson | 10th Cavalry, 1845 | Feb. 24, 1873 | Apr. 20, 1873 |
Captain John J. Upham | 6th Cavalry, 1859 | Apr. 21, 1873 | Sept. 6, 1873 |
Captain Andrew S. Bennett | 5th Infantry | June 30, 1873 | July 5, 1873 |
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas H. Neill | 6th Cavalry, 1847 | Sept. 7, 1873 | Aug. 6, 1874 |
Lieutenant Thomas M. Woodruff | 5th Infantry, 1871 | Aug. 7, 1874 | Sept. 7, 1875 |
Major J. J. Upham | 5th Cavalry | Sept 8, 1875 | June 6, 1876 |
Lieutenant Edward L. Randall | 5th Infantry | June 7, 1876 | July 14, 1876 |
Captain Edmond Butler | 5th Infantry | July 15, 1876 | Aug. 6, 1876 |
Lieutenant George McDermott | 5th Infantry | Aug. 7, 1876 | Oct. 18, 1876 |
Lieutenant Lewis Smith | 3rd Artillery | Oct. 1 9, 1876 | Dec. 26, 1876 |
Captain R. I. Eskridge | 23rd Infantry | Dec. 27, 1876 | June 14, 1877 |
Captain Caleb Rodney Layton | 16th Infantry | June 1 5, 1877 | May 18, 1879 |
Major A. L. Hough | 22d Infantry | May 19, 1879 | Oct. 3, 1879 |
Captain C. J. Dickey | 22d Infantry | July 29, 1879 | Aug. 5, 1879 |
Second Lieutenant John G. Ballance | 22d Infantry, 1875 | Oct. 4, 1879 | Jan. 31, 1880 |
Second Lieutenant John Newton | 16th Infantry | Feb. 1 ,1880 | Mar. 5, 1880 |
Captain Hugh A. Theaker | 16th Infantry | Mar. 6, 1880 | Mar. 28, 1880 |
Second Lieutenant W. A. Nichols | 23rd Infantry | Oct. 1880 | Nov. 13, 1880 |
Major R. H. Offley | 19th Infantry | Nov. 14, 1880 | Nov. 1, 1881 |
Lieutenant Thomas M. Winie | 19th Infantry | Apr. 25, 1881 | May 10, 1881 |
Lieutenant John G. Leete | 19th Infantry | Sept. 26, 1881 | Oct. 16, 1881 |
Lieutenant A. H. M. Taylor | 19th Infantry | Nov. 2, 1881 | Nov. 12, 1881 |
Captain J. C. Bates | 20th Infantry | Nov. 13, 1881 | May 14, 1885 |
Captain A. A. Harbach | 20th Infantry | July 9, 1882 | Oct. 31, 1882 |
Second Lieutenant J. A. Ivans | 20th Infantry | Mar. 21, 1883 | May 11, 1883 |
Captain Patrick Cusack | 9th Cavalry | Sept. 29, 1883 | Oct. 19, 1883 |
Captain A. A. Harbach | Mar. 22, 1884 | Apr. 14, 1884 | |
Captain William S. McCaskey | 20th Infantry | July 26, 1884 | Aug. 4, 1884 |
Captain Harbach | Aug. 5, 1884 | Oct. 5, 1884 | |
Captain Harbach | Jan. 31, 1885 | Mar. 2, 1885 | |
Captain Harbach | Apr. 30, 1885 | May 8, 1885 | |
Lieutenant W. H. W. James | 24th Infantry, 1872 | M cry 14, 1885 | June 13, 1885 |
Captain Birney B. Keeler | 18th Infantry | June 14, 1885 | Sept. 15, 1885 |
Captain Carroll H. Potter | 18th Infantry, 1857 | Sept. 16, 1885 | Oct. 1 ,1886 |
Lieutenant Colonel John J. Coppinger | 18th Infantry | Oct. 2, 1886 | July 17, 1888 |
Captain Henry H. Adams | 18th Infantry | June 8, 1888 | July 17, 1888 |
Captain Henry H. Adams | 18th Infantry | July 17, 1888 | Dec. 9, 1888 |
Captain Carroll H. Potter | 18th Infantry, 1857 | Dec. 10, 1888 | Sept. 5, 1889 |
Captain H. H. Adams | Sept 6, 1889 | Oct. 1, 1889 | |
Captain Jeremiah P. Schindel | 6th Infantry | Oct. 2, 1889 | Sept. 22, 1890 |
Post finally abandoned September 22, 1890.
Camp at Fort Gibson
Captain Jacob G. Galbraith | 1st Cavalry, 1877 | Apr. 6, 1897 | July 18, 1897 |
Major Albert G. Forse | 1st Cavalry, 1865 | July 19, 1897 | Oct. 19, 1897 |
Captain Herbert E. Tutherly | 1st Cavalry, 1872 | Oct. 20, 1897 | Nov. 1897 |
"This command is now, October 31, in tents on the old parade ground at Fort Gibson, the old buildings being uninhabitable."
Camp at Fort Gibson
Captain T. Q. Donaldson, Jr. | 8th Cavalry, 1887 | Apr. 7, 1901 | Sept. 20, 1901 |
Squadron Adjutant A. G. Lott | 3rd Cavalry, 1892 | Sept. 21, 1901 | Nov. 19, 1901 |