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On Aug. 29, 1854, Brevet 2d Lieut. J. L. Grattan, 6th Infantry, and thirty men of Company G were killed by Indians near Fort Laramie. The affair is known as the “Grattan Massacre.” A party of Mormons en route to Salt Lake City having officially reported to the commanding officer of Fort Laramie that the Sioux had stolen one of their cows and refused to give it up, Lieutenant Grattan was sent with thirty men of Company G and a mountain howitzer to demand restoration of the stolen property. This was the last seen of Grattan and his men alive, and the facts of the massacre as related have been gathered from statements of the Indians. Having reached his destination Lieutenant Grattan made his demand upon the Indians, and then despite their warning trained his howitzer upon them and prepared to fire. The Indians, watching the pulling of the lanyard, avoided the shot by falling to the ground as the piece was discharged, and rushing upon the troops overpowered them and killed every man.

Map of the Battle of Blue Water Creek, drawn by Gouverneur Kemble Warren, 1855

On Sept. 3, 1855 a battalion of the regiment composed of Companies A, E, H, I and K, under the command of Major Albemarle Cady, took part in the affair with the Sioux on the Blue Water, known as the battle of Ash Hollow.

Writing to the Adjutant-General from his camp on Blue Water Creek, N. T., under date of September, 1855, General Harney says:

“At half past four o’clock, A. M., I left my camp with Companies A, E, H, I and K, 6th Infantry, under the immediate command of Major Cady of that regiment, and proceeded toward the principal village of the Brules with a view to attacking it openly, in concert with a surprise contemplated through the cavalry.

Red Cloud

”The results of the affair were eighty-six killed, five wounded, about seventy women and children captured, fifty mules and ponies taken, besides an indefinite number killed and disabled. The amount of provisions and camp equipage must have comprised nearly all the enemy possessed, for teams have been constantly engaged in bringing into camp everything of value to the troops, and much has been destroyed on the ground.

The casualties of the command amount to four killed, four severely wounded, and one missing, supposed to be killed or captured by the enemy.

With regard to the officers and troops of my command I have never seen a finer military spirit displayed generally ; and if there has been any material difference in the services they have rendered, it must be measured chiefly by the opportunity they had for distinction. ”Lieutenant Colonel Cook and Major Cady, commanders of the mounted and foot forces, respectively, carried out my instructions to them with signal alacrity, zeal, and intelligence.

”The company commanders whose position, either in the engagement or in the pursuit, brought them in closest contact with the enemy, were Captain Todd of the 6th Infantry, Captain Steele and Lieutenant Robertson of the 2d Dragoons, and Captain Heath, 10th Infantry.

”Brevet Major Woods, Captain Wharton, and Lieutenant Patterson, of the 6th Infantry, with their companies, rendered effective service as reserves and supports, taking an active share in the combat when circumstances would permit.”

Thus Grattan and his men were avenged by their comrades of the Sixth.

Additional Sources:

twotrees.www.50megs.com
usregulars.tripod.com
homepage.mac.com
mypage.iusb.edu
webhome.idirect.com/~mikeha/namericans
www.stringofbeads.com
www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com
jbtank.com
www.indians.org

Today's classic warship, USS Kansas (BB-21)

Connecticut class battleship
displacement. 16,000 t.
length. 456'4"
beam. 76'10"
draft. 24'6"
speed. 18 k.
complement. 880
a. 4 12", 8 8", 12 3-pdrs., 2 1-pdrs., 2 .30 cal., 4 21" tt.

The USS Kansas (BB-21) was launched by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., 12 August 1905; sponsored by Miss Anna Hoch, daughter of the Governor of Kansas; and commissioned in Philadelphia Navy Yard 18 April 1907, Captain Charles B. Vreeland in command.

The new battleship departed Philadelphia 17 August 1907, for shakedown training out of Provincetown, Mass., and returned home for alterations 24 September. She joined the "Great White Fleet" at Hampton Roads 9 December and passed In review before President Theodore Roosevelt while getting underway on the first leg of the fleet's historic world cruise. The American ships arrived Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, 23 December and 6 days later got underway for Rio de Janeiro. From there they sailed south along the east coast of South America and transited the perilous Straits of Magellanin open order. Turning north, the fleet visited Valparaiso, Chile, and Callao Bay, Peru, en route to Madalena Bay, Mexico, for a month of target practice.

The "Great White Fleet" reached San Diego 14 April 1908, and moved on to San Francisco 7 May. Exactly 2 months later the spotless warships sortied through the Golden Gate and headed for Honolulu. From Hawaii they set course for Auckland, New Zealand, to be greeted as heroes upon arrival 9 August. The fleet made Sydney 20 August and, after enjoying a week of the most warm and cordial hospitality, sailed to Melbourne where they were welcomed with equal graciousness and enthusiasm.

Kansas had her last glimpse of Australia 19 September on leaving Albany for ports in the Philippine Islands, Japan, and Ceylon before transiting the Suez Canal. She departed Port Said, Egypt, 4 January 1909, for a visit to Villefranche, France, and then staged with the combined "Great White Fleet" at Gibraltar and departed for home 6 February. She again passed in review before President Roosevelt as she entered Hampton Roads 22 February, ending a widely acclaimed voyage of good will subtly but effectively demonstrating American strength to the world.

At the end of this epic voyage, Kansas began an overhaul that greatly changed her appearance. She emerged with two new "cage" masts and grey paint in place of the previous "white and buff". Overhaul completed 17 June, the battleship began a period of maneuvers, tactical training, and battle practice which lasted almost until the close of the following year. With the 2d Battleship Division, she sailed 15 November 1910, for Europe visiting Cherbourg, France, and Portland, England, before returning to Hampton Roads via Cuba and Santo Domingo. She again departed Hampton Roads 8 May 1911, for Scandinavia, visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm, Cronstadt, and Keil before returning to Provincetown, Mass., 13 July. She engaged in fleet tactics south to the Virginia capes before entering the Norfolk Navy Yard 3 November for overhaul.

Early In 1912, she began several months of maneuvers out of Guantanamo Bay and then returned to Hampton Roads to serve as one of the welcoming units for the German Squadron which visited there from 28 May to 8 June and New York from 8 to 13 June.

The battleship embarked Naval Academy Midshipmen at Annapolis 21 June for a summer practice cruise which took her, among other ports of call along the Atlantic seaboard, to Baltimore during the Democratic National Convention which nominated Woodrow Wilson. After debarking her midshipmen at Annapolis 30 August, she sailed from Norfolk 15 November for a training cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. She returned to Philadelphia 21 December to enter the Navy Yard for overhaul.

Back in top shape 5 May 1913, Kansas operated on the East Coast until she stood out of Hampton Roads 25 October, bound for Genoa, Italy. From there she proceeded to Guantanamo Bay en route to the coast of Mexico to operate off Vera Cruz and Tampico watching out for American interests in that land then troubled by revolutionary unrest as rival factions struggled to attain and hold power. She returned to Norfolk 14 March 1914, and entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul 11 April.

Kansas departed Norfolk 1 July with the body of the Venezuelan Minister to the United States, arriving La Guaira 14 July. Then she returned to the Mexican coast to patrol off Tampico and Vera Cruz supporting the A.E.F. which had landed there. She departed Vera Cruz 29 October to investigate reports of unstable conditions at Port au Prince, Haiti, where she arrived 3 November. The battleship stood out of Port au Prince 1 December and reached Philadelphia a week later. Maneuvers off the East Coast and out of Guantanamo Bay occupied her until she entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard for overhaul 30 September 1916.

Kansas was still in that yard 6 April 1917 when the United States entered World War I. She arrived in York River from Philadelphia 10 July and became a unit of the 4th Battleship Division, spending the remainder of the war as an engineering training ship in Chesapeake Bay occasionally making escort and training cruises to New York. After the Armistice, she made five voyages to Brest, France, to embark and return veterans home.

She was overhauled at the Philadelphia Navy Yard from 29 June 1919 to 17 May 1820. Three days later she arrived at Annapolis where she embarked midshipmen and sailed 5 June for a practice cruise to Pacific waters, transiting the Panama Canal to visit Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Pedro. She departed the latter port 11 August, transited the canal, and visited Guantanamo Bay before returning to Annapolis 2 September.

Proceeding to Philadelphia, Kansas became flagship of Rear Admiral Charles F. Hughes, Commander of Battleship Division 4, Squadron 2, and future Chief of Naval Operations. She sailed for Bermuda 27 September and was inspected by the Prince of Wales at Grassey Bay, Bermuda, 2 October. Two days later she was underway for the Panama Canal and Samoa. She was at Pago Pago, Samoa, 11 November when Captain Waldo Evans became Governor of American Samoa. After visiting Hawaiian ports and transiting the Panama Canal, she cruised in the Caribbean and the Panama Canal before returning to Philadelphia 7 March 1921.

Kansas embarked midshipmen at Annapolis and sailed 4 June 1921, with three other battleships bound for Christiana, Norway, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Guantanamo Bay. She returned 28 August to debark her midshipmen before visiting New York from 3 to 19 September. She entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard 20 September and decommissioned 16 December. Her name was struck from the Navy List 24 August 1923, and she was sold for scrap in accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval armament.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on November 02:
1470 King Edward V of England (1483); deposed, murdered? by Richard III
1734 Daniel Boone frontiersman/explorer (US Hall of Fame-1915)
1755 Marie-Antoinette Queen of France, let them eat cake
1795 James Knox Polk NC, 11th President (D) (1845-1849)
1815 George Boole mathematician (Boolean algebra)
1847 George Sorel French Socialist thinker, writer (violent revolutions)
1865 Warren Gamaliel Harding (R), 29th President (1921-23)
1885 Harlow Shapley US, astronomer (studied the galaxies)
1901 James Dunn NYC, actor (Uncle Earl-It's a Great Life)
1901 Paul Ford Baltimore MD, actor (Phil Silvers Show)
1906 Luchino Visconti Milan Italy, director (Damned, Death in Venice)
1911 Odysseus Elytis Greece, poet (Nobel 1979)
1913 Burt Lancaster NYC, actor (From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry)
1914 Ray Walston New Orleans LA, actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees)
1917 Durward Knowles England, yachtsman (Olympic-gold-1968-Bahamas)
1919 Warren Stevens Clark's Summit PA, actor (Richard Boone Show)
1920 Ann Rutherford Toronto Canada, actress (Return to Vienna, Leave it to the Girls)
1920 Lewis Charles NYC, actor (Feather & Father Gang)
1921 Willaim D Schaefer Maryland, (Gov-D-MD)
1929 Harold Farberman NYC, conductor/composer (Medea)
1929 Rachel Ames Portland Oregon, actress (Line Up, Audrey-Gen Hospital)
1932 Henri Namphy Cap Haitien Haiti, President of Haiti (1986- )
1934 Ken Rosewall Sydney Australia, tennis star (US 1956)
1936 Rose Bird California Supreme Court Judge
1938 Patrick Buchanan conservative political columnist
1942 Shere Hite St Joseph Missouri, sex therapist (Hite Report)
1942 Stefanie Powers Hollywood Ca, actress (Girl From UNCLE, Hart to Hart)
1944 Jeffrey A Hoffman Brooklyn NY, PhD/astronaut (STS 51-D, 35, sk:46)
1946 Giuseppe Sinopoli Venice Italy, conductor (Sunnyata)
1951 Kathy Hammond US, 400m runner (Olympics-bronze-1972)
1952 Kate Linder actress (Esther-Young & Restless)
1953 Alfre Woodard Tulsa OK, actress (St Elsewhere)
1958 Bobby Dall rocker (Poison-Every Rose Has a Thorn)
1958 Willie McGee St Louis Card (1985 NL MVP)
1960 Mardi Jacquet Chateauroux CA, playmate (October, 1980)
1961 k.d. lang country singer (& the Reclines-Absolute Torch & Twang)
1963 Ines Diers German DR, 400m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1980)
1963 Susie Scott San Diego Ca, playmate (May, 1983)
1966 Rosalyn Fairbank South Africa, tennis player
1967 Darla Michele Pruett Canton Georgia, Miss Georgia-America (1991)
1968 Brandi Brandt Santa Clara CA, playmate (October, 1987)
1968 Helle Michaelsen Alborg Denmark, playmate (Aug, 1988)
1968 Melissa Evridge Lexington KY, playmate (Aug, 1990)
1975 Danny Cooksey Moore OK, actor (Sam-Diff'rent Strokes)
1990 Natasha Smirnoff daughter of Yakov Smirnov

Deaths which occurred on November 02:
1887 Jenny Lind, [Swedish Nightingale], soprano, dies at 67
1950 George Bernard Shaw, Irish author (Pygmalion), dies at 94
1961 James Thurber humorist (The Male Animal), dies at 66
1980 Edith Bunker dies on "All in the Family"
1984 Margie V Barfield, US murderer, 1st woman electricuted in 22 years
1991 Irwin Allen, US director (Poseidon Adventure), dies
1992 Hal Roach, producer, dies of pneumonia at 100 He was credited with discovering the legendary comedy team of Laurel and Hardy and went on to produce the "Our Gang" and Keystone Kops comedies.

Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 KLINE ROBERT E.---INDIANA PA.
1967 KNAPP FREDRIC W.---HUNTINGTON NY.
1967 MORROW RICHARD DAVID---SAN FRANCISCO CA.
[08/23/78 REMAINS RETURNED]
1967 WRIGHT JAMES J.---MERCED CA.
[08/23/78 REMAINS RETURNED]
1969 CHIRICHIGNO LUIS G.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 CARROLL PATRICK H.---ALLEN PARK MI.
1969 NOWICKI JAMES E.---WINTER PARK FL.
[03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE IN 98]
1969 PETERSON MICHAEL TERRY---REDMOND WA.
[12/10/69 SOME LISTS SAY REMAINS RECOVERED,RETURNEE ALIVE 1998]
1969 SHEPARD VERNON C.---TALMADGE OH
[12/10/69 RELEASED]
1969 WHITFORD LAWRENCE W. JR.---CEDAR FALLS IA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
676 Donus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1570 A tidal wave in the North Sea destroys the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people are killed.
1648 12,000 Jews massacred by Chmielnicki hordes in Narol, Podlia( the Ukraine)
1721 Peter the Great Becomes Emperor of Russia
1772 The first Committees of Correspondence are formed in Massachusetts under Samuel Adams
1783 Gen Washington bids farewell to his army
1824 Popular presidential vote 1st recorded; Jackson beats J.Q. Adams
1835 2nd Seminole War begins in Osceola
1841 Akbar Khan successfully revolts against Shah Shuja in Afghanistan
1854 lestone paving of Washington St between Dupont & Kearny starts
1879 In a 6-day footrace a Mr Weston loses to a horse, 900 to 885 km
1880 James A Garfield (R) elected President
1889 North Dakota becomes 39th & South Dakota becomes the 40th state
1898 Theodor Herzl arrives in Jerusalem
1892 Lawmen surround outlaws Ned Christie and Arch Wolf near Tahlequah, Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). It will take dynamite and a cannon to dislodge the two from their cabin.
1904 British newspaper, "The Daily Mirror," begins publishing
1915 1st US election by proportional representation, Ashtabula, Ohio
1917 1st US soldiers killed in combat in WW I
1917 Balfour Declaration proclaims support for a Jewish state in Palestine
1917 Lansing-Ishii Agreement; US recognizes Japan's privileges in China
1920 KDKA (Pittsburgh) goes on the air as 1st commercial radio station
1920 Warren G Harding elected President
1930 Ras Tafari crowned Haile Selassie I, 225th emperor of Solmonic Dynasty
1934 Babe Ruth tours Tokyo Japan
1936 1st high-definition TV broadcast service, by BBC in London
1938 Babe Ruth applies for the job of St Louis Browns' manager
1942 Montgomery (Br) defeats Rommel (Ger) in battle of Alamein (WW II)
1944 Auschwitz begins gassing inmates
1947 Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" flies for 1st (& last) time
1948 President Harry S Truman beats Republican challenger Thomas E Dewey for the U.S. Presidency, confounding pollsters and newspapers (the Chicago Daily Tribune wrongly publishes the famous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline)
1954 Charles C Diggs Jr elected Michigan's 1st black congressman
1954 JS Thurmond 1st senator elected by write-in vote (SC)
1956 Hungary appeals for UN assistance against Soviet invasion
1956 Israel captures Gaza and Sheham
1957 1st titanium mill opened, Toronto Ohio
1959 Charles Van Doren confesses, TV quiz show-"21," was fixed
1960 Penguin Books publishes "Lady Chatterley's Lover"
1962 JFK announces Cuban missile bases were being dismantled
1964 CBS purchases NY Yankees
1969 NFL record of 12 passing touchdowns, New Orleans Billy Kramer & St L Charlie Johnson pass for 6 touchdowns each
1970 Cleveland Cavaliers lose by biggest margin-54 pts (Philadelphia 141-87)
1972 Construction begins on the Kingdome, Seattle
1973 "Barbra Streisand ...and Other Musical Instruments" airs on CBS TV
1975 Ed Giacomin as a Red Wing returns to Madison Square Garden beats Rangers 6-4
1976 Former Georgia Gov Jimmy Carter (D) defeats incumbent Gerald R Ford (R) in race for Presidency
1978 Crew of Soyuz 29 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 31
1983 Archbishop Hickey conducts papal investigation of Archbishop Hunthausen, Seattle
1983 President Reagan signs a bill establishing Martin L King day
1987 Entertainer Lola Falona is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
1987 Harrison releases "Cloud 9" & McCartney releases "All the Best"
1988 Computer virus strikes Pentagon, SDI research lab & 6 universities
1988 Shamir Likud wins election in Israel
1988 Mexican radio station erroneously reports Mike Tyson dies in car crash
1988 Walt Weiss wins AL rookie of the year (3rd straight for Oakland A's)
1991 Jermaine Jackson releases "Word to the Badd!!" anti Michael song
1993 Christie Todd Whitman (R) elected 1st woman governor of NJ
1993 Rudolph Guliani (R) elected 107th mayor of NYC
1993 A new series of wildfires swept along the Southern California coast, destroying more than 300 homes in the exclusive community of Malibu.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Israel : Balfour Declaration Day (1917)
Mexico/Portugal : Dia de Muertos/Day of the Dead
North & South Dakota : Admission Day (1889)
Venezuela : Memorial Day
Virgin Islands : Liberty Day (Monday)
Liberia : Thanksgiving Day (Thursday)
World : World Community Day (1945) (pray for peace) (Friday)
Denmark : Esbjerg Cup-World's largest ice skating championship (Saturday)
US : Fig Week (Day 2)
US : Broadcast Journalists Day.
US : Double Talk Week Begins
World Temperance Sunday.
Peanut Butter Lover's Month

Religious Observances
Ang, RC : All Souls' Day-Commemoration of All Faithful Departed
Christian : Commemoration of St Marcian

Religious History
1164 Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, 45, began a six_year self_imposed exile in France. Once a close friend of England's Henry II, Thomas had more recently become an outspoken opponent of the king's royal policies.
1600 Staunch Anglican theologian Richard Hooker died at 46. His last words were: 'God hath my daily petitions, for I am at peace with all men, and He is at peace with me... and this witness makes the thoughts of death joyful.'
1789 During the chaos of the French Revolution, the property of the Church in France was taken over by the state.
1830 A general convention of Methodist reformers opposed to the episcopal (i.e., bishop_led) form of church government met in Baltimore, MD, to establish the Protestant Methodist Church.
1917 British foreign secretary Arthur J. Balfour, 69, issued the Balfour Declaration, calling for "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." The document's recognition of a Jewish nationalism planted the seed which in 1948 led to an establishment of the modern state of Israel.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle

Stupid question of the day...
Should Vegetarians eat animal crackers?

Murphys Law of the day...
Nature always sides with the hidden flaw

Astounding fact #705,781...
If you stretch a standard Slinky out flat it measures 87 feet long.