Beecher Island Outline & Thesis, Fall 2005

Andy Wilson History of the Native American October 11, 2005 Thesis Statement In September of 1868 one of the most crucial battles of the American West was fought on the plains of Eastern Colorado. The battle was that of Beecher Island, a small island in the Arikaree River. On that island, fifty scouts and frontiersmen, under the leadership of then Brevet Colonel George A. Forsyth, held off a combined force of Cheyenne, Brule, Oglala, and Arapahoe warriors, numbering approximately one thousand. This army of plains warriors was under the leadership of a Cheyenne named Roman Nose. Forsyth and his scouts successfully withstood multiple attacks from Roman Nose and his men for one until they were rescued by reinforcements. The battle of Beecher Island was vital in the conquest and subjugation of the peoples of Western Kansas and Nebraska as well as Eastern Colorado. Yet, since there is very little information concerning the battle from a Native Americans point of view, the best synthesis concerning the battle can only be obtained from those whites and AfricanAmericans who fought in the battle or were related to it in some other way.

Outline I. Introduction a. Thesis Statement II. Events Leading to Battle of Beecher Island a. Growing tensions and raids

b. Raids on Pawnee and Kaw horses III. Forsyth’s scouts and tracking Roman Nose a. Building scout force in Ellsworth IV. Battle and Siege of Beecher Island V. Relief force and rescue VI. Aftermath a. Forsyth b. Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Brule and Oglala