US Army in Oklahoma--A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians Part 5

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez
Thank you for joining us in our fifth and final article covering the rich and diverse history of the U.S. Army and its effects on the history of the state of Oklahoma. In the last four articles, we have covered how the Army assisted in the Indian Removal Act, the assorted Trails of Tears, the War Between the States, the Southern Plains Indian Wars, and policing the territory during the time of the Land Runs. That was all during the 19th century. Obviously, it was rugged, and at different times, places were quite lawless. During the 20th Century, the Oklahoma Army National Guard assisted in World War I, the Tulsa Race Riots, World War II, and Korea.

First let us say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.

After Korea, the 45th Infantry Division, being limited to only citizens of Oklahoma, continued to assist in the recovery actions during several natural disasters, however, they did not see any action during Vietnam. In 1968, due to a paradigm shift in the Department of the Army, the 45th Infantry Division was disbanded and became the 45th Infantry Brigade.

In the intervening years, the 45th has been involved in the conflicts in Bosnia, Gulf War 1 (also known as the Iraq War), and Gulf War 2(also known as the War on Terror—9/11 to present). They have also been involved with the recovery efforts for numerous natural disasters along the home-front, including numerous tornadoes, hurricanes, and acts of terrorism (the Murrah bombing—I did a blog on it and you can find it here).

The U.S. Army has several active posts throughout the state, including but not limited to, Fort Sill, the McAlester Army Ammunitions Plant (and all surrounding facilities), and numerous Army National Guard Posts. According to governing.com there are more than 11,000 active duty Army troops that are currently serving recruited from Oklahoma. Oklahoma has the 3rd highest recruitment rate per capita in the U.S. for the military in general.

Thank you for joining us this month as we have completed our discovery of the U.S. Army and the influence they have had on the history and development of our great state. Join us next month as we delve into the Air Force and their influence on our state.

    Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma. 

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US Army: A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians pt. 4

 

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

 

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

Hello! Thank you for joining us this month in our exploration of the U.S. Army and their influence on the development of our great state of Oklahoma. For the last three months, we have covered how the Army assisted in the Indian Removal Act, the assorted Trails of Tears, the War Between the States, the Southern Plains Indian Wars, and policing the territory during the time of the Land Runs. That was all during the 19th century. Obviously, it was rugged, and at different times, places were quite lawless. First let us say: we wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families.

By the end of the 19th Century, most of the land in Oklahoma had been settled. Though the tribes had somewhat settled down after the land runs, politically, tension was still high between the Indian Nations and the territorial government that had been established in Guthrie. The Department of the Army was tasked with keeping the peace; however, they had to work within jurisdictional boundaries. Many of the townships and most of the counties had their own police and sheriffs. However, the ultimate authority still lay with the Department of the Army and the local law could “call out the cavalry” if things became untenable.

In 1905, Oklahoma was still divided in two sections called the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory. The tribes in Indian Territory attempted to form their own state called Sequoyah. Their constitutional convention failed to gain the required support inside the federal government, and the movement was stopped. The feeling at the time was that a one-state solution to the request was the best idea. This prevented the tribes from being able to gain additional political power inside the federal government.

In 1906, William Murray (principle chief of the Cherokee) and Charles Haskell (representative of the Creeks), came up with the “Oklahoma Enabling Act,” which was passed by the US Congress. This turned over the policing and military control of the Oklahoma Territory to the state government. This effectively ended the century-long martial law of the future state of Oklahoma. As a part of the formation of the state, the militia, which had been under regional control, formed into the 45th Infantry Division.

The role of the US Army in Oklahoma, changed from providing a police force and having ultimate control of the goings-on inside the state boundaries to one of supporting the larger national army.

Fort Reno, which had been a major fort with several cavalry units, was turned into more of a support role, being that they became a remount station.

Fort Sill changed from a primarily cavalry-based fort into an artillery fort and eventually became one of the army’s basic training boot camps as well as AIT (Advanced Individual Training) for artillery.

Fort Supply, while still a historical site, was sold to a local mental hospital, and the lands around it were sold as private residences.

During World War I, emotions were mixed, and the “Green Corn Rebellion” started. It was mostly a localized movement, where crops and resources were seized by protesters. But when the plans to march on Washington D.C. were discovered, the local municipalities called out the regional militia to put down the rebellion before the rebels were able to leave the state.

In direct response to the Green Corn Rebellion, the Department of the Army transferred control of the regional militia to the state, thus forming the 45th Infantry division. One of the first acts of the division was taking part in the 1921 Tulsa race riots and helping to end them more quickly.

Just after WWI, the state fell into an agricultural depression, which had the Department of the Army considering pulling all of the cavalry forces out of the state. During the 1920’s, Oklahoma saw an economic boom, which included the discovery of rich oil fields, and the start of several large ranches, providing beef, sheep, and horses. The U.S. Army kept the active forts alive throughout the Roaring 20’s and the Dust Bowl period.

The migration of the citizenry of Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s opened up considerable amounts of land. The army retook control of some of the areas they had previously lost in the land runs.

During the Roaring 20’s, Oklahoma became a major contributor to the US Army per capita. It is now 3rd in the nation, with close to 7500 enlistments per every 10000 citizens.

During World War II, the 45th took part in the invasion of Sicily, capturing more than 120,000 prisoners and suffering 3,650 deaths during the 511 days of fighting. Nineteen members were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.

In 1941, the Midwest Air Depot Facility was opened to service the bombers and fighters during WWII. In 1942, the army renamed the facility after an Osage Major General Clarence Tinker whom had been killed leading a bombing raid against the Japanese on Wake Island. Tinker Air Field, now Tinker Air Force base, is the headquarters of the United States Air Force Matériel Command. The inland location and the military endorsement of the surrounding populace made Tinker the premier location.

Thank you for staying with us, as we describe the involvement of the US Army in development the state of Oklahoma. Please join us next month, as we wrap up our discourse on the Army next month, going from post World War II to the current day.




Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma.


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US Army in Oklahoma--A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians Part 3

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

    

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Thank you for joining us this month in our discovery of the effects that the different branches of the U.S. military have had on the development of the state of Oklahoma. For the last two months, we have delved into the history of the US Army, up to the end of the War Between the States (WBtS).

This month, we cover the time period after the WBtS going to the land runs/ lotteries.

On the national level, the time period just after the WBtS is known as the reconstruction period. This period is a time of social change and military occupation, particularly in the south. In the Indian Territory, the tribes had split, one side for the United States, the other for the Confederate States.

In 1867, following numerous raids, the Department of the Interior, at the insistence of the newly formed states of Kansas and Nebraska, formed a series of treaties that created the Cheyenne-Arapaho and the Kiowa-Commanche reservations. This helped to frustrate the already closed-in feeling tribes. The plains tribes resisted the move to the reservations, and tensions increased. The army was tasked with being a peace keeping force in the territory. They protected not only the eastern tribes from the plains tribes, but also the white settlers that were moving through the area.

Tensions rose steadily, however, as not all tribes ascribed to the war-like ideals of the plains tribes. In 1874 war broke out in the conflict now known as the Red River War. In one of the first conflicts, Lieutenant Colonel Custer led a raid against Chief Black Kettle’s camp. Tragically, or rather ironically, Black Kettle was known as a “peace chief”.

The Red River War lasted through into 1875, ending in the “Sand Hill Fight” on April 6th 1875. In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act ended the reservation system in the Indian Territory, and opened up the lands reserved for the tribes, thus leading to the Land Runs, which began in 1889.

There were 5 major land runs, and several smaller ones throughout the next 13 years. The 1st of the major land runs occurred on April 22nd 1889, where the “Unassigned Lands” were opened to settlement. This land run opened up what became Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan and Oklahoma counties. This is what is commonly referred to as the “Oklahoma Land Run”, however it was only the first in the series of them.

The 2nd major land run was in fact 3 smaller land runs occurring between September 22nd and 28th of 1891, and opened up the settlement of what eventually became Lincoln, Pottowatomie, and Seminole counties.

The 3rd was the Cheyenne-Arapaho reservation lands, occurring in April 19, 1892, and opened up the lands that would become Blaine, Custer, Dewey, Washita, and Roger Mills counties.

The 4th was the Cherokee Outlet on April 19th 1893--also mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip Land Run--which opened the lands of the entire Cherokee Outlet. This area ranged from essentially lands east of current day Enid, all the way to current day Woodward, thus opening close to 1/8th of what would become the state of Oklahoma.

The 5th and final major land run on May 23rd of 1895, was the opening of the Kickapoo lands, which opened the remainder of current-day eastern Oklahoma and western Pottowatomie counties. After this land run, a critical change was made and, other than several considerably smaller land runs, was the end of the “Land Run Experiment”, and was considered to be an inefficient way to distribute the land.

While it is commonly held that after the Kickapoo land run, the land was distributed by lottery, and bids, there was actually one more minor land run, which allocated land in the current town of Arcadia, Oklahoma. That land run occurred on August 8th 1901.

During each of these land runs, and the settlement directly afterwards, the U.S. Army was tasked with keeping the peace, as well as preventing the “Sooners” from being able to claim jump the most choice lands, and to help keep down theft of the lands for the claimants. Unfortunately, corruption ran a bit rampant, and there are many stories of not only Sooners, but also of claimants being wiped out by claim jumpers.

It was during this time frame that the U.S. Cavalry, and by extension the Army, held ultimate authority of law in the land. There were several U.S. Marshals in the territory, such as Bass Reeves, and Frank Dalton. When the cards were on the table, however, each of these marshals had the authority to call in the cavalry, to put down any insurrections, etc. if it was deemed necessary. Each of the towns had their own marshal, as well as many (like Oklahoma City, Edmond, Guthrie, Stillwater, and Norman) had their own police force enforcing the edicts of the city ordinances.

Join us next month as we explore the history of the U.S. Army, and its effects on the history of this grand state, known as Oklahoma during its statehood, and afterward.

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma. 
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US Army in Oklahoma--A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians Part 2

 

Fort Gibson, 1870's Wikipedia, public domain

 
By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez

Thank you for joining us in our exploration of the history of the grand state of Oklahoma. This month, we continue to explore the rich and diverse history of the U.S. Army and its effects on the development of this wonderful state. Last month we covered the beginnings of the initial forts going through the decades leading up to the Mexican War. With the development of the “military roads” that wandered throughout the eastern part of the territory, troops were able to move considerably faster than they had before, which is no surprise as the “trailblazers” would literally have to cut through miles of forest before they could make their way to the next fort.

By the time that Texas had seceded from Mexico, and relations with our southern neighbor had dissolved into outright war, the army had been tasked with keeping the white travelers safe along the several highways that spanned the Indian Territory. These roads included the California road, and the Santa Fe trail.

When the Mexican War broke out, forts Gibson, and Washita were virtually depopulated to support the war effort. During this time, we have visitations by numerous historical personages such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Albert Pike, Matthew Arbuckle, Nathan Boone, and William Tecumseh Sherman, just to name a few.

Forts Washita, Gibson, and Towson served as rest stops for the troops that were moving down to Mexico during the conflict. The previously established highways made an easy road the troops going through the area. At that point, while they were still restless, the tribes did not interfere with the troop movements through their areas, especially many of these units were the same ones that forced them to relocate to the area during the diverse “trails of tears”.

After the Mexican War, it became more of a business as usual affair. The different forts were re-provisioned, re-manned, and became the “law of the land”. During the intervening 13 years between the Mexican War and the War Between the States, the fiction of the “Permanent Indian Frontier” disappeared, and Forts Gibson and Towson were closed to pave the way for Forts Cobb, and Arbuckle. The Indian Territory became the recipient of the ousted tribes from the State of Texas, and the newly formed territories of Kansas and Nebraska.

The different forts in the area helped to protect the Choctaw, and Chickasaw from the raids of the Kiowa Commanche, and Apache that tended to raid the more peaceable tribes. They also served to secure the non-indigenous tribesmen going along the different trails through the area.

The Department of the Army had effectively developed a strategic connection between the forts in the territory, and to the forts in Texas. This connection became the front line of defense in what would later be known as the “Commanche Frontier”.

It was during this time that the need for the expansion of the army became evident, and the Department of the Army started to bring in indigenous tribesman to serve as scouts, translators, and guides.

This practice became more necessary during the War Between the States, as the tribes sided with either the United States, or the Confederate States.

There were numerous factors that led the different tribes to siding with one side or the other. The main concerns happened to be the increased prospects of preserving the Indian Territory nations from being dissolved, settlement of long-standing political and familial rivalries, and the concern over the withdrawal of the protective garrisons in the I.T. allowing troops to take part in hostilities east of the Mississippi River.

Confederate Indian Commissioner Albert Pike skillfully played on the resentments that accumulated during the Trails of Tears, and the years following to be able to secure alliances with ten of the larger tribal nations.

During the War Between the States, approximately 5000 tribesmen were recruited into 11 Confederate regiments, and 8 battalions. They succeeded in conquering the different forts, and the abandoned forts that littered the area, and were successful in driving the federal troops north to Kansas, and Missouri, if for a short time.

This conflict gives us such notable names as General Stand Watie, Lt. Col. Jackson McCurtain, John Ross, Chief McIntosh, and Opothleyahola. This conflict also includes the one and only naval battle fought in current day Oklahoma.

With the conclusion of the War Between the States, new treaties were drawn to further limit the different tribes, and limit their governing power. They also authorized the Cheyenne-Arapaho and Kiowa-Comanche reservations in present-day Oklahoma.

The role of the Army in keeping the peace, as well as stemming the flow of white settlers to the dedicated “Indian Territory” would continue up through the decades, even going beyond the five land runs.

Join us next month as we discuss the role that the army, and specifically the cavalry play in the “Southern Plains Indian Wars”, and the settlement of Euro-Americans to the territory.

Born and raised in Edmond, Oklahoma, Alanna Radle Rodriguez is the great-great granddaughter of one of the first pioneers to settle in Indian Territory. Alanna loves the history of the state and relishes in volunteering at the 1889 Territorial Schoolhouse in Edmond. Her first published story, part of a collaborative novella titled Legacy Letters, came out September 2016. Alanna lives with her husband and parents in the Edmond area. She is currently working on a historical fiction series that takes place in pre-statehood Waterloo, Oklahoma. 
Facebook.com/authorAlannaRadleRodriguez
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US Army in Oklahoma--A True Tale of Cowboys and Indians

By Alanna Radle Rodriguez and Judge Rodriguez


Thank you for joining us in our exploration of the history of the grand state of Oklahoma. We wish to pay our respects to the brave men and women of our military, and let them know our thoughts and prayers are with them, particularly those currently on deployment outside our country and away from their families during this holiday season. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

This month, we start a new series covering the history of the different branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their effects on the history of Oklahoma.

The section of land that became Oklahoma was part of the Louisiana purchase, bought in 1803. By late 1819, the federal government had decided to use the Louisiana Territory as an area for resettlement of the eastern indigenous tribes. It was also decided that non-indigenous citizens could settle west of the Mississippi river.

The first tribesmen to settle in the newly opened area were Cherokee who voluntarily moved west. They settled in what would be later considered western Arkansas and Missouri. After some bloodshed between the Cherokee and the local Osage over hunting rights, the department of the Army decided to found Fort Smith in Arkansas in order to keep the peace.

Fort Smith could be considered the first of the frontier forts that would later govern the Indian Territory, or Oklahoma. It was, in fact, originally part of the Indian Territory, until its transfer to the state of Arkansas in 1905.

After the creation of Fort Smith, the territories of Missouri and Arkansas were established, and the tribes indigenous to the territories were moved west. This established what was referred to as “A Permanent Indian Frontier.” In 1824, the army abandoned Fort Smith. Between 1819 and 1827, a line of seven forts had been built between Minnesota and Louisiana. These forts were presumably created to reassure the frontier settlers, but in fact they served as peacekeepers between the displaced eastern tribesmen and the existing tribes.

In the 1830’s, with the Indian Removal Act and the forced relocation of the eastern tribes to the Indian Territory (the eastern part of Oklahoma), the border forts that had been created served a vital role to the safety and security of both the western border states and the numerous displaced tribes. As a part of the removal act, the Department of the Army was tasked with keeping the peace between the displaced tribes and the indigenous tribes. This is where the official designation of the “Civilized Tribes” comes from. The displaced tribes were considered to be “civilized”, partly due to their exposure to the European settlers and the fact that many of them actually owned slaves. The western tribes were considered uncultured, and in many respects, barbaric.

In response to the demands placed on them by the “Indian Removal Act, the Department of the Army created Forts Gibson, Wayne, Coffee, and Washita. Forts Gibson and Washita remain until today. Fort Coffee, however, was abandoned after Fort Smith was re-commissioned, relocated, and re-manned in 1838. Fort Wayne was abandoned in 1842.

During the time of the Trail of Tears, the Indian Territory became even more contentious. Indians performed numerous raids into the Mexican state of Tejas (until 1836) and the independent country of Texas. With the combination of whiskey runners, gunrunners, and the numerous raids by the tribesmen, the Army had its hands full, keeping the peace, as well as securing the border. That is what prompted the development of military highways connecting the forts. This system of military roads between the different forts that was established formed the backbone of highway transport system in eastern Oklahoma.

This concludes the earliest part of the history of the United States Army in Oklahoma. Next month we will cover the Mexican war and the War Between the States.

Locust invasion and US Army aid

Cara Grandle here.

Have you ever read a western, settlers or pioneer novel where a major environmental catastrophe was involved? Floods, fires, blizzards? How about locusts? Over the next few posts I’m going to talk about interesting historical facts behind several of these obstacles.

Starting with locusts.

Locust storm wipe out everything. Crops. Food. Wood. Even the wool off the sheep’s back. They were a serious threat to survival. An invading swarm could mean starvation for all around.

Where should we begin?

How about finding out the difference between a grasshopper and a locust?

Quoting the Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior contributor, Alexandre Bsevolo Latchininsky, Entomologist says, “All locusts are grasshoppers but not all grasshoppers are locusts. Out of 12,000 described grasshopper species in the world, only about a dozen should be considered locusts.”

Phew. Only a dozen. Which after we figure out what defines a locust you will be as grateful as I am that only 12 of 12,000 behave this way:

• Dreaded and destructive. 
• Like a firestorm. 
• Travel on the winds. 7 mph. Looks like a dust cloud. Desert locust covers huge area. 
• Wings crackling. Thrumb-humbing buzzing. 
• Scientists don’t know how the insects choose to land. Maybe color…the green of food looks like a McDonalds stop. They eat everything. One woman reported wearing a dress of white with green stripes. The locusts settled on her and ate every bit of the green stripe in the dress before anything could be done about it.
• Locusts are three inches long, weigh one ounce, and eats its body weight in one day. 
• Locusts respond different than grasshoppers to crowding. It changes color. From russet browns to yellow and black. Then it eats a belly full of poison plants, so if a predator eats him it will not eat another. The head changes shape. They band. After they eat all the local food, they swarm. 
• The swarm is able to eat up to 200 tons of vegetation in a single day.
• Locusts swarms have been recorded on every continent accept Antarctica.
• Locusts outbreaks happened on a small scale every 3-5 years, with a major infestation every 6-8 years. 

Libya, June 2012, 2 million people starved to death after a locust infestation that could have been prevented with infestation control. A political move by a now deceased leader led to this tragedy.


Utah, July 1847, A swarm of Mormon Crickets, a wingless desert locust three times the size of a regular desert locust, marched by the millions clearing 10,000 acres of crops. Cannibals, they march to keep from getting eaten by the locust behind them. The swarm lasted for three weeks.


Rocky Mountains, June 1875, the sun was blocked for five days as the land was infested with Rocky Mountain Locusts. Named Albert’s Storm. Albert Child was a county judge and a weather watcher who measured the swarm with his weather tools. He determined that the swarm was 100 miles wide, 1,800 miles long, and 1.5 miles high, containing 3.5 trillion locusts covering 198,000 miles. 300 thousand acres destroyed.
As the weather cooled the swarms would collect on the railroad tracks to absorb the heat of the sun by day and retain it well into the night. They wouldn’t get out of the way of the train, creating a slippery gooey mess that made train passage precarious.


Famine. Death by starvation. 

Survival facts:

Farmers tried all sorts of things to scare the insects away. They built trenches and filled them with fire only to have the grasshoppers smother the fires. One survival tactics was to eat the locust. Many pulled the legs and wings and fried them in butter to stay alive.

Only 1 in 10 families were left with enough provisions to last out the winter. Kansas alone lost one third of its population. Folks abandoned their stakes and return to the east, slowing The Oregon Trail flood by 20 percent. 

 

Where is the hope in such news?

People are resilient. People do great things.

Hope:

The first ever organized relief effort preformed by the US Army was in answer to this locust invasion.
During that terrible winter, soldiers distributed thousands of heavy coats, boots, shoes, woolen blanket and nearly 2 million rations to suffering families in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado Territory and Dakota Territory. More importantly, it gave the Army a beginning experience with this type of aid.


Add more hope:
The eggs from this massive storm hatched and were frozen out by an early winter storm and the people passed The Grasshopper Act which made it mandatory for able-bodied men to work for at least 2 days during hatch season to eliminate locust larva or be fined $10.00. On top of that, they offered a bounty of $1.00 a bushel for locust's larva collected. By the 1880s they had recovered enough to resume exports. Some switched to winter crops that could be harvested before the larva hatched.


And the final hope:
The Rocky Mountain Locust is now considered extinct. The last sighting was in 1902 in Canada. The reason they are extinct is still considered a mystery.

With all this crazy, it’s amazing to me that there aren’t more stories of locust invasion in pioneer, western, and settler stories. Hmmmmm. Book idea anyone?

Have you ever experienced any sort of insect invasion? I'd love to hear from you.

If you've made it this far, I'd like to tell you about something new. I started a podcast. Home for writers, readers and regular Joes. If you are a podcast listener and you need a dose of joy-meets-common sense come on over to Life Caraphrased. 

CaraGrandle is a Historical Romance Novelist who prefers to write about the early settlers of the Pacific Northwest. Think trappers and loggers and scroungy-backed woodsmen. She is represented by the Steve Laube Agency. Cara leads the author4TheAuthor writers group on Facebook, home to 190 writers. Together they're pressing back on busy and making a space for their dreams. 

Cara is currently out on submission. Follower her journey on her Facebook author page.

Prayers much appreciated. Smile.