September 17, 1868
On this day, the fierce, mythical Cheyenne warrior called Roman Nose died a mortal’s death at the Battle of Beecher Island.
The confrontation with just 48 Army scouts began early in the day. Major George A. Forsyth had handpicked the scouts that accompanied him in an attempt to track a Native American war party responsible for an attack on freight wagons in August. (Above, Roman Nose or Hook Nose, 1868)
They camped the night of September 16 along the Republican River near the present-day Wray, Colorado. Forsyth, a Civil War veteran who had 
participated in every major battle fought by the Army of the Potomac, reportedly spotted the headdress of a Cheyenne warrior on the horizon the morning of the 17th.
The number of Cheyenne and Sioux combatants riding down on the scouts has been placed anywhere from 200 to 1,000. Considered the most reliable estimates, Colorado and Kansas historical records set the figure at 750. Grossly outnumbered regardless, Forsyth, (above) ordered his men to a sand bar in the middle of the Arikaree River. Armed with extremely accurate Spencer repeating rifles, they were able to hold off numerous assaults.
Beecher Island, early 20th century during scouts reunion
Roman Nose was killed in one of the first attacks. Thought to be invincible by the Cheyenne, his strong medicine had failed him. Dragged from the riverbank to safety, he died that night. The actual date of his birth is unrecorded but placed sometime about 1823, making him 45 years of age.
Perhaps no other Native American was responsible for killing more emigrants along the Oregon Trail. He had refused all offers of leadership, was never a chief and bitterly opposed any peaceful coexistence with Anglo Americans on the frontier.
Physically imposing, said to be a master of intimidation, he regaled himself in elaborate eagle feather headdress and observed a variety of rituals before battle. According to Native American oral history, he refused to eat food prepared with metal. The disruption of his spiritual shield occurred, the story goes, because he was served fry bread that had been speared with a metal fork while meeting with Sioux allies that day.
By the second day of fighting two of Forsyth’s men, “Comanche Jack” Stillwell and Pierre Trudeau, volunteered to brave enemy lines to go for help. Two units of the 10th Cavalry’s “Buffalo Soldiers” rode to the rescue five days later. By that time, three of Forsythe’s men had been killed, 20 more were wounded and their attackers had abandoned the fight.
Lieutenant Frederick Beecher, (right) for whom the battle is named, was among the first day’s casualties. At just 27, Beecher, a nephew of famous cleric and reformer Henry Ward Beecher. The Lieutenant had served heroically in the Battle of Gettysburg and was wounded twice during the Civil War.
George Armstrong Custer, perhaps not the most gifted officer at military strategy, called the Beecher Island event the most significant battle of the Plains wars. Eight years later on June 25, 1876, Custer and 268 soldiers and scouts were annihilated at the Little Bighorn, a catastrophic event considered by most to supersede in significant any other battle with the Native Americans.
The body of Roman Nose was placed on a traditional funeral scaffold with the other Cheyenne dead and later buried on a ridge above the island. Lieutenant Beecher’s remains were never recovered.
A granite obelisk, (right) at the Beecher Battlefield Memorial site near Wray, Colorado, lists the names of the scouts 
killed and those wounded. A second monument commemorates the death of Roman Nose. (Right)
Little is known of hero Pierre Trudeau following the rescue. Jack Stillwell, however, went on to be a U.S. deputy marshal and a U.S. Commissioner in Oklahoma, despite the unsavory reputation of his outlaw brother Frank, involved with the Clantons in the shootout at Tombstone’s OK Corral. A 
close friend of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s, Stillwell, (left) looked after the showman’s affairs while he was on tour. He died in 1903 of Bright’s Disease and is buried in Cody, Wyoming.
Major Forsyth went on to serve as General Phillip Sheridan’s military secretary. He retired as a full colonel in 1890 and died in Rockport, Massachusetts in 1904 at age 78. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. In 1900, he authored the book, “Thrilling Days in Army Life,” recounting the Battle at Beecher Island. The volume is still available as a classic reprint and as an unabridged audio book.
The Wray Museum of Archology, 205 East 3rd Street, Wray, Colorado, includes a detailed account of the Beecher Island battle and a mural size painting by Kansas artist Irene Selonke. In addition, the museum house artifacts from two important archeological sites, the Dutton And Selby Sites believed to pre-date Clovis and the Jones-Miller Site which dates from 9,500 B.C.
Admission is $5 for individuals and $10 for families. The museum is open year-round from 12 noon to 4, Tuesday through Saturday. For more information go to cityofwray.org/179/Wray-Museum, e-mail wraymuseum@cityofwray.org, call (970) 332-5063 or write Wray Museum, P.O. Box 161, Wray, CO 80758.
Beecher Island Battlefield, located 16 miles south of Wray, includes Beecher Island Monument to the member of the U.S. Army killed there as well as a marker commemorating Roman Nose as well as a small picnic park and hiking trails. Beecher Island Days is observed annually, with the 2018 event on the 150th anniversary of the battle. For more information go to cityofwray.org or call (970) 332-4431.
© Text Only – 2018 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain or fair use.
♦Head On West strives for historic accuracy and uses a number of sources considered reliable. When research differs on significant facts, the various points of view will be cited.