Kidder Massacre, Kansas
The Kidder Massacre, a tragic event etched in the annals of the American West, unfolded on July 2, 1867, near the present-day location of Goodland, Kansas. This grim encounter saw a small detachment of U.S. Army soldiers, led by Second Lieutenant Lyman S. Kidder, fall victim to an ambush by a combined force of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. The incident occurred against the backdrop of Hancock’s War, a period of heightened tension and conflict on the western plains, fueled by westward expansion and the resulting displacement of Native American tribes.
The year 1867 was marked by escalating conflict between the U.S. military and various Native American tribes across the Great Plains. Driven by the relentless push of westward expansion, the U.S. government sought to control Native American territories, leading to a series of military campaigns aimed at suppressing resistance. Hancock’s War, named after General Winfield Scott Hancock, was one such campaign, characterized by aggressive military movements and attempts to force tribes onto reservations. It was within this turbulent environment that the ill-fated mission of Lieutenant Kidder took place, culminating in the Kidder Massacre.
On June 1, 1867, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, a name synonymous with the Indian Wars, departed Fort Hays, Kansas, with a formidable force of approximately 1,100 men from the Seventh Cavalry. Their mission was to quell perceived Indian uprisings that threatened the region’s burgeoning settlements and transportation routes. Custer’s command embarked on a sweeping patrol, venturing north to Fort McPherson on the Platte River in Nebraska before turning south towards the forks of the Republican River, near the modern-day town of Benkelman, Nebraska. During their patrol, Custer’s troops observed telltale signs of Native American presence, including smoke signals during daylight hours and the unsettling sight of flaming arrows piercing the night sky. Despite these indicators, the Seventh Cavalry did not engage in any significant hostilities during this initial phase of their operation.
Amidst Custer’s movements, General William T. Sherman, a towering figure in the U.S. Army and commander of forces stationed at Fort Sedgwick near Julesburg, Colorado, sought to establish communication with Custer. Recognizing the need for timely updates and strategic coordination, Sherman selected 25-year-old Lieutenant Lyman S. Kidder of Company M, 2nd Cavalry, for a critical mission: to locate Custer and deliver vital messages. The importance of this task was underscored by the vast distances and challenging terrain that separated the two commands, making reliable communication essential for effective military operations. The subsequent Kidder Massacre highlights the dangers inherent in such missions during a period of intense conflict.
Charged with this important task, Lieutenant Kidder assembled a small patrol consisting of ten enlisted men and a Sioux Indian guide named Red Bead. Their destination was the forks of the Republican River, approximately 90 miles southeast of Fort Sedgwick, where Custer and his men were believed to be encamped. On June 29, 1867, Kidder and his detachment departed Fort Sedgwick, embarking on a journey that would ultimately lead them to a tragic and unforeseen encounter. The fateful journey of Kidder and his men would forever be remembered because of the Kidder Massacre.
Upon reaching Custer’s campsite on the evening of July 1, Kidder and his patrol were met with an unsettling discovery: the camp was deserted. Unbeknownst to those at Fort Sedgwick, Custer had already moved his command from that location, venturing further south on scouting missions before veering northwest. In the dim moonlight, Kidder made a fateful misjudgment. He mistook the trail left by a wagon train dispatched by Custer to Fort Wallace for Custer’s own trail. This error in navigation would have dire consequences for Kidder and his men, leading them directly into harm’s way. The misinterpretation of the trail was a critical turning point, setting the stage for the Kidder Massacre.
On the following day, around noon, a group of Lakota Indians encountered Kidder’s party north of Beaver Creek, a tributary of the Republican River. This encounter quickly escalated the tension, and the Lakota warriors promptly alerted several nearby Cheyenne Indians to the presence of the soldiers. United in their response, the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors began to close in on Kidder and his men.
Faced with the looming threat of an attack, Kidder and his troops altered their course, veering southeast towards the valley of Beaver Creek, approximately 12 miles north of present-day Edson, Kansas. As they attempted to escape, some of the soldiers were cut down on a ridge overlooking the creek. The remaining soldiers managed to reach a defensive position in a small gully located about 50 yards north of the creek. However, their situation was precarious. The Lakota warriors dismounted and advanced on foot, while the Cheyenne warriors circled the gully, effectively surrounding the soldiers.
Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the soldiers fought valiantly, managing to kill two Indian horses. However, their resistance was ultimately futile. Kidder, all ten of his men, and their Sioux scout, Red Bead, were killed. The brutality of the Kidder Massacre was further amplified by reports that some of the victims had been tortured before their deaths, and their bodies were subjected to mutilation and burning. Two Lakota warriors, including Chief Yellow Horse, were also killed in the engagement.
Meanwhile, Custer, having received no communication from General Sherman, initiated a westward movement toward Fort Sedgwick. Upon reaching Riverside Station, approximately 40 miles to the west, he telegraphed the fort seeking new orders. It was at this point that Custer learned of the Kidder patrol and the fact that he had missed them. Concerned for their safety, Custer immediately reversed course and headed back south, retracing his steps in search of Kidder and his men.
Custer’s command followed the trail, initially encountering a dead army horse. Soon, they began to observe signs of a running battle that had unfolded for several miles along Beaver Creek. On July 12, Custer’s troops discovered the decomposed and horrifically mutilated bodies of Kidder and his party in a ravine north of Beaver Creek, in what is now northern Sherman County, Kansas. Custer’s own account vividly describes the scene, noting that each body was riddled with arrows, a testament to the ferocity of the attack. The only exception was the Indian guide, who was not scalped.
The initial burial of the slain soldiers took place in a common grave on a hill overlooking the ravine where they fell. However, their remains were later exhumed and re-interred at Fort Wallace. In the 1880s, the bodies were once again moved, this time to Fort Leavenworth, with one exception: Lieutenant Kidder. Kidder’s father, Judge Kidder, traveled to Sherman County in February 1868 and identified his son’s body by a shirt that his mother had made for him. Judge Kidder then returned with his son’s remains to their home in Minnesota, where Lieutenant Kidder was laid to rest in the family plot in St. Paul.
On August 3, 1969, the Friends of the Library of Goodland, Kansas, organized a dedication ceremony to commemorate the Kidder Massacre. The ceremony served as a solemn reminder of the tragic events that had unfolded in the area over a century earlier, and a historical marker and monument were erected to ensure that the memory of Lieutenant Kidder and his men would not be forgotten. The Kidder Massacre stands as a somber reminder of the violent clashes that characterized the westward expansion of the United States and the devastating impact on Native American populations.