On August 17, 1880, companies A, D, H and K of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, compromised of black soldiers who would be remembered as buffalo soldiers, marched into Fort Meade. It was a welcomed relocation, as the fort was well planned, and the buildings were relatively new, with the post having been built in 1878. Most importantly, it was “in the vicinity of civilization,” a request they had made in regard to their relocation. However, the move didn’t come without some controversy.
A common belief at the time was that since blacks had originally lived in tropical regions of Africa, they would not be able to survive the harsh colds of the Dakota’s winters. Even the Quartermaster-General, M.C. Meigs was of this opinion. He feared that sickness and death would spread through the Twenty-fifth. Among the soldiers though, there was no fear, just excitement for change. They would quickly prove that the extreme winters were no more of a match for them than any other solider.
What would eventually prove to be a challenge though was how to navigate relations with the city of Sturgis, a town formed for the purpose of separating the soldiers from their money.
Formation of the Scoop
Before Fort Meade, there was Camp J.G. Sturgis, which was just north of Bear Butte. The purpose of the camp was to prevent travel by Indian tribes between the agencies and the Yellowstone country. This camp was short lived, having been established on July 1, 1878.
Following the soldiers, those looking to provide these men with any vice they may have, quickly set up a “hog ranch.” The purpose was to “scoop out” or clean out the soldiers when they visited. Thus Scooptown was born.
At Scooptown, the soldiers were provided an area to indulge in all of their vices, for a cost. Such frontier towns, which inevitably sprouted up around military forts, were often a thorn in the military sides. Throughout the Midwest, clashes between soldiers and certain citizens of these towns would grab headlines, as tensions boiled over.
Many of the establishments that sprouted up in these frontier towns sought to prey on the soldiers, with the soldiers then retaliating with force. For the post surgeon at Camp Sturgis, and later Fort Meade, they would have steady work treating knife and gunshot wounds, of both the cavalry and infantry stationed there, due to “drunken brawls in Sturgis City,” and the previous Scooptown.
As with Camp Stugis though, Scooptown would be short lived. By September of 1878, Fort Meade was established, as a permanent United States military post. It would take a year for the post to be completed, but it would take much less time for the town of Sturgis to pop up.
On October 25, 1878, the city of Sturgis was laid out. While a few individuals had been in the area before that, it wasn’t until Fort Meade began building that the town of Sturgis would also begin sprouting up. The purpose was largely the same as Scooptown had been, and thus the new city would also be known by that moniker. At least for a while.
Apprehension
By 1880, when the Twenty-fifth, the legendary buffalo soldiers, arrived at Fort Meade, both the camp and the town of Sturgis had been well established. For Sturgis, that meant the creation of “bawdy” houses. Establishments where one could gamble, drink, and pay for the company of a soiled dove or an upstairs girl. These were the house of ill-repute that both soldiers and the men of the Black Hills warmly welcomed, partially because there just weren’t many women in the area.
At this same time though, Sturgis was beginning to outgrow their origin as a hog ranch. The town was blossoming into an important commercial center. Soon the nickname of Scooptown began disappearing, to be replaced by Key City to the Black Hills, or simply Key City. For many, Sturgis would be the key destination for those moving from the east to one of the many mining towns in the Northern Hills. Sturgis became the entrance to the hills.
This transformation would cause a great deal of tension within the city, as a growing population sought for the town to be “civilized,” such as the big cities in the east were. Yet, many of those who formed the foundations of Sturgis, for the purpose of supplying vices, weren’t too eager to see the change. And as long as they remained, turmoil would be found.
This is the environment that the Twenty-fifth entered into. With rumors of black soldiers clashing with white southerners during the early years of Reconstruction circulating, there was a good deal of apprehension. Accompanying this was also racial prejudices that helped fuel an uneasiness.
While blacks weren’t completely absent from the Black Hills prior to 1880, with around 100 who had settled throughout the hills, an influx of 186 black soldiers into the virtually all white environment was a bit of a culture shock.
This shock would quickly wear off, and work set out to also relieve these new troops of their hard earned savings. As the Black Hills Daily Times put it, “Scooptown has struck a boom.”
When these soldiers would face their first case of racial prejudice, resourceful businessmen were quick to resolve it. In one of the newer dance houses, that had been set up prior to the Twenty-fifth arriving in Sturgis, the white women refused to dance with the black soldiers. So a new dance house was quickly started, with ladies who would dance with everyone, resulting in the establishment finding business from all.
With this situation resolved, there was little difficulty between the Twenty-fifth, and the citizens of Sturgis. Peace was achieved, for the time being, with money having been the great equalizer.
Setting the Stage
Grumblings would occur among some of the cavalry members at Fort Meade, after they had a bit to drink. The editor of the Black Hills Daily Times chalked it up mainly to jealousy, as well as the soldier’s natural ability to complain.
At the actual fort, there appeared to be little racial strife. The white officers assigned to black companies in general found these soldiers to be just as well trained and disciplined as any in the army, if not even more so.
In the west, desertion was one of the largest problems facing the army. For the Seventh Cavalry, between 1881 and 1885, they averaged forty-three desertions a year. In comparison, the Twenty-fifth averaged only one per year.
By all accounts, the Twenty-fifth were excellent. Because of their performance, they would find great support among key individuals in higher positions within the Army, that would prove to be invaluable.
However, while things were great on post, it got much more complicated in town. And it wasn’t just the Twenty-fifth that were having issues. As a way to find some relief from the monotony of garrison life, the soldiers would spend their time off in town, and many wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of the bawdy houses.
In order to curb these visits, patrols were organized to check for unauthorized trips off the military reserve. Daily patrols would be sent into Sturgis with the hopes of maintaining the discipline of the troops. While the troops would get a bit rowdy, peace was largely kept between both parties.
However, in 1883, William Souter, the deputy sheriff of Deadwood, was hired as a “night watchman” for Sturgis. Disturbances were rising in frequency, and the hope was that additional help could curb what was beginning to get out of control.
For four years, no serious incidents were reported. But that would quickly change, and not just because of the actions of a few soldiers. With Sturgis striving to become more respectable, many citizens were growing tired of the lawlessness that was associated with the town’s houses of ill-repute, and the “riff-raff” that were served there.
A vigilante-movement began forming in order to clean up the town of the undesirables who took refuge in the gambling and bawdy houses of Sturgis. The Twenty-fifth would find themselves right in the middle of all of this.
Tensions Boil Over
On April 1, 1884, the first serious incident between the citizens of Sturgis and the black soldiers of the Twenty-fifth occurred. W.N. Stafford, a local gambler, holed up in Abe Hill’s place, known as the Go As You Please House, had spent the night on a drinking spree.
Stafford, over the course of the evening, exchanged heated words with a few soldiers, but became especially abusive toward Private Chambers of Company D of the Twenty-fifth. Tempers had flared, and when Stafford left the saloon, Chambers, along with two other soldiers, Hale and Hines, followed him out. Stafford would be found dead not too much later.
The three soldiers quickly were blamed for Stafford’s death, with Hale pointing the finger at Chambers for throwing the blow that had knocked the man down, causing him to break his neck. The three would be arrested, but were released soon afterwards.
It was ruled that the intention was never to kill Stafford. The local newspapers were supportive of the three soldiers, and the citizens of Sturgis didn’t seem to really care. Part of this was because Stafford was known to be exceptionally abusive, as well as frail. For many, the soldiers took care of some of the riff-raff in town.
The citizens of Sturgis would also begin dealing with the riff-raff. In mid-June, a group of armed men would descend on the local jail and break out Alexander Fiddler, who was accused of beating and robbing a German immigrant. Fiddler had earlier been encouraged to leave town, and when he didn’t, vigilantes decided to deal with him. He would be taken to the edge of town and hung from a tree, which would later be known as Fiddler’s tree. This sort of mob violence would become more common in order to speed up the legal process.
A few months later, a second incident involving soldiers from the Twenty-fifth would occur. In October, a private from Company D was killed by a black prostitute while in Sturgis. She would later be acquitted, on the grounds of justifiable homicide, and the matter simply died out.
Things would deteriorate from there. In April of 1885, a black soldier was accused of attempting to rape the young daughter of a Seventh Cavalry noncommissioned officer. The solider would later be acquitted, but the case had drawn a great deal of scrutiny, and led to a growing mistrust among the citizens of Sturgis.
At the same time, Abe Hill and Johnnie Dolan, both who operated bawdy houses in town, were under censure as their establishments were the scenes of frequent disturbances.
That summer, a grand jury met in order to consider the various nuisances in town. Prominent citizens and businessmen were called to testify, with it being clear that they wanted something to be done in order to clean up the city.
The meeting resulted in Hill and Dolan being indicted in August, for the charge of keeping disorderly houses. For the two individuals, nothing changed. They carried on with business as usual.
And then tensions boiled over. On the night of August 22, 1885, Dr. H.P. Lynch was murdered in Sturgis. Corporal Ross Hallon of Company A of the Twenty-fifth was accused of the killing.
The Killing of Lynch
Hallon had been well known to Lynch. Lynch had been treating a Minnie Lewis, who was frequently beaten by Hallon. Lynch advised Lewis to report Hallon, which Lewis made it clear to Hallon she would if the beatings continued.
Unpleased with Lynch interfering, Hallon made repeated threats against Lynch, vowing revenge.
On the night of August 22, that revenge would be executed, or so it appeared. Hallon borrowed a pistol from another solider, and left Hill’s saloon at about 10:30 p.m. In order to disguise himself, he talked a Private John Bluford into trading uniforms, as Hallon’s own had the white corporal’s chevrons on it, which would have easily identified him.
Hallon wouldn’t given Bluford a reason for the exchange, but out of fear, Bluford relented. Hallon told Bluford to walk to designated location outside of town, and even had his dog trail Bluford in order to pull off the ruse.
Shortly after Bluford made it to the set location, he heard a gunshot, and after a few minutes, Hallon rejoined him. No explanation was given, and Hallon made Bluford swear to be an alibi. It would appear that Hallon had entered Lynch’s drugstore, and shot him.
The next day, a coroner’s jury ruled that it was at the hands of Hallon that Lynch’s life was taken, resulting in the soldier’s arrest.
Hallon would be placed in the care of Deputy Sheriff Souter, who placed Norman McAuley and John P. McDonald on guard duty until a trial could be held. Such a trial would never occur.
That Hallon would meet his fate by the hands of a mob wasn’t surprising to anyone. For most citizens and soldiers alike, it was a forgone conclusion. Certain citizens had been so frightened at the possibility, and what the response would be, that they called on Colonel Samuel Sturgis, the commanding officer at Fort Meade, to hold hourly roll calls to prevent any soldiers from trying to enter the town and either protect or free Hallon.
The fear was warranted, as a group of armed soldiers of the Twenty-fifth had attempted to enter the town, but were prevented by the patrolling cavalry.
Two days later, on the night of August 25, armed men approached the jail and demanded Hallon be released to them. McAuley and McDonald didn’t put up a fight, and did as the men said. They left the jail and went home.
The Sturgis Weekly Record defended the actions of both guards, arguing that McAuley had a family while McDonald had hopes of having one.
The next morning, at Fiddler’s Tree, the body of Hallon was found hanging. A detail from the Seventh Cavalry would cut him down and brought him to Fort Meade for burial.
Response
When the soldiers at Fort Meade heard of the murder of Hallon, some members of the Twenty-fifth armed themselves and set towards town. Luckily Colonel Sturgis sent out a detachment of the Seventh Cavalry and prevented the men from entering the city.
Tensions rose quickly, with a bitterness developing among the black soldiers towards the entire town of Sturgis. The justice system had failed, and Hallon was prevented from having a fair trial, regardless of him being guilty or not.
Trying to prevent any reprisals, soldiers were kept at the fort until tempers could begin to cool. Those tempers would remain heated though.
Less than a month after Hallon was murdered, the explosion that was feared occurred. On the night of September 19, a group of soldiers from Company H of the Twenty-fifth gathered outside the bawdy house of Abe Hill, as well as the adjoining house of Dolan, and opened fire. Around 100 shots had been fired, riddling the two buildings. As the dust settled, only one man had been killed, a cowboy from York, Nebraska, Robert Bell.
If tensions were high before, they were now astronomical. When the news reached Colonel Sturgis, he was hosting the lawyer for the Sturgis Townsite Company, a man by the name of Barry G. Caulfield. Sturgis would immediately take a roll call and a check of the rifles. Sixteen men would be sent to the post’s guardhouse.
The next day Colonel Sturgis would convene a board of officers to investigate the incident. The board was composed of five men; three officers from the Seventh Cavalry, and two officers from the Twenty-fifth. Caulfield had different ideas though. He would quickly write a letter to President Grover Cleveland, asking for the Twenty-fifth to be transferred to a different station.
The board concluded that the violence was confined to the houses of Hill and Dolan, and it was conducted by a small group of 16 soldiers from Company H of the Twenty-fifth. Four men would be singled out as the leaders; Privates John Taylor, Pierce Greer, Evans Morris, and Smith Watson. They were brought in for examination before a county judge, and then under heavy guard, imprisoned in the local jail. As for the remaining twelve, they were released.
Citizens of Sturgis were enraged and even the local newspapers, which had at one time encouraged unity, turned against the soldiers. Many in the city claimed they no longer felt safe. Just days after the incident, townspeople gathered and organized a citizens’ committee. Their first request was to Colonel Sturgis, asking that he would not allow any of the black soldiers into town after dark.
The committee also penned a petition, signed by forty-one citizens and businessmen, requesting that the Twenty-fifth be removed from Fort Meade. There would be longer lasting actions conducted by this committee as well though. They began looking into incorporation of the town, so they could pass ordinances outlawing such disturbances as they had already experienced.
While citizens of Sturgis were up in arms, the response at Fort Meade focused more on the underlying issues.
The Context
The incident at Sturgis wasn’t an isolated event. Throughout the Midwest, conflicts between soldiers and citizens flared up. A similar incident had occurred in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, and it had involved the Seventh Cavalry that was stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln at the time; November of 1873.
After prior clashes, largely developed due to the bawdy and gambling houses that had been set up in the area to “scoop out” the soldiers, tensions had risen to a boiling point. When a gambler had shot and killed a solider from Fort Abraham Lincoln, a group of Seventh Cavalry members set out to track him down.
They followed him to the dance hall of Dave Mullen and Jack O’Neil. Mullen refused to allow the soldiers to enter into his establishment, and proceeded to fire a shot through his door, killing a Seventh Cavalry member. The rest of the soldiers opened fire, and when the smoke cleared, Mullen was found dead on the floor.
While an investigation would be conducted, nothing was turned up. However, it would push the citizens of Bismarck to put an end these sorts of establishments which had been set up on the street that was known as Bloody Fourth, or Murderer’s Gulch.
For Bismarck, the issue would partially be solved when in 1876, George Custer and the Seventh Cavalry marched off to their demise at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The defeat would also largely over shadow the negative affairs that had occurred previously.
What we see in Sturgis then was almost the norm. It’s also what one would expect in such an environment. Which is why many from the fort, and those who wrote of the events later on, often placed a good deal of the blame on the city of Sturgis.
Sturgis, and similar frontier towns, were created for the express purpose of separating soldiers from their money, while providing them with all types of vices that fed into their base desires. The establishments that were set up brought out the worse in people, and often attracted those who were already prone to negative behavior. Simply, these establishments preyed on soldiers, and the people of Sturgis didn’t seem to care.
This sort of environment often led to soldiers being killed, sometimes by vigilante justice, other times from the consequences of their actions. Generally though, justice was never served. For the soldiers of the Twenty-fifth, all this anger came together at once. Many at the fort understood their turmoil though.
An anonymous writer from Fort Meade would blast the city of Sturgis, pointing the finger at them as their “career has been one of shame.” They pointed out that the history of Sturgis was based on being a “hovering vulture on the confines of the government reservation.”
For this writer, the “nightly orgies” on Main street had done its work. Annie Tallent would later recount that the early days of Sturgis outrivaled the lawlessness of even the worse days in any of the early mining camps. Often this commotion involved at least some of the men at Fort Meade, regardless of color.
To put it simply, while the soldiers involved needed to be punished, in the greater context, their actions can be understood, and the city of Sturgis wasn’t an innocent victim.
Aftermath
Following the shooting at Hill’s and Dolan’s houses, the soldiers at Fort Meade were stuck on post. There was a great effort to prevent soldiers from entering into Sturgis, with patrols routinely sent out to make sure there was no sneaking out. At the same time, townspeople were also forbidden from the post, and thus couldn’t collect from any solider.
In October, a grand jury met to decide a number of matters. They would find Deputy Sheriff Souter free from any blame. Hill and Dolan were recommended to have indictments brought up against them for keeping disorderly houses, and they sought to have them terminated quickly. Finally, four soldiers were formerly indicted for the murder of Robert Bell; privates Greer, Taylor, Watson, and Morris.
However, just a few weeks later, conflict would once again be seen between soldiers and citizens’ of Sturgis. After the October payday, several members of the Twenty-fifth entered Hill’s place, and one solider accused a black bartender of falsely testifying against the four men charged with the murder of Bell.
A heated exchange occurred, and the bartender struck the solider in the face with a bottle. Before the situation could escalate, a guard detail from the post arrived and the soldiers were ordered back to the fort. A riot was avoided, and it was clear that the tension from the shooting was still high.
Shortly after, on October 25, Hill would be convicted and sentenced to a $250 fine, as well as 30 days in jail. It was little more than a slap on the wrist, as Hill paid his fine, served his time, and then was right back at it.
Meanwhile, the citizen petition for the removal of the Twenty-fifth from Fort Meade, and Caulfield’s letter to the president were referred for an opinion to General Alfred H Terry. For Terry’s part, he held black soldiers in high regard, based on his previous experiences.
Terry also wasn’t impressed with the mob that had denied Hallon a fair trial, seeing that justice had been averted. Being a lawyer himself, he expressed that the evidence against Hallon wasn’t conclusive, and since there was no trial, his innocence or guilt couldn’t be proved.
He made it known that he was against the removal of the black troops at Fort Meade. He recognized that the shooting in September was a serious occurrence, but he argued that it was an isolated group of soldiers, and it didn’t reflect the whole regiment.
Then he launched into a scathing critique of the city of Sturgis. With the town allowing “those places of the vilest character” to exist, the citizens had to expect that there would be consequences, that there would be frequent brawls, and at times, even more serious crimes.
Terry argued that if those places didn’t exist in Sturgis, it was improbable that any issue would have occurred between the soldiers and the citizens of Sturgis. He finished his statement by stating, “And I submit further, that until the people of the town shall have suppressed these dens, which equally debauch the troops of the post and threaten their own safety, they will not be in a position to ask the Government to change its garrison.”
The Twenty-fifth would remain at Fort Meade, and the city of Sturgis would undertake a massive change. In 1886, Sturgis officially incorporated, allowing them to attempt to solve some of their problems. Seeing the writing on the wall, Dolan quickly cleaned up his act. Hill chose not to.
Shortly after, Taylor, Watson, Greer, and Morris were brought to trial for the murder of Bell. Watson was found innocent, but the other three were sentenced to life imprisonment. Before they could be transferred to the state penitentiary, Greer and Morris, along with several other prisoners, made an escape. Greer and Morris would never be found. For Taylor though, he was in another cell, and eventually would die at the penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
A Final Leave
Relations between soldiers of the Twenty-fifth and the citizens of Sturgis would begin to mend a bit. Part of that was due to Hill’s liquor license being revoked in January of 1887. What was seen as the main source of the tension was being dealt with. Or so they supposed.
Hill wasn’t to be so easily defeated. Instead of leaving, he simply packed up and moved to a new establishment outside of the city’s boundaries, and closer to Fort Meade. He aptly named it, the Halfway House. County commissioners allowed him to keep his liquor license, on the agreement he left the city of Sturgis, and he was back to his old ways.
Hill’s new establishment, which was on the main road between Fort Meade and Sturgis, only proved to further scandalize the entire community. By then, a new post commander was at Fort Meade, Lieutenant Colonel J. G. Tilford, had taken charge. He placed guards near Hill’s house in order to prevent soldiers from entering it.
Not happy with the situation, Hill protested to the secretary of war, causing Tilford to have to justify his actions. He was happy to do so.
Tilford made it clear that the sentinels that he posted only prevented soldiers from entering Hill’s house, and never interfered with citizens in anyway. For Tilford though, doing such was necessary as the establishment had become a resort for the more “disorderly elements among the enlisted men of his garrison.”
It was at Hill’s house, according to Tilford, that numerous frays had occurred, and it was at Hill’s previous location that much of the trouble involving the Twenty-fifth had happened. Further, he argued that the place was a blight anyway, which housed women who “conducted themselves in scandalous manner,” so that people passing by on the main road would be subjected to seeing them exposing themselves in compromising positions.
Finally, in 1887, the Board of County Commissioners revoked Hill’s liquor license. Hill would try to continue his operation, once again looking at Sturgis. However, in 1888, City Ordinance No. 8 was passed, which prohibited houses of ill repute within the city.
With the bawdy houses and gambling dens largely dealt with, or at least managed, no serious incident would happen between the Twenty-fifth and the citizens of Sturgis. Somewhat of a peace was achieved.
When in May of 1888, the Twenty-fifth was eventually relocated, and transferred to posts in Montana, the soldiers could be seen as alright, and even some being first class, but the city wasn’t sad to see them go.
Sadly, while for most of their duty, the Twenty-fifth proved to be admirable soldiers, who often were over-achievers, public perception of them would long be tainted by the actions of a few who were involved in terrible situations. As time has passed though, and we can look at their history in context, we can see that the events which transpired, were much more complicated than first appearance.
Very interesting!!! I hope to read more of Sturgis area history and the colorful people who lived there!