Buffalo Soldier and Battle of Saline Program held November 20th
Saturday, November 20, the C2T Ranch, southwest of Plainville on the Saline River, was the location of a well-attended program on Buffalo Soldiers and the Battle on the Saline. Ranch owner Chad Tuttle welcomed the group to a beautiful area next to the Saline River with a background of high limestone bluffs. Buffalo Soldier Barrie Thompkins recounted his life, moving from Lexington, Ky., where he worked as a farrier to Nicodemus, after meeting Angela Bates. Angela’s great-uncle was a Buffalo Soldier and she had done a great deal of research on them. She had written a script for a reenactment and encouraged Barrie to take on the role. He loved it. He formed the Buffalo Soldiers of Nicodemus and has traveled throughout the Midwest giving programs. He has appeared in movies, including Buffalo Soldiers starring Danny Glover. Sadly, most of the members are now deceased and Barrie is thinking that the Christmas Parade in Lawrence might be his final appearance. He is still riding Girl, a 31-year-old horse that began with the group.
Michael Cox was introduced. He has been researching the events following the Cheyenne attack and murder of eight railroad workers near Victoria August 4, 1867. A group of Buffalo Soldiers of the U.S. 10th Cavalry, under the command of Captain George Armes from Fort Hays, was sent in pursuit of the warriors. This was the troops’ first assignment and first engagement with Indians. Cox aided by assistants have searched for the location of this encounter for several years using metal detectors and believe they have located the site along a two-mile stretch of the Saline River on the C2T Ranch approximately 25 miles from Fort Hays. They had placed flags at locations where balls, shell casings, arrow heads, Indian jewelry (brass beads), a saber hand guard and other metal items were found. After explaining the search and his ideas of what had taken place when the Buffalo Solders encountered the Cheyenne, Cox led a tour of the area that had been mined for gold on the early 1900’s changing the landscape dramatically. He pointed out what he thought was the route the soldiers had taken to make their way back to Fort Hays, the area where they had dismounted and left their horses and a number of soldiers sick with cholera, the draw where they fought off the Indians and the area where the hand guard of the saber was found. He surmised this was the spot where one Buffalo Soldier had been killed. A second soldier had been hit in the forehead with a metal tipped arrow. The soldiers eventually regrouped with their horses, sick men, and formed a square of men around them and began firing at the Indians and walking toward Fort Hays 25 miles away and which they reached without further loss of men. “Captain Armes commented later, ‘It is the greatest wonder in the world that my command escaped being massacred.’” There was a display of the metal artifacts found.
Returning to the meeting spot, the group was served a delicious luncheon of pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad. Afterward, Barrie Tompkins performed a part of his reenactment of a Buffalo Soldier. It was an impressive performance. It was mentioned that this might become an annual event. Bonita and Leo Oliva were in attendance.
