WE, the undersigned, late officers and members of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, being duly sworn, do hereby depose and say that, during the winter of the years 1864 and 1865, the said Sixth Iowa Cavalry was stationed, and doing military duty, at Fort Sully, in the Territory of Dakota; that we, in our respective military capacities, were present during the winter stated at the aforesaid post of Fort Sully. Deponents further say that, on or about the 6th day of December, in the year 1864, an Indian appeared before the fort, and signified to the officer of the day, Lieutenant G. A. Hesselberger, that he had something to communicate to those within the fort; and the said Indian was allowed to enter, and presented to the commanding officer, Major A. E. House, of the regiment before stated, a note, or letter, which letter we all thoroughly knew the purport of, and it was seen and read by . It was written, or purported to be, by one Mrs. Fanny Kelly, who represented herself as a captive in the hands of certain Blackfeet Sioux Indians; and that, under a pretext of delivering her up to her people, they intended attacking the town or village to which they purposed going.
Deponents further say that, at the time of the receipt of this letter, the said Fort Sally was not in such a state of defense as would have enabled the garrison to hold it against the attack of any considerable body of men; that, in consequence of the receipt of said letter, Major House brought the cannon in position to bear on all sides of the fort, and otherwise ordered and disposed of the garrison to withstand any attempt to capture or destroy the fort.
Deponents further say that, on or about the 9th day of December, the said Mrs. Fanny Kelly was brought in as a captive and delivered by the Indians to the commanding officer at Fort Sully; that the Indians came up to the fort painted in war paint, and singing their war songs; that as soon as Mrs. Kelly was within the gates of the fort, they were closed, and all the Indians save those who had her directly in charge were shut out from entrance into said fort.
Deponents further say, that they verily believe, from information then gained, and from that which they afterward learned, it was the intention of the Indians to attack the fort, and they were only prevented from doing so by the preparations which the letter of warning from the said Mrs. Fanny Kelly had induced the commanding officer to make; and they verily believe that, had the attack been made without such preparations, it would have resulted in the capture of the fort and the massacre of its inmates; and such was the expressed opinion of nearly all the members of the said Sixth Iowa Cavalry then stationed therein; and further deponents say not.
Personally appeared before me, A. J. McKean, Clerk of the District Court, Linn County, State of Iowa, and made solemn oath that the foregoing is true and correct in all particulars, and that neither of the parties hereto subscribing is interested in any way in any effort which the said Mrs. Kelly may make, or has made, for indemnity, on this 22d day of January, A. D., 1870.
[SEAL.]
A. J. MCKEAN,
Clerk District Court, Linn County, Iowa.
I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original filed in this office.
E. B. FRENCH,
Second Auditor.
[The memoranda below are written with pencil.]
Captain Logan was the officer of the day when Mrs. Kelly was brought into the fort (Sully).
John Magee, Sergeant Co. H. Sixth Iowa Cavalry, was sergeant of the guard at the same time.
TO HON. JAMES HARLAN, U. S. S., and HON. WM. SMYTH, M. C.,
Second Congressional District, Iowa:
GENTLEMEN:—
I was at Fort Sully when the arrangement was made for the capture of this woman. Was not there when the Indians brought her into the fort; but am satisfied that the above affidavit, in the main, is correct.
(Signed.) T. S. BARDWELL,
Late Assistant Surgeon Sixth Iowa Cavalry.
I certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the original filed in this office.
E. B. FRENCH,
Second Auditor.
More Intriguing History Books Available From Carol Publishing Group
Ask for the books listed below at your bookstore. Or to order direct from the publisher call 1-800-447-BOOK (MasterCard or Visa) or send a check or money order for the books purchased (plus $3.00 shipping and handling for the first book ordered and 500¢ for each additional book) to Carol Publishing Group, 120 Enterprise Avenue, Dept. 1434, Secaucus, NJ 07094.
The Black 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential African-Americans, Past and Present by Columbus Salley, hardcover $21.95 (#51299)
Chaining the Hudson: The Fight for the River in the American Revolution by Lincoln Diamant, hardcover $21.95 (#40502)
Christopher Columbus, In His Own Words: Four Voyages to the New World, paperback $9.95 (#51337)
A Documentary History of the Negro People in the United States, Edited by Herbert Aptheker African-Americans tell the story of their experiences in this country in their own words Volume 1: From Colonial Times Through the Civil War, paperback $14.95 (#50168)
Volume 2: From the Reconstruction Years to the Founding of the NAACP in 1910, paperback $14.95 (#50167)
Volume 3: From the Emergence of the NAACP to the Beginning of the New Deal, paperback $14.95 (#51006)
Volume 4: From the Beginning of the New Deal to the End of the Second World War, paperback $14.95 (#51007)
Volume 5: From the End of the Second World War to the Korean War, paperback $16.95 (#51421)
Volume 6: From the Korean War to the Emergence of Martin Luther King, Jr., paperback $16.95 (#51431)
Prices subject to change;
books subject to availability
League of the Iroquois: A Classic Study of An American Indian Tribe, With the Original Illustrations by Lewis Henry Morgan, paperback $10.95 (#50917)
The Life and Major Writings of Thomas Paine, paperback $15.95 (#50414)
My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians by Fanny Kelly, paperback $10.95 (#51434)
My Life on the Plains, by General George Armstrong Custer, paperback $12.95 (#51439)
On Fifth Avenue: Then & Now by Ronda Wist, hardcover $25.00 (#72155)
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History by Michael Hart, paperback $18.95 (#51350)
The Picture Book of Greenwich Village, written & compiled by R. Bruce Gaylord, paperback $16.95 (#51236)
Stamping Our History: The Story of the United States Portrayed On Its Postage Stamps by Charles Davidson & Lincoln Diamant, hardcover $49.95 (#40532)
To Be Free: Studies in American Negro History, edited by Herbert Aptheker, paperback $9.95 (#51257)
Up From Slavery: The Autobiography of Booker T. Washington, paperback $9.95 (#60184)
The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, paperback $7.95 (#51456)
The Wisdom of FDR, paperback $7.95 (#51462)