Alfred Sully (May 22, 1820 – April 27, 1879), was a military officer during the American Civil War and during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

on the frontier. He was also a noted painter.

Biography

Our Camp at Cha inka pah River by Alfred Sully circa 1856

Sully was the son of the portrait painter, Thomas Sully, of Pennsylvania. Alfred Sully graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1841. During and after the American Civil War, Sully served in the

Plains States The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

and was widely regarded as an Indian fighter. Sully, like his father, was a

watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

and

oil painter Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

. Between 1849 and 1853, he became chief quartermaster of the U.S. troops at Monterey, California, after California came under American jurisdiction. Then, Sully created a number of watercolor and some oil paintings reflecting the

social life ''Social Life'' is the second studio album by the American indie rock band Koufax. The song "Bright Side" was featured in an episode of the adult animated sitcom ''Clone High''. Background Unlike the previous album “''Social Life''”was r ...

of Monterey during that period.

Commands

Sully headed US troops out of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, in June 1861 as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and occupied the city of

St Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

, Missouri, declaring martial law. Violent secessionist uprisings in the city during the early Civil War prompted Sully's occupation. Sully was commissioned

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment was the very first group of volunteers the Union received in response to the South's assault of Fort Sumter at the beginning of the United States Civil War. Minnesota's Governor Alexander Ramsey offered 1000 m ...

on February 3, 1862. He led his regiment during the Peninsula Campaign, sustaining a minor wound at

Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia *Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre * Glendale, Queensland, ...

. Sully was promoted to brigadier general on September 26 and led a brigade in the II Corps during the

Battle of Chancellorsville The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Chancellorsville is known as Lee's "perfect battle" because ...

, but on May 1, 1863, was removed from command by his division commander, Brig. Gen

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...

after failing to suppress a mutiny by the 34th New York when several of its companies refused to fight on the grounds that their two-year enlistment term was about to expire. Gibbon attempted to have Sully court-martialed for dereliction of duty, although a court of inquiry found him innocent of these charges, he was removed from command of his brigade and exiled to the Great Plains, never to serve in the Civil War again. After being relieved of command, Sully went west and gained notoriety for committing several massacres against natives. On September 3, 1863, at Whitestone Hill,

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

, as reprisal for the Dakota Conflict of 1862, his troops destroyed a village of some 500 tipis that lodged Yankton,

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

, Hunkpapa and

Sihasapa The Sihásapa or Blackfoot Sioux are a division of the Lakota people, Titonwan, or Teton. ''Sihásapa'' is the Lakota word for "Blackfoot", whereas '' Siksiká'' has the same meaning in the Blackfoot language. As a result, the Sihásapa have ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: * Lakota, Iowa * Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County * La ...

. Warriors, along with women and children, were killed or captured. The troopers' casualties were small. On June 28, 1864, in response to the killing of his science officer and topographical engineer, Captain John Feilner, while conducting a field survey, Sully ordered the heads of those Indians believed responsible hung from poles on a hill overlooking the Missouri River. With the end of the Civil War, Sully's commission as a brigadier general expired and he reverted to the rank of major in the regular army. Despite frequent bouts of ill health, he continued serving in the Indian Wars until his death at Ft. Vancouver, Oregon, on April 27, 1879. The cause of death was ruled to be an aortic hemorrhage due to complications from an esophageal ulcer. Sully was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia.

Marriage

Sully was married three times. After the Mexican War, in 1851, Sully was posted as Quartermaster to the Presidio of Monterey, California, and married María Manuela Antonia Jimeno y de la Guerra. Tragically, soon after childbirth, Manuela died in 1852. Compounding the tragedy was the death of their newborn son, Thomas, 18 days later. From September 1856 through May1857, Sully was posted to Fort Pierre, Nebraska Territory (now South Dakota). He met and, by Sioux tribal custom, married a young French-Yankton girl of the

Yankton Sioux The Dakota (pronounced , Dakota language: ''Dakȟóta/Dakhóta'') are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultures of the Sioux people, and are typically divided into ...

tribe. With this marriage, Sully became the son-in-law of Saswe, a.k.a. François Deloria (''Saswe'' being the

pronunciation of François), a powerful Yankton

medicine man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cere ...

and

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

of the "Half-Breed band". In 1869, Sully married Sophia Henrietta Palmer in Manhattan, New York.

Descendants

Sully's daughter by his Yankton Sioux wife, Mary Sully, was known as ''Akicita Win'' (Soldier Woman). She married Rev. Philip Joseph Deloria, an

Episcopal priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, a.k.a. ''Tipi Sapa'' (Black Lodge), a leader of the Yankton/Nakota band of the Sioux Nation. Tipi Sapa is featured as one of the 98 Saints of the Ages at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as the first Dakota Christian minister to his own people. Among their descendants are Yankton Sioux

Ella Deloria Ella Cara Deloria (January 31, 1889 – February 12, 1971), also called ''Aŋpétu Wašté Wiŋ'' (Beautiful Day Woman), was a Yankton Dakota (Sioux) educator, anthropologist, ethnographer, linguist, and novelist. She recorded Native American ...

, an ethnologist, and her nephew

Vine Deloria, Jr. Vine Victor Deloria Jr. (March 26, 1933 – November 13, 2005, Standing Rock Sioux) was an author, theologian, historian, and activist for Native American rights. He was widely known for his book '' Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto ...

, a scholar, writer, author of ''Custer Died for Your Sins''

References

External links