Second Dragoon Expedition on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Second Dragoon Expedition of 1835 (also called the Dodge Expedition) left Fort Leavenworth, unorganized territory May 29, 1835, charged with contacting the Indian tribes across the Central
Traveling first up the Platte River they made contact with the 
Between Council Grove and Hundred and Ten Mile Creek the expedition experienced its only loss, the death of 23 year old, Private Samuel Hunt on September 11, 1835. In Colonel Dodge's Journal he wrote, "On the 11th a man of company “A” died—the first death that has occurred on our whole march, and the only severe sickness. The colonel directed him to be buried on a high prairie ridge, and a stone placed at the head of the grave, with his name and regiment engraved thereon. Continued the march; crossed the Hundred-and ten-mile creek, and entered upon the dividing ridge between the Kansas and Osage rivers; passed Round and Elm Groves, and arrived at the crossing of the Kansas, at Dunlap's Ferry, on the 15th; crossed the river, and on the 16th arrived at Fort Leavenworth."
Dodge's ExpeditionSamuel Hunt Grave (National Register of Historic Places)
History of Colorado Pre-statehood history of Kansas Pre-statehood history of Nebraska American frontier {{US-hist-stub
Plains
In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, an ...
to the Rockies as far west as the Mexican border. History
Traveling first up the Platte River they made contact with the Otoe
The Otoe ( Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.
Histori ...
, Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, Grand Pawnee, and Arickaree tribes. Continuing south along the front range of the Rockies, they reached Bent's Fort
Bent's Old Fort is a fort located in Otero County in southeastern Colorado, United States. A company owned by Charles Bent and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain built the fort in 1833 to trade with Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Plains Indians ...
on August 6. At Bent's Fort the expedition held councils with the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Black Feet, Gros Ventres, and others. On August 12, 1835 the Dragoons began the return march from Bent's Fort, following the Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the ...
eastward. They arrived at Council Grove, Kansas
Council Grove is a city in and the county seat of Morris County, Kansas, Morris County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,140. It was named after an agreement between Ame ...
the evening of September 8, 1835.
Between Council Grove and Hundred and Ten Mile Creek the expedition experienced its only loss, the death of 23 year old, Private Samuel Hunt on September 11, 1835. In Colonel Dodge's Journal he wrote, "On the 11th a man of company “A” died—the first death that has occurred on our whole march, and the only severe sickness. The colonel directed him to be buried on a high prairie ridge, and a stone placed at the head of the grave, with his name and regiment engraved thereon. Continued the march; crossed the Hundred-and ten-mile creek, and entered upon the dividing ridge between the Kansas and Osage rivers; passed Round and Elm Groves, and arrived at the crossing of the Kansas, at Dunlap's Ferry, on the 15th; crossed the river, and on the 16th arrived at Fort Leavenworth."
See also
*First Dragoon Expedition
The First Dragoon Expedition of 1834 (also known as the Dodge-Leavenworth Expedition) was an exploratory mission of the United States Army into the southwestern Great Plains of the United States. It was the first official contact between the Amer ...
* United States Regiment of Dragoons
References
*Dodge, Henry. ''Journal of the March of a Detachment of Dragoons, Under the Command of Colonel Henry Dodge, During the Summer of 1835''. American State Papers. Class V. Military Affairs. Volume VI. 24th Cong, 1st Session, H. Doc., 138. (Serial Set 21). 1836. *Notes
External links
Dodge's Expedition
History of Colorado Pre-statehood history of Kansas Pre-statehood history of Nebraska American frontier {{US-hist-stub