Spencer Carbines in the Nez Perce War--1877

[DJ]

I did a little online research into volunteer units that served in Idaho's Indian wars (Nez Perce, Bannock, and Sheepeater Wars) to respond to a post in The Barracks.  In so doing I stumbled on this gem--a roster of the Pataha Rangers.  This was apparently one of the volunteer units that actually took the field with the regular army during the Nez Perce pursuit.  The assortment of weapons (and minimal ammunition) was interesting.
Tonight we drank a toast to 18-year-old Samuel Shawley who took the field with his Spencer carbine, six rounds of ammunition, and no money.

The rest of the material is a fascinating read--the regular army seemed to make extensive use of the volunteers and then seemed to minimize both the extent to which they were used and their usefulness.

Source:  https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/35331/Senate-50-2-Executive-82-Serial-2612.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[Two Flints]

DJ,

Excellent post and good read . . . very much appreciate posting the information.

Two Flints

[Jake C]

...Tonight we drank a toast to 18-year-old Samuel Shawley who took the field with his Spencer carbine, six rounds of ammunition, and no money...

Yikes! I don't like carrying without a full reload. I could't imagine going to war (even if it's a comparatively minor one) without a full magazine.

[Advertising]

[Coal Creek Griff]

I could't imagine going to war (even if it's a comparatively minor one) without a full magazine.

I wonder if they issued big rocks to those listed as being without guns...

I seem to recall that, once the Nez Perce moved into Montana, volunteers from Missoula moved south to encounter them.  I'd have to go back and check sources though.

CC Griff

[treebeard]

I think those volunteers were lucky not to have encountered the Nez Pierce. From what I have read they were better armed and more effective fighters than their opponents. I wonder how many Spencer’s the Nez Pierce had.

[Doc Jackson]

I read over that document and was surprised by how many men listed Henry's.

[DJ]

In the opening battle of the Nez Perce War, fought the length of White Bird Canyon, the regulars advanced and the volunteers were assigned to a flank or maybe to hold horses (accounts vary).  The dozen or so volunteers did pretty well ... at surviving--the regulars not nearly as well, losing 34 killed and 4 wounded out of 106.  Nez Perce losses were 3 wounded.  The volunteers dodged a bullet that day, so to speak.

A couple weeks later at Cottonwood some cavalry regulars got themselves surrounded by the main force of the Nez Perce and 17 volunteers from Mt. Idaho (or perhaps Grangeville), sometimes called the "brave 17," tried to rescue them or at least join in the fight.  The brave 17 were also surrounded, their captain was killed, and about four additional volunteers were killed or wounded--could've been much worse.  They also reportedly inflicted the first KIA on the Nez Perce when they shot a tribe member described as "elderly."  Accounts of all the shooting suggest that the brave 17 must've carried more ammo (and weapons) than the Pataha Rangers had when they mustered.  I haven't seen any definitive documents about other volunteer units with Spencers, but suspect most of the volunteers carried similar types of armament.  After the war four members of the Mt. Idaho volunteers submitted claims for lost Henry rifles at $50 each.

[matt45]

There was a were a lot of volunteers @ The battle of The Big Hole (I'd have to get out my books to give you an exact figure).  Two of them were supposed to secure the Nez Perce horse herd (failed) and the rest- about a platoons worth- went into the camp from the northern flank.  Lt. Bradley was assigned as their leader, and he was killed right off the bat.  Things went down hill from there.  As far as the weapons they carried, I don't know.

[treebeard]

I believe the Spencer’s , Henry’s were very good choices for the volunteers but seems to me a lot of people died to keep a bunch of Indians from moving to Canada. I doubt they would have lasted any longer than the Sioux did and for the same reasons. From what i have read in a couple books on the Nez Pierce war they appear to have been well supplied with repeating rifles and knew how to use them. Perhaps there is a list somewhere of surrendered firearms.