Ephraim Jacob DEEMER first appears at the age of 9 in the 1860 census in West Hanover P.O., East Hanover Twp., Dauphin Co., PA. He’s listed with his parents John and Catherine, and siblings William and Catherine. They appear under the name DEMY.!
In 1883 his mother applied for a Civil War a mother’s pension. Ephraim and Aaron’s brother, John was died of wounds during the war. In her sworn affidavit she wrote, “In 1864 I lived near Linglestown Dauphin County, PA... The names of my family were as follows... Ephraim aged 11 years who after the close of the War of the Rebellion enlisted on the 5th U.S. Cavalry and has never been heard from to the present time.”
The Register of Enlistments for the United State Army reveal that Ephraim Deemer enlisted at Carlisle, PA on 22 October 1867 for a 5 year term. He was assigned to Company B of the 5th Cavalry. He is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, hazel eyes, age 21. The record also indicates his discharge 22 October 1872 at Camp Haulpai in the Arizona Territory.
These records show inconsistencies about Ephraim’s birth year. The 1860 census would indicate he was born around 1851. His mother’s sworn statement would suggest the year 1853. And his enlistment would require his birth year to be 1846. It’s rather apparent the he lied about his age when he enlisted, just as his older brother, Aaron had done at the beginning of the Civil War. Ephraim was probably 14 - 16 when he enlisted.
The 5th Cavalry is well documented. Shortly after the end of the Civil War the unit was called to serve in the Indian Wars in the American West. When Ephraim joined Company B they were at Nashville, TN. preparing for the trip west. !
During Ephraims service (1867-72) Company B was assigned duty as follows:
Nashville, TN: 3 Apr 1867 - 16 Sep 1868
en route to Fort Harker, Kansas: 16 Dec 1868 - 25 Sep 1868
Fort Harker, Kansas: 25 Sep 1868 - 1 Oct 1868
field service, Kansas, Nebraska: 1 Oct 1868 - 13 Nov 1869
Fort D.A. Russel, WY: 13 Nov 1869 - 10 Mar 1870
field service, Wyoming: 10 Mar 1870 - 22 Mar 1870
Fort D.A. Russell, WY: 22 Mar 1870 - 4 Aug 1870
field service, WY: 4 Aug 1870 - 24 Aug 1870
Fort D.A. Russell, WY: 24 Aug 1870 - 12 Dec 1871
en route to Camp McDowell, AZ: 12 Dec 1871 - 2 Feb 1872
Camp McDowell, Arizona Terr.: 2 Feb 1872 - 27 Jun 1872
field service, Arizona Terr.:27 Jun 1872 -8 Feb 1873!
Company B saw battle on the following occasions:!
On the Plains
-- Shuter Creek, Kan., 25 Oct 1868. Maj. Eugene A. Carr (A, B, F, H, I, L, M). Wounded, enlisted men, 1.
“Honorable mention” The colonel commanding the regiment has noticed with great satisfaction the surpassing promptness with which Companies A, B, F, H, I, L, and M moved the from widely separated posts in the Southern States, concentrated at a distant post in the West, and immediately took the field under Brevet Colonel William B. Royall, Major Fifth Cavalry, in pursuit of the hostile savages.
“No less gratifying and honorable to the regiment is the telegraphic dispatch from Major-General Sheridan announcing that Brevet Major-General Eugene A. Carr, Major Fifth Cavlary, with thisdetachment, had overtake the most formidable band of those hostile Indians on the 25th of October, on Shuter Creek, and handsomely routed them.
“The facts, alike honorable to the officers and men of the Fifth Cavalry, show that the regiment has lost nothing of its well-earned reputation for dash, bravery, and discipline.” [Regimental Order No. 92, Headquarters Fifth Cavalry, November 2, 1868.]
-- North branch of Solomon River, Kan., 26 Oct 1868., Major Eugene A. Carr (A, B, F, H ,I, L, M). wounded, enlisted men, 1.
-- Canada River Expedition, Colorado, Texas, and the Indian Territory, 2 Dec 1868 - 19 Feb 1869. ! ! Maj. - Eugene A. Carr (A, B,F,H, I, L, M).
-- Beaver Creek, Neb., 13 May 1869. Maj. Eugene A. Carr (A, B, F, H, I, L, M). Killed, enlisted men, 4; wounded, 3.
-- Spring Creek, Neb., 16 May 1869. Maj. Eugene A. Carr (A, B, F, H, I, L, M). Wounded, enlisted men, 1
-- On the Republican River, near Spring Creek, Neb., 15 Jun 1869. Maj. William B. Royall (A, B, M). Wounded, enlisted men, 2
-- Prairie Dog Creek, Kan., 26 Sep 1869., Lt. Col. Thomas Duncan (B, E, F, L, M).
Apache Campaigns in Arizona
-- Muchos Canons, near the head-waters of the north branch of the Big Sandy, 25 Sep 1872. Capt. Julius W. Mason (B, C, K).

A detailed account of the service of Company B during Ephraim’s tenure, extracted from Across the Continent with the Fifth Cavalry compiled by Capt. George F Price and published in 1883, appears at the end of this document. (The full text is available online at archive.org Google Books or in print from Amazon.)
After his military service Ephraim evidently went to California. His military unit traveled from the Plains to Oakland, CA by rail, and sailed south along the Pacific coast and north through the Gulf of California to the mouth of the Colorado River on their way to the Arizona Territory. After serving in Arizona for less than a year Ephraim was discharged from the Army at Camp Hualapai, AZ. He next appears in records in the Oakland area:

10 March 1876, laborer, Brooklyn No.1, Alameda Co., CA [voter registration list]
1880, teamster, Oakland, Alameda Co., CA [1880 Census]
1 Oct 1884, teamster, 7th Ward, Alameda Co., CA [voter registration list]
5 Oct 1889, teamster, 5’8”, dark complexion,blue eyes, brown hair, Stockton, San Joaquin Co., CA [voter registration list]
22 Sep 1902, Waterloo, San Joaquin Co., CA (under the name Deemar) [California Great Registers]
After 1902 Ephraim’s trail ends. The 1880 census includes Ephraim’ wife, Christine R. Sanders, born about 1856 in Scotland, and a son, William, born about 1879.
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ACROSS THE CONTINENT with the FIFTH CAVALRY.
COMPILED BY GEORGE F. PRICE, Captain Fifth Cavalry, U. S. Army.
New York D. VAN NOSTRAND, PUBLISHER, 1883.

1868-1871. SERVICE ON THE PLAINS FROM THE CANADIAN RIVER, IN TEXAS, TO THE NIOBRARA RIVER, IN NEBRASKA.

The rapid construction of the railways across Kansas and Nebraska which inclosed the extensive and fertile valleys of the Republican River and its tributaries had aroused the determined opposition of the Sioux, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes, who regarded thehunting grounds of that region as their private property. They constituted the model irregular light cavalry of North America, and were formidable when armed only with lances, bows and arrows ; but when they acquired the breech-loading rifle and metalliccartridge, which permitted them to load and lire when mounted and at a gallop, they became more formidable than ever. They marched easily from forty to sixty miles a day, and employed scouts and small hunting parties, who were constantly operating from ten to twenty miles in every direction from their villages, and who always promptly informed them of the movements of the troops ; and they were thus almost invariably enabled to choose their own time and place of combat, or avoid it altogether it' they desired to do so. The building of the railways and other causes of less magnitude finally incited these Indians to begin a merciless war against the settlers, in the vain hope that they might be able to check the occupation of the country ; and while the cruelty of their mode of warfare is unsparingly denounced, the courage with which they fought against the irresistible march of civilization will always command the admiration of the soldiers who conquered them.

It became evident during the summer of 1868 that the troops serving on the borders of Kansas, Nebraska, and ! Colorado must be reinforced for the purpose of defeating the warlike purposes of the disaffected Indians who roamed through that part of the country, and accordingly orders were issued in September transferring seven companies of the regiment from the Southern States to the scene of threatening hostilities.

Companies A and I started from Raleigh, N. C, on the 13th, and moved by rail to Columbus, Ky., thence by water to St. Louis, and thence by rail to Fort Harker, Kan., where they arrived on the 27th. Company M started from Gallatin, Tenn., on the 11th, andmoved by rail to Nashville, where it was joined by Company B, and the squadron then moved by water to St. Louis, where it was joined by Company F, which had started from Richmond, Va.. on the 8th. The three companies then moved by rail to Fort Harker, Kan., where they arrived on the 25th. Companies H and L started from Aiken, S. C, on the 12th, and moved by rail to Columbus, Ky.,
thence by water to St. Louis, and thence by rail to Fort Harker, Kan., where they arrived on the 23d.

The surpassing promptness with which these companies moved from widely separated posts in the Southern States, their concentration at a distant station in Kansas, and immediate pursuit of the enemy, were made the subjects of congratulation and commendation in general orders. [Regimental Orders No. 92, Headquarters Fifth Cavalry. November 2. 1868]

The battalion, under the command of Major Royall, marched from Fort Harker on the 1st of October, and, after examining the country to Fort Hays, made a reconnaissance north of the Kansas Pacific Railway to Prairie Dog Creek, whence two detachments were dispatched on the 12th (companies B, F, and M under the command of Captain Brown, and companies A, H, and I under the command of Captain Urban) to Beaver Creek and the Republican River, some miles farther north. During their absence Company L, which had remained in camp with Major Royall, was attacked by the Cheyennes and Dog soldiers, under Tall Bull, on the 14th, and suffered a loss of two men killed and wounded and twenty-six horses captured by the enemy.
When the detachments returned from Beaver Creek and the Republican River, the battalion started from Prairie Dog Creek and examined the country to Buffalo Tank on the railway, where it arrived on the 22d, when Major Carr joined and assumed the command. The next day the battalion marched northward towards the Republican River, and at half -past two o'clock p.m. of the 25th the advance guard (M) met the Sioux and Cheyennes and drove them across Beaver Creek, when the entire force engaged the enemy in a running fight for six miles, their number constantly increasing until they were about five hundred strong and well mounted. The combat continued until nightfall, when the enemy retired, having suffered a loss of about thirty killed and wounded. The pursuit was continued on the 26th, and the Indians skirmished with the battalion during the entire day, and gave frequent exhibitions of personal dash and gallantry which elicited hearty and generous applause. Nightfall found the troopers at the north branch of Solomon River, where a bivouac was established until the next morning, when the pursuit was renewed and continued to the north side of the Republican River with occasional encounters. The Indians then turned and retreated southward to Beaver Creek and down that stream, with the troopers in vigorous pursuit, until the 31st, when the enemy suddenly disappeared like a mist before the morning sun. Major Carr then marched to Fort Wallace, Kan., and thence, about three weeks later, to Fort Lyon, Col., where he arrived on the 29th of November, and on the 2d of December the battalion under his command started from that station and marched south in the middle of a severe winter to Cimarron Creek, then down the stream into New Mexico and the Indian Territory, and thence by the way of San Francisco Creek to the Canadian River, Texas, where it arrived on the 28th. The battalion remained in that vicinity for some weeks and then started for Fort Lyon, where it arrived on the 19th of February, 1869, without having encountered hostile Indians or accomplished any material results, although the companies were conspicuous for their energy, untiring pursuit, and rapid movements. Company L made one march of seventy-five miles in twenty-six hours during a blinding snowstorm.
The operations of the fall and winter of 1868-69, alike honorable to the officers and men, indicated that the regiment had maintained its well-earned reputation for dash and bravery in Indian warfare.
The battalion encamped near Fort Lyon until the 1st of May, 1869, when it marched, under Major Carr, by the way of Cheyenne Wells to Sheridan, and thence across the country to Fort McPherson, Neb.
The command arrived at Beaver Creek on the afternoon of the 13th, and had hardly encamped when Indian signs were discovered. Lieutenant Ward, with a small force, was dispatched on a reconnaissance, and five miles down the stream he discovered a large village and succeeded in withdrawing without creating an alarm ; but while hastening back to the cavalry camp he encountered a number of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors who were returning from a buffalo hunt. The meeting was wholly unexpected by either party, and, during the temporary confusion which ensued, the guide, William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill), detached himself from the troopers and rode rapidly towards the cavalry camp, while Lieutenant Ward gallantly held the enemy in check until Cody was safely beyond danger, when, being outnumbered, he adopted a defensive' policy and slowly retired. Meanwhile the Indians had dispatched couriers to the village, and in a short time five hundred warriors appeared in battle array to cover the retreat of their women and children.
About three o'clock p.m. the cavalry moved out and engaged the enemy in a combat which continued until nightfall. They stubbornly contested the advance of the troopers, who persistently pushed the fighting and inflicted severe punishment upon the warriors, who deemed no sacrifice too great to prevent the capture of their lodges and families ; but so soon as the night came they abandoned the field and retreated with their women and children towards the Republican River, while the troopers were compelled tobivouac until the arrival of the wagon train, which did not join until after midnight, The Indians suffered a loss of thirty killed and wounded. Major Carr had seven men killed and wounded, and he narrowly escaped being killed.
The enemy were pursued to the north side of the Republican River, and thence to Spring Creek, where they were overtaken about noon of the 16th, and another combat ensued, during which Lieutenants Babcock and Volkmar, and Company M (as advance-guard), weredistinguished for their admirable conduct and courageous bearing while cut off from the command and surrounded by the savages. as at Beaver Creek, the warriors only fought for time to enable their families to escape, but the impetuosity of the troopers soon forced them into a hasty flight across the Republican River, which continued until they were south of Beaver Creek, during which they abandoned ponies, lodges, and supplies, and were only too glad to escape with their women and children. The pursuit was finally abandoned towards evening, and the troopers returned to the north side of the Republican River, where they bivouacked until the morning of the 17th, when they marched up Spring Creek, crossed the divide, to the Platte River, and arrived at FortMcPherson on the 20th of May.
It was at once decided to make a campaign in the Republican River country, and four squadrons of the regiment (A, B, C, D, E, G, H, and M), with Major Frank North's Pawnee scouts and the celebrated guide, William F. Cody, under Major Carr, were selected for the expedition. Everything being in readiness, this splendidly mounted and thoroughly equipped cavalry force marched from Fort McPherson, on the 9th of June, to the Republican River, and began a series of vigorous movements which not only resulted in frequent combats and encounters, but also taught the enemy that a master of the methods of Indian warfare was directing the operations against them.
About five o'clock p.m. on the 15th of June, when the command was encamped on the Republican River, a party of marauding Cheyennes made a bold attempt to capture the train mules while they were at water. Companies A, B, and M, under Major Royall, were dispatched in a pursuit which continued until nightfall, and they did not rejoin the camp until after midnight.
On the 5 th of July companies A, E, and M and fifty Pawnee scouts, under Major Royall, while making a reconnaissance to the right of the column, surprised and defeated with some loss a party of Cheyennes in the sandhills near Frenchman's Fork ; and on theafternoon of the 8th Corporal Kyle and three men of Company M had a brilliant affair at Dog Creek, where, although surrounded by thirteen Sioux warriors, they succeeded in killing three and compelling the others to retreat north of the Republican River,when they leisurely retired and rejoined the command twelve miles below. About midnight of the 8th the enemy made a vigorous attack upon the camp, for the purpose of stampeding the mules and horses, but they only succeeded in wounding two Pawnee scouts.
About this time it became known that the enemy held as captives two white women whom they had captured on the Solomon River about the 1st of June, and as it was evident that they were preparing to march northward, by the way of the Laramie Plains and theBlack Hills of Wyoming, to the Powder River country, it became a matter of the utmost importance to intercept them and rescue the unfortunate women before they could cross the South Platte River.
Major Carr accordingly pushed his Pawnee scouts forward, and, having ascertained the general direction in which the Indians were retreating, moved his command by rapid marches beyond their right flank, and gained a position in their front from which he was enabled to strike a blow that almost annihilated them. To accomplish this brilliant result forced marches were made until the evening of the 10th, when the troopers encamped on Frenchman's Fork, about twenty-four hours behind the enemy. About two o'clock a.m. of the 11th three squadrons (A, C, D, E, G, H) and the Pawnee scouts — leaving Company M to escort the wagon-train — renewed the pursuit, which was continued until the South Platte River was seen from the bluffs on the south side. A squadron (E andG) with one hundred scouts, under Major Royall, were dispatched on a reconnaissance along the river-bank to ascertain if the enemy had succeeded in effecting a crossing, although it was believed that their right flank had been turned and that they were then to the left rear of the column. This belief was soon confirmed by the arrival of the guide, William F. Cody, who reported large herds of ponies about six miles distant in a south-westerly direction, which was indubitable evidence that Tall Bull and his warriors were encamped and unconscious of approaching peril, as the pickets, who were watching their rear, had made no danger signals, and the possibility of a successful flank movement never occurred to them, because it did not seem practicable for thecavalry to march one hundred and fifty miles in four days and pass their flank without being discovered.
When the position of the village was reasonably located Major Carr made a detour towards the north-west, and marched rapidly behind ridges and through ravines until about half -past one o'clock p.m., when he halted the cavalry about six miles south of theold Valley Station on the South Platte River and one mile north of Summit Springs, where the village was supposed to be located. The ground between the troopers and the Springs was an open plain, and the plan of the attack was soon arranged. Captain Walker, with his company, was assigned to the left, and Lieutenant Price, with Company A, was assigned to the right. They were instructed to turn the enemy's flanks, dash to the rear, and capture the herds, which could be plainly seen grazing on a hillside about two miles south, and, as was rightly conjectured, also south of the village. Captains Sumner and Maley, with their companies and the Pawnee scouts, were to charge upon the enemy's front. Company A had first to move about five hundred yards to the right for position, and Major Carr waited until Lieutenant Price signaled that he was read}-, when the line moved forward at a slow trot until it appeared upon the level of the plain and about twelve hundred yards from the village. At this moment an Indian, superbly mounted on a white pony, was seen to dash from the herd. He had discovered the cavalry and instantly recognized the supreme peril' of the hour. His direct and terrific pace in- formed Major Carr exactly where to deliver his blow, and it was of theutmost importance to strike the village before the warriors could be informed of the approaching danger. A hard gale from the west prevented the Indians in the village from hearing the noise made by the advancing line of cavalry, while the warning shoutsof the herder who was riding a race with death counted as nothing against the fury of the winds. It was a moment of intense suspense. If only one Indian should chance to appear on the edge of the plain and discover the troopers the advantage gained by the forced march and brilliant flank movement would be instantly lost ; or if the herder should gain the village but one minute before the advancing cavalry could strike it the advantage arising from a complete surprise would also be lost. The herder had not advanced twenty yards towards the village when the chief trumpeter was ordered to sound the- charge. Only those who were near him could hear the short, sharp notes, but every man saw him going through the motions. That was enough. AH know Hum there wasonly one call to sound then ; and away dashed the gallant troopers in one of the most superb charges ever made by the Fifth Cavalry. The spurs sunk deep in the Hanks of the good but jaded horses, who, seeming to understand the necessity of the occasion, responded with a magnificent burst of speed.
As the herder came on the edge of the ravine on the south side the troopers appeared" on the edge of the ravine on the north side, and there was the prize only fifty yards from the charging line, and with ringing cheers the regiment struck the doomed village. Lieutenant Price turned the enemy's left Hank, and, dashing to the rear, killed seven warriors and captured three hundred animals. Captains Sumner and Maley charged through the village and drove everything before them. Captain Walker, while endeavoring to turn the enemy's right flank, encountered an ugly side-ravine, which delayed his progress and permitted a number of the enemy to escape. The Pawnee scouts charged with the troopers and were free lances, riding everywhere. The herder died fighting inthe centre of the village, and his pony was killed with him.
The attack, although made about two o'clock p.m., was a complete surprise. The troopers were not seen by any of the enemy, except the herder, until they were within fifty yards of the village and charging upon it at a terrific pace. The warriors had no time to seize their arms or secure the ponies. They were completely dazed and bewildered, and fled panic-stricken in every direction.
Major Royall and his command joined just as the village was captured and participated in the subsequent operations.

The village, numbering eighty-four lodges, was rich in everything pertaining to Indian wealth. The Indians were Sioux, Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, under the leadership of Tall Bull, who had been for some years a scourge to the frontier settlements. The bands had intended to separate that morning and abandon the country, as the troops were too strong for them ; but they delayed at the Springs, at the suggestion of the medicine-man and against the advice of Tall Bull, and agreed to separate on the morning of the 12th. This delay of twenty-four hours, so fatal to them, gave peace to the western frontiers of Kansas and Nebraska for all time. Tall Bull and sixty of his warriors were killed and as many more were wounded. A number of women and children were captured and sent to a northern agency. Four hundred and eighteen animals were captured, and ten thousand pounds of dried meat, eighty-four lodges complete, one thousand buffalo-robes, seventy-eight rifles and revolvers, and a large quantity of supplies and camp equipage were destroyed.
Mrs. Alderdice was killed by a squaw and Mrs. Weichel was wounded by a warrior at the moment the village was captured. The first was given Christian burial on the field, and the other was taken to Fort Sedgwick, Col., where she recovered. About thirteen hundred dollars were found in the village, and of this amount nine hundred dollars were given to Mrs. Weichel.
The attack was so impetuous and the surprise so complete that no casualties occurred among the troopers, but a number of horses died of exhaustion. The company commanders who led the charge against the village were recommended for brevet commissions. Complimentary orders were issued by the colonel of the regiment and the department commander. The division commander telegraphed his congratulations, and the Legislature of Nebraska passed joint resolutions of thanks to Major Carr and the officers and men ofthe regiment " for their heroic courage and perseverance in the campaign against hostile Indians on the frontier of the State in July, 1869, driving the enemy from its border and achieving a victory at Summit Springs, Col., by which the people of the State were freed from the ravages of the merciless savages."

This battle ended Indian terrorism in Kansas and Nebraska. The savages had never before received such a stunning blow in any engagement. Wandering bands, notably the Cheyennes in the fall of 1878,have since occasionally created some alarm, but it can be written that for years Kansas and Nebraska have been as secure against Indian outrages as Iowa and Missouri.

Considered as a complete success, the battle of Summit Springs takes rank with Wichita Village ; but in a broader sense it was of infinitely greater importance, as it for- ever secured to the white race the undisputed and unmolested possession of the Republican River and its tributaries.

The expedition then marched to Fort Sedgwick, and encamped until the 2d of August, when, as reorganized, companies C, D, F, G, H, I, and L, and Major Frank North's Pawnee scouts, and the guide, William F. Cody, under Major Royall, marched south with theintention of following Frenchman's Fork to the Republican River ; but when ten miles south of Fort Sedgwick the scouts discovered Pawnee Killer' s band of Sioux, who immediately retreated towards Frenchman's Fork. They were pursued to that stream, and thence northward across the South and North Platte rivers to the Niobrara River, in Northern Nebraska, until the 11th of August, when, both horses and rations being exhausted, the cavalry returned to the North Platte River and moved by easy marches down thatstream to Fort McPherson, where the command arrived on the 22d, and another reorganization of the expedition, consisting of companies B, E, F, L, and M, with two companies of the Second Cavalry, Major Frank North's Pawnee scouts, and the guide, William F. Cody, under Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan, set out from that station on the 15th of September for the Republican River and operated chiefly in the country which had been examined in June and July ; and on the 26th Lieutenants Price and Volkmar, with the headquarters detachment and a few Pawnee scouts, encountered Whistler's band of Sioux on Prairie Dog Creek and pursued them so closely that they abandoned a part of their village, which was destroyed the next morning. It was afterwards learned that the bandtraveled ninety miles without halting, and thereafter marched as rapidly as possible until they arrived at the Standing Rock Agency.
The expedition returned to Fort McPherson on the 28th of October and was disbanded. The regimental headquarters and companies F, H, I, L, and M were assigned to that post, and companies A, B, C, D, E, and Of were ordered to take station at Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo. All the companies were in winter quarters before the end of the year, and only a few changes were thereafter made in the stations during the tour of service in the Department of the Platte.

During December Lieutenant Burns, with a detachment of Company K, had two encounters with illicit distillers at Walnut Hill, Lee County, Va,, in which two men were wounded. This officer destroyed during the fall and winter of 1869 one hundred and three illicit distilleries in Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Lieutenant Thomas, with a detachment of Company I, set out from Fort McPherson on the 7th of June, 1870, in pursuit of marauding Indians who had stolen stock from citizens in the vicinity. He started without rations and pushed ahead at a gallop wheneverpossible, crossing with some difficulty a deep stream with swampy approaches. He was delayed to examine camps and side-trails, and encountered rain with danger of losing the trail, which he followed until darkness set in, when he had his men stand to horse until daybreak the next morning, when he renewed the pursuit, and an hour later overtook and charged the marauders, who lied in every direction and abandoned everything except the horses on which they were mounted. Lieutenant Thomas pursued them beyondRed Willow Creek, and destroyed their camp equipage, recovered the stolen stock, and captured other animals— in all thirty- three mules, horses, and ponies. He then returned to his station, where he arrived at seven o'clock p.m. oh the 8th, after a marchof one hundred and twenty miles in two days.

Lieutenant Hayes, with a detachment of the regiment, set out from Fort McPherson on the 23d of May, 1871, for Birdwood Creek, Neb., where, on the 24th, he surprised and captured a party of Sioux, together with sixt} r mules and horses.

The companies were employed in the usual garrison duties at their respective stations, having occasional tours of field-service, until November, 1871, when the regiment was ordered to distant service in the Military Division of the Pacific.

1872-1875. ARIZONA AND THE APACHE CAMPAIGN'S.

In compliance with orders from the War Department, dated November 1, 1871, the regiment was relieved from duty in Nebraska and Wyoming, and ordered to field- service against the Apaches of Arizona.

The headquarters and companies A, G, H, I, and L (Company F joining at North Platte), leaving horses and heavy equipments behind, started from Fort McPherson, Neb., on the 27th of November, under Major Carr, and moved by the overland railways to Oakland,Cal., and immediately embarked on the steamship Newbem and sailed down the coast to Cape St. Lucas, and thence up the Gulf of California to Port Isabel, at the mouth of the Colorado River, where they were transferred to the steamboats Mojave and Colorado, and arrived at Fort Yuma on the 19th of December. As the headquarters and companies received remounts and heavy equipments they started for Fort McDowell, which was designated as the post at which the regiment was to be assembled.
The second detachment, composed of companies B, C, D, E, K, and M, under Major Crittenden, was assembled at Fort D. A. Russell, Wyo. (where horses and heavy equipments were turned in), and then moved from Cheyenne on the 12th of December by the overland railways to Oakland, Cal., and embarked on the steamship Idaho and sailed for Port Isabel, where, upon arrival, the companies were transferred to the steamboats Ifqfave and Colorado, and arrived at Fort Yuma on the 9th of January, 1872. As the companies received their remounts and heavy equipments they started for Maricopa Wells, whence they were instructed to proceed to their respective stations instead of marching to the previously designated rendezvous at Fort McDowell.

Some changes had been made with reference to contemplated movements after the first detachment had arrived, but the middle of February found all the companies at their stations and ready for field-service.

That part of Arizona north of the Gila River was acquired from Mexico under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. That part south of the Gila River was acquired by purchase under the Gadsden treaty of 1853. North- eastern Arizona consists of elevatedplateaus from three thousand to eight thousand feet above the level of the sea, with occasional bluffs and volcanic cones rising from five hundred to twenty-five hundred feet above the plateaus. The numerous parallel ranges of mountains have a general north-west and south-east course, and form long valleys in the same direction. The remarkable exceptions to this general direction are the Mogollon range in the east, which extends nearly east and west and joins the Sierra Blanca, and an east-and-west rangeextending into ISTew Mexico. The axis of the Black Mountains and the Cerbat range in the north-west is nearly north and south. Southern Arizona is a plain having a slight elevation, about two hundred feet above the level of the ssa, at the mouth of the Gila River. From this plain isolated mountains and mountain ranges abruptly rise. In Central Arizona the Sierra Prieta and the Aztec range send foot-hills out in every direction, and their flanks sink gradually to the level of the high plateau surrounding the San Francisco Mountain towards the north-east, and to the table-lands sloping towards the Colorado River on the south-west. The San Francisco Mountain, a grand volcanic cone, is eleven thousand feet above the level of the sea. North and north-east of this mountain is an immense table-land, increasing in altitude towards the Utah line, and extending for hundreds of miles. In the Grand Canon of the Colorado the waters flow between walls that rise to a perpendicular height of seven thousand feet. The mountains of salt in the north-west are among the most remarkable formations to be found in that section, and the deposits are very extensive.

The ruins scattered throughout the Territory indicate an early civilization, that the land was cultivated, and that silver and copper mines were extensively worked. In the north-west and on the Colorado plateau are pueblos in ruins, containing walls, terraces, acequias, and reservoirs. The most extensive ruins are found in the Gila Valley, and recent explorations have established the fact that the country drained by the Gila and Colorado rivers was once densely populated.

Burial urns, containing the ashes of human bodies, are often exhumed, which serve to establish the fact that cremation was practiced by the people who once occupied the country.

Padre Kino wrote, two centuries ago, a description of these ruins, notably of the Casa Grande, a ruin about twelve miles south-east from Florence. No more was known of them then than is known of them now. The acequia which supplied the Casa Grande with water can be traced for fifty miles up the Gila River. It is now fifty feet wide and from six to ten feet deep, and ends in an immense reservoir in which was stored the water supply for a population estimated at two hundred and fifty thousand. The Spaniards discovered the same ruins in 1535. These people may have been Aztecs or Toltecs ; the Moquis and Zunis may be their descendants ; their history, however, seems to be enveloped in an impenetrable mystery.
It is known, however, as the Spanish settlements advanced northward, that the Apaches became the scourge of the frontier and repelled all efforts to civilize and convert them. No mission was ever established among them. They drew to themselves all the Indians who from time to time broke away from Spanish rule, and succeeded in driving from Arizona about all the population that was not of their race and blood, and made Sonora the field for their marauding expeditions.
When the Territory passed into the possession of the United States it was almost exclusively occupied by the Apaches, and its only apparent value was the use subsequently made of it — as an overland route for the Southern Mail Company. A few troops were stationed there, and combats incident to the occupation of a new country followed without any beneficial results, except, perhaps, with the Indians on the Colorado River.
Two regiments of California volunteers were dispatched there in 1861 to check the operations of a Confederate force and hold the country. The settlers followed the troops as military stations were established, and engaged in the pursuits of a new country,and from that time until the arrival of the Fifth Cavalry the history of Arizona h!ad been written in the blood of hundreds of American citizens. !
The few troops stationed there from time to time endured many hardships and encountered many dangers in efforts to subdue the savages, who delighted to revel in carnivals of crime. They murdered farmers in their fields, miners at their claims, and freighters beside their teams. Promising settlements were abandoned and mining industries were paralyzed. Marauding bands were frequently pursued from the scenes of their outrages directly to the shelter of the reservations, where they could draw supplies to equip themselves for another raid. Peace commissioners had labored with them in vain, and, forbearance baring ceased to be a virtue, the President was urged by petition to invest the department commander, Brevet Major-General George Crook, with the control of Indian affairs. It was not until the fall of 1872, when all other measures to secure a peace had signally failed, that he was permitted to begin a long-delayed campaign : but it was necessary to keep some troops in the field during the presence of the peace commissioners to hold the hostile Indians measurably quiet, and the operations of the regiment during the spring and summer of 1872 are deserving of a brief mention.
Company K was employed against the Apache-Mojaves and, during May, three of the raids made upon the settlements in the vicinity of Camp Hualpai met with prompt chastisement by detachments of the company, and the department commander announced in orders that the conduct of the detachments was worthy of the brilliant reputation of the regiment to which they belonged. Companies I and M were employed in the vicinity of Camp Grant, watching the Indians who were located on the reservation near the station. Companies B and C were employed in the vicinity of Camp Hualpai. Company E successfully operated against a large number of Apache- Mojaves and Apache- Yumas who had deserted the reservation at Camp Date Creek, and captured the greater part of them in the Ilarcuvar and Harquahalla Mountains. Company F was employed in the Senoita Valley and had several combats with the Chiricahuas. A serious outbreak occurred at Camp Date Creek early in September which was quelled by Company E, under Lieutenant Volkmar, but notuntil a number of Indians had been killed and wounded. It was an occasion fraught with great peril to the garrison, but fortunately the outbreak was quickly suppressed by vigorous measures and the ringleaders were imprisoned.
It was the 22d of September when Captain Mason started from Camp Hualpai with companies B C, and K and a detachment of Hualpai scouts, and proceeded to the Santa Maria district, where on the morning of the 25th, and after a laborious night march over a country cut up with deep and almost impassable canons, he discovered the rancherias of the Apache-Mojaves near the edge of a deep ravine known as the Muchos Canons, near the head- waters of the north branch of the Big Sandy. He completely surprised the enemy, and after a sharp engagement killed forty, wounded many others, captured a number of prisoners, and destroyed the rancherias.
The campaign thus auspiciously begun was prosecuted with the utmost vigor by the troops and their Indian allies until April, 1873, and the regiment participated in twenty eight well-fought combats and engagements with the enemy.Many warriors were killed and wounded ; their women and children were captured, and their rancherias and supplies were destroyed. Their hitherto inaccessible retreats were penetrated by the persistent and searching operations of the troops, and there was no safety for them anywhere. The hostile tribes became completely demoralized by the terrible punishment which was inflicted upon them, and with one accord they sent in flags of truce and tendered unconditional surrenders.@S32@@
Steamboat Colorada - 5th cavalry sailed from Port Isabel to Fort Yuma
Fort Harker, KS
Fort Harker, KS
Fort Harker, KS
Kansas Pacific RR near Fort Harker
Fort Lyon, CO
Wm. F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody served as scout for the 5th Cavalry on the Great Plains
Fort Sedgweick, CO, 1870
near Battle of Summit Springs, CO
Fort D.W. Russell, WY
Fort D.W. Russell, WY, 1868
Oakland Wharf, c. 1870
Steam Ship Idaho at Oakland - transported 5th Cavalry from Oakland to Port Isabel
Steamboat Colorado in dry dock at Port Isabel - transported 5th Cavalry from Port Isabel to Fort Yuma
Steamboat Mojave at Yuma - transported 5th from Port Isabel to For Yuma
Steamboat Mojave at Yuma, 1876 - transported 5th Cavalry from Port Isabel to Fort Yuma
Riverboat Colorado in dry dock, 1860 - transported 5th Cavalry from Port Isabel to Fort Yuma
Riverboat Colorado in dry dock at Port Isabell - transported 5th Cavalry from Port Isabel to Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Oakland waterfront at Brooklyn Basin, c. 1890