Alfred Sully

Alfred Sully (May 22, 1820 – April 27, 1879), was an American

He served in the Mexican-American War in 1846.^[2] Between 1849 and 1853, he served as chief quartermaster of the U.S. troops at Monterey, California, after California came under American jurisdiction. He created a number of watercolor and some oil paintings reflecting the social life of Monterey during that period.

During and after the

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.[6]^[7]

A pioneer woman named Fanny Kelly was kidnapped by the Sioux and Sully led troops to re-capture her. In the Battle of Killdeer Mountain, he led two brigades of soldiers, approximately 2,200 men, in July 1864 to the Killdeer Mountains to attack a village of several Sioux tribes totaling 8,000 people. The Sioux defenders included Sitting Bull, Gall, and Inkpaduta. Sully and the U.S. Army troops destroyed the village with artillery and forced the Sioux defenders to flee into the badlands near the present-day Theodore Roosevelt National Park.^[8]

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. From June to September 1867, he served in the Idaho Territory and fought in the Nez Perce War.^[9] In September 1868, Sully led 500 men out of Fort Dodge and into Indian territory to punish "hostiles" responsible for raids into Kansas. However, the troops were ambushed and became exhausted hauling heavy wagon trains through dense countryside. The troops returned to Fort Dodge unsuccessful and Sully took the blame for the failure.^[2]

In November 1868, Sully and George Armstrong Custer led troops into Indian territory. The two disagreed on the military strategy of the expedition but agreed to construct Fort Supply in what is now Oklahoma. The two leaders continued to fight over who should have command on the expedition. The issue was resolved with the arrival of General Philip Sheridan who selected Custer to lead and sent Sully to Fort Harker.^[2]

In 1869, Sully was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana. In 1873, he was appointed Colonel and given command of the 21st Infantry Regiment.^[2] Despite frequent bouts of ill health, he continued serving in the Indian Wars until his death at Fort 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.^[10]

Personal life

Sully was married three times.

During his service as Quartermaster in Monterrey, California, he married María Manuela Antonia Jimeno y de la Guerra, the 15 year old granddaughter of the California military officer and ranchero, Jose de la Guerra y Noriega. The family initially objected to the marriage since Sully was Protestant and not wealthy and the couple eloped. The family eventually accepted the marriage and granted Sully a tract of land in California. The couple had a son together,^[11] however, soon after childbirth, Manuela died in 1852 from eating poisoned fruit, possibly from a rejected suitor. Less than three weeks after the death of his wife, his newborn son, Thomas, was accidently strangulated.^[11][12]

From September 1856 through May 1857, 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