William S. Harney
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William Selby Harney | |
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William Selby Harney (August 22, 1800 – May 9, 1889), otherwise known among the
Early life
Born on August 27, 1800, in Haysborough (Haysboro), a community on the Cumberland River (then a few miles above Nashville, Tennessee, now incorporated in the city), Harney attended a local private academy. His father Thomas Harney had been an army officer.
Early military career
In 1817, Harney's brother, Dr. Benjamin F. Harney, an Army surgeon in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, asked Andrew Jackson, a hero of the War of 1812 and the current commander of the Army of the South, to write a letter to the Secretary of the Navy to ask for Harney's acceptance into the Navy, which occurred July 23, 1817. Harney visited his brother and met high-ranking military officers. He so impressed them that they arranged a commission for him as a U.S. Navy second lieutenant, which President James Monroe signed. However, Harney chose to serve under Jackson in the army. His first military assignment under Jackson was in 1818, as a second lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Infantry. He helped to force the pirate Jean Lafitte to move his operations from the Louisiana Territory to the Spanish Main.
Harney began his many years of interactions with Native Americans on the Great Plains in 1825, when he accompanied Colonel Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon on an expedition to sign treaties with the Upper Missouri tribes. In 1832, Harney fought in the Black Hawk War against the Sauk and Fox tribes, serving as General Zachary Taylor's assistant inspector.[1] There he met, fought, and befriended Jefferson Davis, Taylor's son-in-law and a fellow army officer.
Murder of Hannah
In June 1834, while he was a major in the Paymaster Corps, Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, Harney was charged with beating an enslaved woman, Hannah, to death. In a fit of anger he hit her with a piece of rawhide, and then fled to avoid arrest, while seeking a transfer to another state. The coroner ruled Hannah died as a result of Harney's violent actions, and he was indicted for murder by a grand jury in July. The trial was moved to Union, Missouri, and scheduled for the spring of 1835. Overseen by a judge with "a reputation in which Harney could take comfort" (according to biographer George Rollie Adams), fifteen witnesses spoke in court, their testimony going unrecorded, and Harney, "although clearly responsible for Hannah's death," was acquitted.[2]
Second Seminole War
During the Second Seminole War (1835–1842), Harney gained a reputation as an Indian fighter for daring and ruthless raids. Harney and troops under his command often fought the Seminole War leader and mystic Sam Jones, also known as Ar-pi-uck-i. During one skirmish, one of Harney's men accidentally shot Itee, the wife of Sam Jones. When that was brought to Harney's attention, he turned down the opportunity to use her as a bargaining chip during treaty negotiations. Instead, Harney ordered Itee comfortably set outside the US Army camp so that her husband and his men could retrieve her that evening.[3]
Mexican–American War
During the
Placed in temporary command of the 1st Brigade in
First Sioux War
On May 14, 1849, on the death of Brevet Major General
Recalled from leave after he had attempted to visit his family in Paris in 1854, Harney led a punitive expedition against the Sioux after they killed a small US Army detachment in Nebraska Territory, an event called the Grattan massacre. He led attacks against the Brulé Lakota, who were involved in conflicts with immigrant travelers on the Oregon Trail. In the Battle of Ash Hollow, on September 2 and 3, 1855, Harney's troops routed Little Thunder's village at Blue Water Creek (now known as Ash Hollow), in western Nebraska, killing about half of the 250 band members. Among the victims were women and children who had hidden in a cave, into which cannons were fired under the pretense that they were warriors.[7] Harney earned a Lakota name translated as "Mad Bear" because after the attack, he marched across the Badlands to Fort Pierre, the largest trading post in Dakota Territory, and challenged the Lakotas to a winter fight. The success of the campaign encouraged Harney to suggest that mobile units might replace permanent army posts.[1]
Harney briefly commanded troops during the Utah War and was again recalled and placed in command of troops sent to deal with the guerrilla warfare of Bleeding Kansas.
Next, he was assigned command of the
Promoted to brigadier general on June 14, 1858, Harney was, at 61, the youngest of the four general officers in the regular army at the time, (alongside the War of 1812 veterans
American Civil War
As the
On May 10, 1861, Captain
The state legislature responded by reorganizing the militia as the
That was not acceptable to Unionist leaders in Missouri, including the
Recalled to Washington to discuss the situation, Harney was captured by Confederates at
Harney remained in Washington and served in various administrative positions. When it became clear that he would not receive another field command, he retired in 1863 and lived in St. Louis. In recognition of his long and distinguished career, he was awarded and breveted to major general in 1865.
Later years
President Andrew Johnson appointed Harney to the
Harney then retired to Pass Christian, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast and often reminisced with his old friend Jefferson Davis about their old service at Fort Crawford, including their near duel; they forgot their opposite service during the American Civil War.[10] After Davis's death, Harney moved to the Orlando, Florida area, where he died.
Personal life
In 1833, in St. Louis, he married Mary Mullanphy, daughter of
Death and legacy
Harney died at his home near Orlando, Florida, in 1889, just months after Harney County, Oregon was named for him.[12] He was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, as would be his widow in 1907. His will, witnessed by Ulysses S. Grant and filed in St. Louis, gave his son "John Hearney" and daughter "Eliza Hearney" $5 each, and the rest of his property, wherever located, to his widow.[13] Harney is an intriguing figure representing perhaps an individualist standing apart, in an age of rough dichotomies. The one-time renowned "Indian Fighter" had also served on an Indian Peace Commission due to his familiarity with native people. However, the appointment was made not due to his advocacy of Indians, but rather because he had been one of the few men to successfully wage war against them and was someone who could gain their attention.[14]
Harney was known among the Sioux as "Woman Killer" due to his actions (known as the "Harney Massacre") at an Indian village in 1855 at Blue Water Creek, south of the Black Hills: "While engaged in a delaying parley with Chief Little Thunder" Harney's troops "circled undetected" toward the village, "where the infantry opened fire and forced the Indians toward mounted soldiers, who inflicted terrible casualties. Initial reports stated 86 Indians were killed and 70 women and children were captured; however, the totals were later determined to be higher as additional casualties were found in the following days. The natives' tipis were looted and burned.[15][16]
Historic site
The Maj. Gen. William S. Harney Summer Home in Sullivan, Crawford County, Missouri, is privately owned by the Harney Mansion Foundation. The Sullivan Chamber of Commerce cooperates with the foundation and can arrange visits to the home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[17]
Places named for Harney
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020) |
- Harney Park, Portland, Oregon
- Harney Channel, waterway between Orcas and Shaw Islands in the San Juan archipelago (renamed Cayou Channel in July 2022)
- Harney, Nevada
- Harney County, Oregon
- Harney Lake in Oregon
- Harney Street in Omaha, NE
- , out of respect for the nature of said site being a holy area according to the Sioux.
- Harney Point in Cape Coral, Florida
- Lake Harney in central Florida
- Harney Sports Complex at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
- Harney River located in Everglades National Park
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b c "Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | Harney, William (1800–1889)".
- ^ Adams 47–51.
- ^ Reavis, L. U. Saint Louis the Future Great City of the World, p. 339. Barnes, Missouri. 1876.
- ^ Charles L. Dufour, The Mexican War: A Compact History, 1846–1848 (New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc. 1968) p. 199
- John S. D. Eisenhower, So Far from God: the U.S. War with Mexico, 1846–1848 (Random House Publishers 1989) p. 256n [ISBN missing]
- ^ "TSHA | Harney, William Selby".
- ^ M. Sandoz, Crazy Horse pp. 79–82
- ^ Sainsbury, Brendan (September 12, 2022). "The US island that nearly ignited a war". bbc.com. BBC Travel. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ Reavis, L. U. (1878). "The Life and Military Service of General William Selby Harney". St. Louis, Mo.: Bryan, Brand & Co. pp. 355–356 [355]. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
On his way to Washington, he was captured at Harper's Ferry, by the Confederates, on the 25th of April, 1861.
- ^ William C. Davis, Jefferson Davis: the Man and his hour (HarperCollins Publishers 1991) p. 685 [ISBN missing]
- ^ Gregory P. Shine, "William Selby Harvey (1800–1889)", The Oregon Encyclopedia
- ^ "William Selby Harney (1800-1889)".
- ^ St. Louis Probate case file No. 17257-1728 (1889) in Missouri will records, available on ancestry.com
- ^ Mattingly, Arthur (July 1976). "The Great Plains Peace Commission of 1867,"". Journal of the West. XV: 25–27.
- Daily Missouri Republican. St. Louis, Missouri. September 25, 1855. p. 2.
- ^ Marshall III, Joseph (2005). The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History. New York: Penguin. p. 68.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Federal Writers' Project (1940). South Dakota place-names, v.1- Now changed to Black Elk Peak. August 11, 2016 U. S. Geographic Board. 3. American guide series. University of South Dakota. p. 40.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780803259546.
Further reading
- Hogan, Michael (September 2006). "Los San Patricios: The Irish Soldiers of Mexico". Indymedia. Retrieved July 15, 2008..
- L. U. Reavis, The Life of General Harney available at archive.org [1]
- "Harney, William Selby", by Thomas W. Cutrer, in the Handbook of Texas Online, uploaded June 15, 2010.
- Military Career of Wm. S. Harney