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Overland Campaign Spotsylvania Court House
Overland Campaign Cold Harbor
Siege of Petersburg
Battle of Sutherlands Station
Spotted Elk indicated their intentions were peaceful, and his people were then escorted to site along the Wounded Knee Creek without a fight. The next morning, they were surrounded, and the cavalry began confiscating their weapons. Initially, the process was peaceable. However, some of the Lakota began dancing the Ghost Dance creating tension among the troopers, and Black Coyote who was mute and deaf refused to
give up his prized rifle which went off during a struggle. After this initial shot, the situation devolved into indiscriminate firing by the cavalry, including
shooting and running down fleeing unarmed
men, women, and children running for their lives. Some of the Lakota returned fire
early in the “battle,” but they were soon killed. By the end, possibly more than
200 of the Lakota were killed along with 31 of the soldiers. Some of the latter were hit by friendly fire. General Miles was not present for the Wounded Knee Massacre,
but visited the scene shortly thereafter. Rather than praise his men for following their orders to “destroy” the Lakota if they resisted, he stated
the massacre was “the most abominable military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children.” He relieved Colonel James W. Forsyth of command and launched an investigation. Forsyth was ultimately cleared of wrong doing and reinstated despite Miles’s opposition, and 20 of his men received the Medal of Honor. Miles continued to argue on behalf the survivors even after World War I.
Though the tragedy at
Wounded Knee marked a low
point within Miles’s career, he
continued on. The set of two
swords in the third lot of this
section were purchased by or
presented to Miles around this time.
As the commander of the Department
of the East, Miles was called upon to use
troops to end the Pullman Strike in 1894.
President Grover Cleveland ordered the
military to return law and order. The following
year, Miles was promoted to Commanding General
of the U.S. Army when Lieutenant General John
Schofield retired. He led the U.S. Army during the Spanish-
American War, but his influence was somewhat limited due to
opposition from President McKinley’s administration. However, General Miles led the offensive in Puerto Rico and captured the island in just 19 days with the loss of just three men killed. He briefly served as the island’s first military governor under American rule, and the island remains a U.S. territory today. Already at odds with the McKinley administration prior to the conflict, Miles publicly criticized government officials for poor quality and often putrid beef
provisions which Miles and other officers suggested had been “embalmed.” This effort, including Miles pursuing the issue even after attempts were made to sweep it under the rug, ultimately led to President William McKinley requesting Secretary of War Russel Alger to resign. Commissary General
Charles Eagan was also suspended after he called Miles a liar. Miles had recommended the military purchase fresh, local beef to supply the troops as it had done traditionally, but Alger
had instead supported the Chicago meat-packers. It was in late 1899 or early 1900 that the scarce
deluxe Winchester Model 1895, was presented to Miles by New York National Guard
Captain J.R. Hegeman Jr., perhaps in direct recognition of Miles’s efforts on behalf of
the U.S. troops.
In 1900, Miles was promoted to lieutenant general and was near
the end of his career. Newspapers were already reporting that
he was due to retire in just
three years, but the war in the Philippines was still
ongoing, and he made an inspection tour in 1902 and
was critical of the Army’s campaign there, again
irritating administration, this time as a thorn in the side of President Theodore Roosevelt who derisively referred to Miles as a “brave peacock,” a nickname which seems ironic given Roosevelt’s own persona and self-promotion. Miles
ended his career by showing he was far from an infirm
old man. He made a 90 mile ride from Fort Sill to
Fort Reno over the course of just 10 hours and 20 minutes clearly demonstrating he was
physically able to continue
to lead the Army. Government regulations mandated retirement
at the age of 64, so he was forced to retire. Given he was not in favor with
Roosevelt, his retirement ceremony was fairly uneventful considering his long and
influential career.
There was briefly interest in him running for president against Roosevelt in 1904 as a Democrat
or on the Prohibition ticket. When World War I broke out, Miles offered his services to President Woodrow Wilson
but was turned down. He died in 1925 in Washington, D.C., at
a circus with his grandchildren from a heart attack. Prior to his death, he was the oldest living Civil War general. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery in the Miles Mausoleum which is also the resting place of his son Major General Sherman Miles and his grandson Colonel Nelson Miles.
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