Civil War and Indian Wars Union Officer. During the Civil War he served as a First Lieutenant with the 16th Maine Volunteers, 1862-1864. He was in action at Brook's Station, Fredericksburg and the battle of Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, he was wounded holding position against a Confederate charge and received a citation for not surrendering the flag. June 1866, he reported to the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Riley, Kansas. Then was detailed to Fort Wallace Army Post, on the Colorado line, south of Smoky Creek. The fort was subject to frequent attacks from Cheyenne Indians, who interfered with construction work. He was put second in command of Major George A. Forsyth's Scouts, from Fort Hays, Kansas. This group had been actively searching out Cheyenne adversaries. On September 17, 1868, a large band of Cheyenne warriors, led by Chief Roman Nose, pursued Lt. Beecher's detachment of 50 men. The Indians stranded them on a sandbar on the Arikara River near the Kansas-Colorado border. The Indians organized several massed charges but the attacks decreased following the death of Roman Nose. Lt. Frederick Beecher, for whom the battle and site is named, was killed in action with 21 soldiers. The remaining defenders were rescued on September 25, when a company of 10th Cavalry troops came to their aid. A historical marker commemorates the battle as Beecher's Island Battlefield and serves as a memorial to the dead on both sides who are buried there.
Civil War and Indian Wars Union Officer. During the Civil War he served as a First Lieutenant with the 16th Maine Volunteers, 1862-1864. He was in action at Brook's Station, Fredericksburg and the battle of Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, he was wounded holding position against a Confederate charge and received a citation for not surrendering the flag. June 1866, he reported to the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Fort Riley, Kansas. Then was detailed to Fort Wallace Army Post, on the Colorado line, south of Smoky Creek. The fort was subject to frequent attacks from Cheyenne Indians, who interfered with construction work. He was put second in command of Major George A. Forsyth's Scouts, from Fort Hays, Kansas. This group had been actively searching out Cheyenne adversaries. On September 17, 1868, a large band of Cheyenne warriors, led by Chief Roman Nose, pursued Lt. Beecher's detachment of 50 men. The Indians stranded them on a sandbar on the Arikara River near the Kansas-Colorado border. The Indians organized several massed charges but the attacks decreased following the death of Roman Nose. Lt. Frederick Beecher, for whom the battle and site is named, was killed in action with 21 soldiers. The remaining defenders were rescued on September 25, when a company of 10th Cavalry troops came to their aid. A historical marker commemorates the battle as Beecher's Island Battlefield and serves as a memorial to the dead on both sides who are buried there.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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