1834 Andrew Jackson - Death of General Henry Leavenworth

In 1833, Henry Leavenworth, a lawyer turned soldier received the full rank of brigadier.  General Leavenworth served as an infantryman in the War of 1812 until wounded at the Battle of Niagara in 1814.  After a brief stint back in civilian life, Leavenworth returned to the military overseeing the construction of several military posts in Indian territory including what later became known as Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.  In 1834, General Leavenworth was commanding an expedition of the U.S. Regiment of Dragoons in Indian territory hoping to build a relationship between the United states and the Commanche, Kiowa and Wichita nations.  The dragoons were first organized in 1833 as an elite fighting force trained to fight both on horseback and on foot. While on the expedition, Gen. Leavenworth lost his final battle to sickness and died at the age of 50.

On June 20, 1834 Leavenworth led the First Regiment of Dragoons on what is known as the Dodge-Leavenworth expedition from Fort Gibson (in present day Oklahoma) into Indian Territory along with along with Cherokee, Delaware, Osage, and Seneca tribesmen who served as guides.  By July, the expedition entered the Cross Timbers region when a cholera epidemic broke out across the area.  150 of the men already suffering from the summer heat, succumbed to sickness, and died on the march across the difficult terrain. At Cross Timbers they met a Comanche Indian who helped them establish Camp Leavenworth where soldiers established hospital wagons.  General Leavenworth already suffering with fever and injured from a buffalo hunt stayed at the camp and ordered Colonel Henry Dodge and the rest of his men continued onward.  Dodge continued the expedition moving west towards a Wichita village but once again had to leave some of his men at another sick camp. Upon finally reaching the village, negotiations with the Wichita, Commanche and Kowa nations was successful and more than 20 Plains Indian representatives where heading back East to continue discussions with the U.S. Despite suffering from severe illness, General Leavenworth left the camp to follow Colonel Dodge, but died from the fever on July 21, 1834. The General's men buried him in a simple grave at Camp Leavenworth where his body remained until it was resumed in 1835 and moved to New York City where the U.S. military honored the General with a grand military and civic ceremony.  In 1902, the remains of General Leavenworth were moved to Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery where it remains to this day.

In his 1834 State of the Union, President Andrew Jackson praised Colonel Dodge for acting "with equal firmness and humanity" and paid homage to General Leavenworth for his "for his gallant services in the late war and for his subsequent good conduct". As with many other soldiers of those days, he was said to have "fallen a victim to his zeal and exertions in the discharge of his duty". A statement of honor that is true of our brave men and women who died in battle in yesterdays and yesteryears. General Henry Leavenworth died a hero who put service to country over his own well-being. 

"No event has occurred since your last session rendering necessary any movements of the Army, with the exception of the expedition of the regiment of dragoons into the territory of the wandering and predatory tribes inhabiting the western frontier and living adjacent to the Mexican boundary. These tribes have been heretofore known to us principally by their attacks upon our own citizens and upon other Indians entitled to the protection of the United States. It became necessary for the peace of the frontiers to check these habitual inroads, and I am happy to inform you that the object has been effected without the commission of any act of hostility. Colonel Dodge and the troops under his command have acted with equal firmness and humanity, and an arrangement has been made with those Indians which it is hoped will assure their permanent pacific relations with the United States and the other tribes of Indians upon that border. It is to be regretted that the prevalence of sickness in that quarter has deprived the country of a number of valuable lives, and particularly that General Leavenworth, an officer well known, and esteemed for his gallant services in the late war and for his subsequent good conduct, has fallen a victim to his zeal and exertions in the discharge of his duty."

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. 2020. Sixth Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: <https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/sixth-annual-message-2> [Accessed 6 May 2020].

Buried?, W., 2020. Where Is General Henry Leavenworth Buried?. [online] LakeTexoma.com. Available at: <https://www.laketexoma.com/news--politics--Where-is-General-Henry-Leavenworth-Buried/5391> [Accessed 9 May 2020].

Fortwiki.com. 2020. Henry Leavenworth - Fortwiki Historic U.S. And Canadian Forts. [online] Available at: <http://www.fortwiki.com/Henry_Leavenworth> [Accessed 9 May 2020].


Usdakotawar.org. 2020. Henry Leavenworth | The U.S.-Dakota War Of 1862. [online] Available at: <https://www.usdakotawar.org/history/henry-leavenworth> [Accessed 9 May 2020].