James William Forsyth

James William Forsyth

James William Forsyth (born August 26, 1834 in Maumee Ciy , Ohio , USA ; † October 24, 1906 in Columbus , Ohio, USA) was an American military man, most recently in the rank of general. He went down in world history as the person responsible for the Wounded Knee massacre .

Life

Forsyth was born to James Henry Forsyth and Charlotee Templeton Jackson Forsyth. In 1856 he finished his military training at West Point , his first period of service he spent at Fort Billingham ( Washington, DC ), where he rose to the rank of lieutenant in the 9th Cavalery. During the American Civil War he was subordinate to General Philip Sheridan . After the war he was used in the Indian Wars, especially in 1868 and 1869 against the Comanche , Arapaho , Cheyenne and Kiowa . In 1866 he became commander of the Missouri military department, as the successor to Sheridan. In 1870 he went to Europe as an observer of the Franco-Prussian war and did not return until the end of the 1870s. In 1885 he became the commander of Fort Maginnis in Montana . In 1886 he was promoted to colonel .

In 1867 he married Lizzie Dennison, with whom he had four children. She was the daughter of William Dennison , then the governor of Ohio.

Forsyth was in correspondence with several high military figures, including Phillip Sheridan, Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman .

After the massacre of Wounded Knee he was promoted anyway, so he was appointed Brigadier General in 1894 and in 1897 even Major General in the US Army. He died on October 24, 1906 in his native Ohio. He is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery, Franklin County, Columbus, Ohio.

The Wounded Knee Massacre

In December 1890, the brigade led by Forsyth was supposed to bring some 350 Sioux back to the reservation under their chief Big Foot who were in Wounded Knee, South Dakota . These had previously fled from this. During the check for weapons, there is initially a scuffle and in this course there is also fighting between the Indians and the soldiers. The soldiers posted around the camp, armed with "Hotchkins" machine guns, then fired and there was a bloodbath: between 150 and 350 Indians, including Chief Big Foot, died in the hail of bullets. Likewise around 25 soldiers through " friendly fire ". About 60 women and children were among the dead Indians. Many Indians died from the injuries days later. Forsyth's supervisor, Maj. Gen. Nelson Miles , ordered an investigation into the case, demoted Forsyth and suspended him from office, and took him to court. But the Minister of War canceled the order, rehabilitated him and put him back in his old position. The Chief Commander Forsyth never really had to answer for the massacre. Later he was promoted several times, up to major general. Wounded Knee is widely considered to be the worst Indian massacre in US history.

Others

The town of Forsyth in Montana was named after James William Forsyth.

Web links

• Short biography at Spartacus Educational (English)
• University of Washington Photo Collection
• James W. Forsyth in the database of Find a Grave (English)