James William Forsyth | |
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.jpg) Forsyth in 1867 | |
| Born | (1834-08-08)August 8, 1834 Maumee, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 1906(1906-10-24) (aged 72) Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Buried | Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States (Union) |
| Branch |  United States Army (Union Army) |
| Years of service | 1856–1897 |
| Rank |  Major General |
| Commands | 7th U.S. Cavalry Department of California |
| Battles / wars | |
James William Forsyth (August 8, 1834 – October 24, 1906) was a U.S. Army officer and general. He was primarily a Unionstaff officer during theAmerican Civil War and cavalry regimental commander during theAmerican Indian Wars. Forsyth is best known for having commanded the 7th Cavalry at theWounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890, during which more than 250 men, women, and children of the Lakota were killed and more than 50 were wounded.
Forsyth was born inMaumee, Ohio, where he attended the local schools. He attended West Point from 1851 to 1856 and received a commission as second lieutenant in Co. D, 9th U.S. Infantry. He was instrumental in the completion of the frontier fort at San Juan Island and served as the company's acting commander whenCaptainGeorge E. Pickett was away on leave. After serving in Washington Territory at Fort Bellingham and Camp Pickett, San Juan Island, Forsyth was promoted to first lieutenant in 1861 and returned to the East to command Union forces in the Civil War.
Forsyth joined theUnion Army as Colonel of the64th Ohio Infantry on November 9, 1861. He was temporarily in command of a brigade duringDon Carlos Buell's march to the relief of Maj. Gen.U.S. Grant atShiloh. However, the day before the battle began the brigade's regular commander,James A. Garfield, returned and Forsyth did not participate in the actual battle. Forsyth relinquished command of the 64th Ohio to Colonel John Ferguson on 1 January 1862.
In 1862, he transferred to theArmy of the Potomac where he served as the assistant U.S.inspector general during thePeninsula campaign. During theMaryland Campaign, he was assigned asaide-de-camp to Major GeneralJoseph K. F. Mansfield until the latter's untimely death at theBattle of Antietam. Forsyth then becameprovost marshal to theArmy of the Potomac at theBattle of Fredericksburg.
In 1863, Forsyth transferred back to the Western Theater to serve asadjutant to GeneralPhilip H. Sheridan atChickamauga. Forsyth wasbrevetted to Major in the Regular Army for his service at Chickamauga. When Sheridan transferred to the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps, Forsyth followed as his chief of staff. He participated in this capacity during theOverland Campaign. He was subsequently chief of staff of theArmy of the Shenandoah during theShenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 and chief of staff to the Union Cavalries during theAppomattox Campaign. He received brevets to Lieutenant Colonel, USA forCedar Creek, colonel, USA forFive Forks and Brigadier General, U.S. Volunteers, for theShenandoah Valley Campaign.
On January 13, 1866,PresidentAndrew Johnson promoted Forsyth to Brigadier General of Volunteers to rank from May 19, 1865.[1] The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 23, 1866, notwithstanding that Forsyth was mustered out of the volunteer service on January 15, 1866.[1] On July 17, 1866, President Johnson nominated Forsyth for appointment as a brevet Brigadier General in the regular army to rank from April 9, 1865. The Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.[2]
Forsyth served under Sheridan along withWesley Merritt,Thomas Devin, andGeorge A. Custer. Later, all of these men would become famous Indian fighters.
After the war, Forsyth joined theMilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.
Forsyth remained in theRegular Army after the end of the American Civil War. He commanded a brigade of cavalry for two years and was a strong supporter of African Americans andbuffalo soldiers. He then joined Sheridan again in 1867, and moved with him when he became commander of the Department of the Missouri in 1866. Forsyth served first as the department's secretary and then as inspector, with an appointment in the cavalry. He took part in military campaigns against the Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa Indians in 1868–69. Forsyth went to Europe in 1870 as an official observer of theFranco-Prussian War.
In 1878, Forsyth commanded the1st U.S. Cavalry in theBannock War, having considerable success in this role. In 1885, Forsyth was in command ofFort Maginnis, Montana, where the army was monitoring the Crow, Cree, and the Gros Ventres (Atsina) Indians.
On July 11, 1886, after a leave of absence of two months, Forsyth was promoted to Colonel of the7th U.S. Cavalry, assumed command of the regiment July 26, 1886, atFort Meade, South Dakota and marched toFort Riley, Kansas, where he arrived September 8, 1887, where he remained in command until Nov. 10th, 1890, during which time he organized and developed the system of instruction for light artillery and cavalry for theSchool of Application for Infantry and Cavalry.[3][4][5] Forsyth was in command of the 7th Cavalry at theWounded Knee Massacre on December 29, 1890, and at theDrexel Mission Fight that took place on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation on December 30, 1890.
On November 9, 1894, Brigadier GeneralAlexander McDowell McCook was promoted tomajor general to hold the position vacated by the retirement of Major GeneralOliver O. Howard. Colonel Forsyth was promoted to the rank ofbrigadier general to succeed McCook and was appointed commander of the Department of California.
On May 11, 1897, Forsyth was promoted to major general to succeed Major GeneralFrank Wheaton, who had retired on May 8. Forsyth retired from the U.S. Army three days later.
Forsyth married the daughter of Ohio GovernorWilliam Dennison. The couple had four children. He died on October 24, 1906, inColumbus, Ohio, and is buried inGreen Lawn Cemetery.
(All in the Regular Army)
There have been several attempts by various parties to rescind the Medals of Honor awarded in connection with theBattle of Wounded Knee.[6][7][8] Proponents claim that the engagement was in-fact a massacre and not a battle, due to the high number of killed and wounded Lakota women and children and the very one-sided casualty counts. Estimates of the Lakota losses indicate 150–300 killed, of which up to 200 were women and children. Additionally, as many as 51 were wounded. In contrast, the 7th Cavalry suffered 25 killed and 39 wounded, many being the result of friendly fire.[9][10][11]
Calvin Spotted Elk, direct descendant of Chief Spotted Elk killed at Wounded Knee, launched a petition to rescind medals from the soldiers who participated in the battle.[12]
The Army has also been criticized more generally for the seemingly disproportionate number of Medals of Honor awarded in connection with the battle.[13] For comparison, 20 Medals were awarded at Wounded Knee, 21 at theBattle of Cedar Creek, and 20 at theBattle of Antietam.[13][14] Respectively, Cedar Creek and Antietam involved 52,712 and 113,000 troops, suffering 8,674 and 22,717 casualties.[15][16][17][18][19] Wounded Knee involved 610 combatants (490 of which being US Army) and resulted in as many as 705 casualties (including 31 killed and 33 wounded US Army soldiers).[20][9]
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