Alfred Sully

Alfred Sully (May 22, 1820 – April 27, 1879), was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. He served as Brevet Brigadier General in the Union Army during the American Civil War but was removed from command by John Gibbon and charged with dereliction of duty for failure to suppress a mutiny by the 34th New York Infantry Regiment. He was found innocent of the charges and sent to command the District of Iowa (including the Territory of North Dakota) in the Department of the Northwest during the Sioux Wars. After the Civil War, he served as major in the United States Army and continued to fight in the Indian Wars including the Nez Perce War and out of Fort Dodge, Fort Harker and Fort Vancouver. He served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana in 1869 and as colonel of the 21st Infantry Regiment in 1873.

Early life and education
Sully was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 22, 1880. His father was the famous portrait painter, Thomas Sully. Like his father, he was a watercolorist and oil painter. By the age of 13, he was making professional sketches of subjects such as the Walnut Street Prison. He graduated from West Point in 1841 as a second lieutenant.

Career
He fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in the fall of 1842 and the Mexican-American War where he fought in the Siege of Veracruz. Between 1849 and 1853, after California fell under American jurisdiction, Sully served as chief quartermaster in Monterey, California. He created a number of watercolor and oil paintings reflecting the social life of Monterey during that period.

He was promoted to captain in 1852 and placed in command of Company F of the Second Infantry at Fort Ridgely and Fort Pierre and led the construction of Fort Randall in 1856. He served under brigadier general William S. Harney and fought in the Battle of Ash Hollow. He left the Dakota Territory in July 1857 and traveled to Europe in 1858 on detached duty to learn from their armies.

He was promoted to major in early 1861. He commanded US troops out of Fort Leavenworth and occupied the city of St. Joseph, Missouri, declaring martial law. Violent secessionist uprisings in the city during the early Civil War prompted Sully's occupation. He was promoted to colonel on March 4, 1862 and placed in command of the First Minnesota Regiment.

American Civil War
He led the regiment during the Peninsula campaign, and sustained a minor wound at Glendale. He led a brigade at the Seven Days Battle and the Battle of Fredericksburg. Sully was promoted to brigadier general on September 26 for his actions leading his regiment at the Battle of Antietam and led a brigade in the II Corps during the Battle of Chancellorsville.

On May 1, 1863, he was removed from command by his division commander, brigadier general John Gibbon after failing to suppress a mutiny by the 34th New York when several of its companies refused to fight on the grounds that their two-year enlistment term was about to expire. Gibbon attempted to have Sully court-martialed for dereliction of duty, although a court of inquiry found him innocent of these charges. After the charges were dropped, he was sent West to the Dakota Territory to serve in the Sioux Wars.

Sioux Wars
Major General John Pope ordered general Henry Hastings Sibley to march against the Sioux to drive them west toward the Missouri River, and Sully to proceed north to intercept the Sioux before they crossed the river. Sully established headquarters at Sioux City, Iowa, and a base camp at Fort Pierre to stage expeditions against the Sioux.

On September 3, 1863, at the Battle of Whitestone Hill, his troops destroyed a village of some 500 tipis that lodged Blackfeet, Dakota, Hunkpapa, Lakota, and Yankton. Sully's troops killed approximately 300 native Americans and captured 250 women and children. The U.S. Army casualties were twenty-two killed and 50 wounded. In his report, Sully stated that, "I can safely say that I gave them one of the most severe punishments that the Indians have ever received."

On June 28, 1864, in response to the killing of his science officer and topographical engineer, Captain John Feilner, while conducting a field survey, Sully ordered the heads of those Indians believed responsible hung from poles on a hill overlooking the Missouri River.

In July 1864, Supply lead the 30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment to build Fort Rice as a base of operations for expeditions against the Sioux.

A pioneer woman named Fanny Kelly was kidnapped by the Sioux and Sully led troops to re-capture her. On July 19, 1864, Sully left Camp Rice with about 3,000 troops including those from the 1st Dakota Cavalry Battalion, 6th Iowa Cavalry Regiment, 7th Iowa Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment, and the 8th Minnesota Infantry Regiment, along the Missouri River. The caravan also included emigrants who sought the protection of U.S. troops. On July 23, Sully left the emigrants and approximately 800 troops near the Heart River and continued the expedition. At the Battle of Killdeer Mountain, he led two brigades of soldiers, approximately 2,200 men, and attacked a village of 8,000 native Americans from several tribes including Hunkpapa, Santee, Blackfoot, Yanktonai, Sans Arc, and Minneconjous near a hilltop in the Killdeer Mountains. The Sioux defenders included Sitting Bull, Gall, and Inkpaduta. The Sioux warriors repeatedly charged the U.S. troops but were repelled by gunfire. The U.S. troops fired upon the village with artillery, took possession of the hilltop, and drove the remaining Sioux into the badlands near the present-day Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Sully regrouped and led his troops through the badlands in order to reach the Yellowstone River for resupply. Sully described the badlands as "Hell with the fires put out." The Battle of the Badlands was fought from August 7, 1864 to August 9, 1864, when the column of Sully's troops was repeatedly attacked by the Sioux. The U.S. troops suffered 9 deaths and the Sioux suffered 100. The U.S. troops pushed the Sioux into Montana which ended the fighting in the Dakota Territory.

With the end of the Civil War, Sully's commission as a brigadier general expired and he reverted to the rank of major in the regular army. From June to September 1867, he served in the Idaho Territory and fought in the Nez Perce War. In 1867, he was scrutinized for his harsh treatment of native Americans by the committee on Indian Affairs led by James R. Doolittle. Sully recommended to the committee that the Bureau of Indian Affairs should fall under military control rather than the Interior Department.

In September 1868, Sully led 500 men out of Fort Dodge and into Indian territory to punish "hostiles" responsible for raids into Kansas. However, the troops were ambushed and became exhausted hauling heavy wagon trains through dense countryside. The troops returned to Fort Dodge unsuccessful and Sully took the blame for the failure.

In November 1868, Sully and George Armstrong Custer led troops into Indian territory. The two disagreed on the military strategy of the expedition but agreed to construct Fort Supply in what is now Oklahoma. The two leaders continued to fight over who should have command on the expedition. The issue was resolved with the arrival of General Philip Sheridan who selected Custer to lead and sent Sully to Fort Harker.

In 1869, Sully was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana. In 1873, he was appointed colonel and given command of the 21st Infantry Regiment. Despite frequent bouts of ill health, he continued to serve in the U.S. Army until his death at Fort Vancouver on April 27, 1879. Sully was interred in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Personal life
Sully was married three times.

During his service as Quartermaster in Monterrey, California, he married María Manuela Antonia Jimeno y de la Guerra, the 15 year old granddaughter of the California military officer and ranchero, Jose de la Guerra y Noriega. The family initially objected to the marriage since Sully was Protestant and not wealthy and the couple eloped. The family eventually accepted the marriage and granted Sully a tract of land in California. The couple had a son together, however, soon after childbirth, Manuela died in 1852 from eating poisoned fruit, possibly from a rejected suitor. Less than three weeks after the death of his wife, his newborn son, Thomas, was accidently strangulated.

From September 1856 through May 1857, while serving at Fort Pierre, he met and, by Sioux tribal custom, married a young French-Yankton girl of the Yankton Sioux tribe. With this marriage, Sully became the son-in-law of Saswe, a.k.a. François Deloria (Saswe being the Dakota pronunciation of François), a powerful Yankton medicine man and chief of the "Half-Breed band".

In 1866, Sully married Sophia Webster.

Descendants
Sully's daughter by his Yankton Sioux wife, Pehanlutawinj, was named Mary Sully and also known as Akicita Win (Soldier Woman). She married Rev. Philip Joseph Deloria, an Episcopal priest, a.k.a. Tipi Sapa (Black Lodge), a leader of the Yankton/Nakota band of the Sioux Nation. Tipi Sapa is featured as one of the 98 Saints of the Ages at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., as the first Dakota Christian minister to his own people. Among their descendants are ethnologist Ella Cara Deloria, artist Mary Sully, and Vine Deloria, Jr., a scholar, writer, author of Custer Died for Your Sins.

Legacy
Sully County, South Dakota, was the location of Fort Sully and was named in his honor when the town was formed in 1883.