ARTHUR CRANSTON
USMA CLASS OF 1867
CULLUM'S REGISTER #2190
KILLED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
MODOC INDIAN WAR
26 APRIL 1873
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2190 ........ ( Born Mas. ) ........ ARTHUR CRANSTON ........ ( Ap'd ) ........ 35
Military History : ---- Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1862, to June 17, 1867 when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
( SECOND LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, JUNE 17, 1867 )
Served in garrison at Ft. Delaware, Del., Sep. 30, 1867 , to Feb. 1870, ---- Ft. Macon, N. C., Feb. to sep. 1870., ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Sep. , 1870, ----- Raleigh, N. C., Oct. 1870., to June, 1871, ---- Ft. Monroe, Va. ( Artillery School for Practice ), June, 1871 to May, 1872, -----Ft.
( FIRST LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, NOV. 30, 1871 )
Washington, Md., May, 1872, ---- Ft. Foote, Md., June to Oct, 1872, ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Oct, 1872, ---- and the Presidio, San Francisco, Cal., Dec 6, 1872, to Jan , 1873 ; and on the Modoc Campaign, Jan to Apr. 26, 1873.
( KILLED, APR 26, 1873, IN THE ACTION OF THE LAVA BEDS, OR., AGED 30 )
Buried San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, Cal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CIVIL WAR SERVICE
ARTHUR CRANSTON
Residence was not listed; 18 years old
Enlisted on 4/25/1861 as a Private
On 4/25/1861 he mustered into " B " Co., OH 7th Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 8/22/1861 at Columbus, OH
On 10/16/1861 he was commissioned into " C " Co., OH 55th Infantry.
He resigned on 3/15/1862
Promotions :
* 2nd Lieut. 10/16/1861 ( As of Co. C, 55th OH Infantry )
Other Information:
born in Massachusetts
died 5/24/1873 at Lava Beds, CA
( Graduated USMA 1867. Killed in action with Modoc Indians )
Sources:
---Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio
---Heitman: Register of the United States Army 1789-1903
--- USMA: Register of Graduates and Former Cadets
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arthur Cranston married Mary Bacon in Washington D. C. , in 1869. They had a son, Arthur Jr. in 1871. Arthur Jr. would serve as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War. Mary B. Cranston married an Army Surgeon, Dr. Fred C. Ainsworth in Texas in 1881.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
From Wikipedia
On April 26 , Captain Evan thomas commanding five officers, sixty six troops and fourteen Warm Springs Scouts left Gillem's camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte ( now Hardin Butte ), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain T
homas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded.
Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed. On May 2. Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N, Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter Seven: WE HAVE SICKENING NEWS
Thomas's patrol gave every appearance of being able to accomplish its goal. He himself was the son of Lorenzo Thomas, who for several years had been the Adjutant General of the U. S. Army.
With him were the sons of two other generals: 1st Lieutenant Thomas F. Wright, whose father , George Wright, a brigadier general of Volunteers , had commanded the Military Division of the Pacific, and Lt. Albion Howe, son of Civil War General A. P. Howe, who was now a Major in the 4th Artillery.
Two other officers , 2nd Lt. George M. Harris and 1st Lt. ARTHUR CRANSTON, along with Dr. Bernard A. Semig, made up the commissioned officers of the patrol. Thomas also took along H. C. Tickner, as a guide, and a civilian packer, Louis SWebber. The 59 enlisted men in the patrol consisted of Company E, 12th Infantry, and Batteries A and K, all three having been at Gillem's Camp since its establishment and having participated in the attack on the Stronghold.
Company E took the lead, immediately deploying as skirmishers. Thomas accompanied by Wright and Ticknor, walked behind. Then, marching in a column of twos, came Harris Battery K, followed by Howe with Battery A. Behind them Lieutenant CRANSTON and Doctor Semig kept company, while at the tail was a tiny rear guard composed of one sergeant and three privates.
Before much distance was covered, the lack of experience and the general carelessness that was to mark the patrol became apparent. The infantrymen, instead of deploying to the flanks as skirmishers, huddled together as they slowly moved up the gradual slope toward the butte.
Semig noticed that the infantry was not up on top of the ridges on either flank as he knew it should be and mentioned his concern to CRANSTON. CRANSTON passed the word up the column, and " the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but---- these passed at the column, and "the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but..... these passed at the foot of the ridges nearest the column and kept drawing away from the ridges.
Semig and CRANSTON also noted with some concern that both batteries were closing up on the infantry so that thaw whole command was " marching more in the shape of a skirmishers than a skirmish line and main column." Their concern was justified for unknown to the patrol, Scarfaced Charley and a number of Modocs were shadowing the soldiers.
At noon the soldiers reached the sloping uneven basin at the foot of the west side of the hill. The grass covered butte itself rose about 200 feet above the men. The grassy , bush-strewn , mile wide area itself was dotted with humps of lava, depressions, caves, and ungainly rocks. Here, Captain Thomas ordered a halt for food and rest.
While the men ate, Captain Thomas, Lieutenant Harris, and two enlisted men prepared to climb the hill in order to signal Gillam's Camp that they had arrived at their destination safely. They did not make the climb. In one moment , the crash of rifles from the northeast, east, south and west, from 400 to 1,000 yards distant, cut through the silence of the lava beds.
Lieutenant Wright was the first to react. He immediately ordered a " set of fours" from left of his skirmish line to advance on the ridge to the northeast , 50 yards away. They were repulsed. Thomas ordered Wright to " advance" with all of Company B toward the ridge on the west, away from the hill. Wright led them to the bluff, but in the end was deserted by all his men save seven or eight.
When Thomas gave his order to Wright, LIEUTENANT CRANSTON
volunteered to take five men to dislodge the Indians form the rocks to the north of the hill. Thomas gave his permission. All six were slaughtered.
Now the command dissolved. Half the soldiers , deserted their comrades and raced madly back the way they had come. At this time, all organization ceased.
But not all resistance. Thomas, Harris, Howe, Semig, and a handful of men withdrew toward the west following after Lieutenant Wright and the few who had stayed with him.
Defending themselves as best they could in a depression, Thomas and all his command, now reduced to the officers and twenty men fought until all were killed or severely wounded. Wright and his small group suffered the same fate.
LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
List of Officers
CRANSTON, ARTHUR--- 1st Lt, 4TH Art
Company Officer, Battery M
Assisted Captain Thomas with mortars, 2d Battle of Stronghold
Killed on Thomas Patrol, April 26
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE INDIAN HISTORY OF THE MODOC WAR
AND THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT
Jeff C. Riddle
Marnell and Company
San Francisco, CA. 1914
There were 76 officers and men and also Donald McKay and his Warm Springs Scouts. Lieut. T. F. Wright, Lieut. A. B. Howe and First Lieut. Arthur Cranston, Captain Evan Thomas were also killed. Lieut. George M. Harris , dangerously wounded, died three days later on. Surgeon Semig, seriously wounded. leg amputated. A total of 27 killed and 17 wounded. These officers were killed on April 26th.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Telegram to General Scofield, San Francisco, California
From: Headquarters in the Field, Tule Lake, California, May 8, 1873
I sent two friendly squaws into the Lava Beds day before yesterday. they returned yesterday, having found the bodies of Lieut. Cranston and other parties, but no Modocs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N. Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter 8: A VERY SQUARE FIGHT
During Davis' first week at Gillem's Camp, he employed two Indian women to scout around the base of the Sand ( Hardin ) Butte to search for the bodies of CRANSTON and his men. By May 6, these women had found the bodies; but not until the 9th did a patrol ( the remnants of Batteries A and K and Company E, as well as Company G, 12th Infantry ) go out to attempt recovery. This effort failed because the bodies had already decomposed too much for removal. The troops gave them a hasty burial on the spot, marking the graves with headboards.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 12: GILLEM'S CAMP
In August, 1873 , after the war was over, Lt. George Kingsbury took a detail of six men and a guide from Fort Klamath to the lava beds to transfer bodies from different battle sites throughout the area to the cemetery at former Gillem's Camp. At the scene of the attack on the Thomas patrol, Kingsbury recovered thirteen bodies. From there he marched to the Stronghold where he located two more. these remains were taken to the cemetery, all but one were buried., and the graves carefully marked with headboards. The unburied body was LT. ARTHUR CRANSTON'S. Kingsbury sent it back to Fort Klamath and from there it was shipped to the Presidio, San Francisco, for final burial.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
United States Army Officer. Having served as a private in Company C of the 55th Ohio Infantry in the early years of the Civil War, Cranston was appointed a Cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1867, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 4th United States Artillery. By the outbreak of the Modoc War in 1872, he had been promoted to First Lieutenant. On April 26, 1873, CRANSTON was with a reconnaissance mission led by Captain Evan Thomas of the 4th Artillery and Lieutenant Thomas Wright of the 12th Infantry when they were ambushed by a small party of Modoc Indians. In what later became known as the Thomas-Wright Massacre; Lt. Cranston, Capt. Thomas, and Lt. Wright, as well as two other officers and thirteen men, were killed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Researched and Transcribed by ED CATTERSON
[email protected]
12/22/2020
USMA CLASS OF 1867
CULLUM'S REGISTER #2190
KILLED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
MODOC INDIAN WAR
26 APRIL 1873
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2190 ........ ( Born Mas. ) ........ ARTHUR CRANSTON ........ ( Ap'd ) ........ 35
Military History : ---- Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1862, to June 17, 1867 when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
( SECOND LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, JUNE 17, 1867 )
Served in garrison at Ft. Delaware, Del., Sep. 30, 1867 , to Feb. 1870, ---- Ft. Macon, N. C., Feb. to sep. 1870., ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Sep. , 1870, ----- Raleigh, N. C., Oct. 1870., to June, 1871, ---- Ft. Monroe, Va. ( Artillery School for Practice ), June, 1871 to May, 1872, -----Ft.
( FIRST LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, NOV. 30, 1871 )
Washington, Md., May, 1872, ---- Ft. Foote, Md., June to Oct, 1872, ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Oct, 1872, ---- and the Presidio, San Francisco, Cal., Dec 6, 1872, to Jan , 1873 ; and on the Modoc Campaign, Jan to Apr. 26, 1873.
( KILLED, APR 26, 1873, IN THE ACTION OF THE LAVA BEDS, OR., AGED 30 )
Buried San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, Cal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CIVIL WAR SERVICE
ARTHUR CRANSTON
Residence was not listed; 18 years old
Enlisted on 4/25/1861 as a Private
On 4/25/1861 he mustered into " B " Co., OH 7th Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 8/22/1861 at Columbus, OH
On 10/16/1861 he was commissioned into " C " Co., OH 55th Infantry.
He resigned on 3/15/1862
Promotions :
* 2nd Lieut. 10/16/1861 ( As of Co. C, 55th OH Infantry )
Other Information:
born in Massachusetts
died 5/24/1873 at Lava Beds, CA
( Graduated USMA 1867. Killed in action with Modoc Indians )
Sources:
---Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio
---Heitman: Register of the United States Army 1789-1903
--- USMA: Register of Graduates and Former Cadets
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arthur Cranston married Mary Bacon in Washington D. C. , in 1869. They had a son, Arthur Jr. in 1871. Arthur Jr. would serve as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War. Mary B. Cranston married an Army Surgeon, Dr. Fred C. Ainsworth in Texas in 1881.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
From Wikipedia
On April 26 , Captain Evan thomas commanding five officers, sixty six troops and fourteen Warm Springs Scouts left Gillem's camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte ( now Hardin Butte ), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain T
homas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded.
Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed. On May 2. Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N, Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter Seven: WE HAVE SICKENING NEWS
Thomas's patrol gave every appearance of being able to accomplish its goal. He himself was the son of Lorenzo Thomas, who for several years had been the Adjutant General of the U. S. Army.
With him were the sons of two other generals: 1st Lieutenant Thomas F. Wright, whose father , George Wright, a brigadier general of Volunteers , had commanded the Military Division of the Pacific, and Lt. Albion Howe, son of Civil War General A. P. Howe, who was now a Major in the 4th Artillery.
Two other officers , 2nd Lt. George M. Harris and 1st Lt. ARTHUR CRANSTON, along with Dr. Bernard A. Semig, made up the commissioned officers of the patrol. Thomas also took along H. C. Tickner, as a guide, and a civilian packer, Louis SWebber. The 59 enlisted men in the patrol consisted of Company E, 12th Infantry, and Batteries A and K, all three having been at Gillem's Camp since its establishment and having participated in the attack on the Stronghold.
Company E took the lead, immediately deploying as skirmishers. Thomas accompanied by Wright and Ticknor, walked behind. Then, marching in a column of twos, came Harris Battery K, followed by Howe with Battery A. Behind them Lieutenant CRANSTON and Doctor Semig kept company, while at the tail was a tiny rear guard composed of one sergeant and three privates.
Before much distance was covered, the lack of experience and the general carelessness that was to mark the patrol became apparent. The infantrymen, instead of deploying to the flanks as skirmishers, huddled together as they slowly moved up the gradual slope toward the butte.
Semig noticed that the infantry was not up on top of the ridges on either flank as he knew it should be and mentioned his concern to CRANSTON. CRANSTON passed the word up the column, and " the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but---- these passed at the column, and "the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but..... these passed at the foot of the ridges nearest the column and kept drawing away from the ridges.
Semig and CRANSTON also noted with some concern that both batteries were closing up on the infantry so that thaw whole command was " marching more in the shape of a skirmishers than a skirmish line and main column." Their concern was justified for unknown to the patrol, Scarfaced Charley and a number of Modocs were shadowing the soldiers.
At noon the soldiers reached the sloping uneven basin at the foot of the west side of the hill. The grass covered butte itself rose about 200 feet above the men. The grassy , bush-strewn , mile wide area itself was dotted with humps of lava, depressions, caves, and ungainly rocks. Here, Captain Thomas ordered a halt for food and rest.
While the men ate, Captain Thomas, Lieutenant Harris, and two enlisted men prepared to climb the hill in order to signal Gillam's Camp that they had arrived at their destination safely. They did not make the climb. In one moment , the crash of rifles from the northeast, east, south and west, from 400 to 1,000 yards distant, cut through the silence of the lava beds.
Lieutenant Wright was the first to react. He immediately ordered a " set of fours" from left of his skirmish line to advance on the ridge to the northeast , 50 yards away. They were repulsed. Thomas ordered Wright to " advance" with all of Company B toward the ridge on the west, away from the hill. Wright led them to the bluff, but in the end was deserted by all his men save seven or eight.
When Thomas gave his order to Wright, LIEUTENANT CRANSTON
volunteered to take five men to dislodge the Indians form the rocks to the north of the hill. Thomas gave his permission. All six were slaughtered.
Now the command dissolved. Half the soldiers , deserted their comrades and raced madly back the way they had come. At this time, all organization ceased.
But not all resistance. Thomas, Harris, Howe, Semig, and a handful of men withdrew toward the west following after Lieutenant Wright and the few who had stayed with him.
Defending themselves as best they could in a depression, Thomas and all his command, now reduced to the officers and twenty men fought until all were killed or severely wounded. Wright and his small group suffered the same fate.
LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
List of Officers
CRANSTON, ARTHUR--- 1st Lt, 4TH Art
Company Officer, Battery M
Assisted Captain Thomas with mortars, 2d Battle of Stronghold
Killed on Thomas Patrol, April 26
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE INDIAN HISTORY OF THE MODOC WAR
AND THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT
Jeff C. Riddle
Marnell and Company
San Francisco, CA. 1914
There were 76 officers and men and also Donald McKay and his Warm Springs Scouts. Lieut. T. F. Wright, Lieut. A. B. Howe and First Lieut. Arthur Cranston, Captain Evan Thomas were also killed. Lieut. George M. Harris , dangerously wounded, died three days later on. Surgeon Semig, seriously wounded. leg amputated. A total of 27 killed and 17 wounded. These officers were killed on April 26th.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Telegram to General Scofield, San Francisco, California
From: Headquarters in the Field, Tule Lake, California, May 8, 1873
I sent two friendly squaws into the Lava Beds day before yesterday. they returned yesterday, having found the bodies of Lieut. Cranston and other parties, but no Modocs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N. Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter 8: A VERY SQUARE FIGHT
During Davis' first week at Gillem's Camp, he employed two Indian women to scout around the base of the Sand ( Hardin ) Butte to search for the bodies of CRANSTON and his men. By May 6, these women had found the bodies; but not until the 9th did a patrol ( the remnants of Batteries A and K and Company E, as well as Company G, 12th Infantry ) go out to attempt recovery. This effort failed because the bodies had already decomposed too much for removal. The troops gave them a hasty burial on the spot, marking the graves with headboards.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 12: GILLEM'S CAMP
In August, 1873 , after the war was over, Lt. George Kingsbury took a detail of six men and a guide from Fort Klamath to the lava beds to transfer bodies from different battle sites throughout the area to the cemetery at former Gillem's Camp. At the scene of the attack on the Thomas patrol, Kingsbury recovered thirteen bodies. From there he marched to the Stronghold where he located two more. these remains were taken to the cemetery, all but one were buried., and the graves carefully marked with headboards. The unburied body was LT. ARTHUR CRANSTON'S. Kingsbury sent it back to Fort Klamath and from there it was shipped to the Presidio, San Francisco, for final burial.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
United States Army Officer. Having served as a private in Company C of the 55th Ohio Infantry in the early years of the Civil War, Cranston was appointed a Cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1867, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 4th United States Artillery. By the outbreak of the Modoc War in 1872, he had been promoted to First Lieutenant. On April 26, 1873, CRANSTON was with a reconnaissance mission led by Captain Evan Thomas of the 4th Artillery and Lieutenant Thomas Wright of the 12th Infantry when they were ambushed by a small party of Modoc Indians. In what later became known as the Thomas-Wright Massacre; Lt. Cranston, Capt. Thomas, and Lt. Wright, as well as two other officers and thirteen men, were killed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Researched and Transcribed by ED CATTERSON
[email protected]
12/22/2020
ARTHUR CRANSTON
USMA CLASS OF 1867
CULLUM'S REGISTER #2190
KILLED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
MODOC INDIAN WAR
26 APRIL 1873
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2190 ........ ( Born Mas. ) ........ ARTHUR CRANSTON ........ ( Ap'd ) ........ 35
Military History : ---- Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1862, to June 17, 1867 when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
( SECOND LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, JUNE 17, 1867 )
Served in garrison at Ft. Delaware, Del., Sep. 30, 1867 , to Feb. 1870, ---- Ft. Macon, N. C., Feb. to sep. 1870., ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Sep. , 1870, ----- Raleigh, N. C., Oct. 1870., to June, 1871, ---- Ft. Monroe, Va. ( Artillery School for Practice ), June, 1871 to May, 1872, -----Ft.
( FIRST LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, NOV. 30, 1871 )
Washington, Md., May, 1872, ---- Ft. Foote, Md., June to Oct, 1872, ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Oct, 1872, ---- and the Presidio, San Francisco, Cal., Dec 6, 1872, to Jan , 1873 ; and on the Modoc Campaign, Jan to Apr. 26, 1873.
( KILLED, APR 26, 1873, IN THE ACTION OF THE LAVA BEDS, OR., AGED 30 )
Buried San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, Cal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CIVIL WAR SERVICE
ARTHUR CRANSTON
Residence was not listed; 18 years old
Enlisted on 4/25/1861 as a Private
On 4/25/1861 he mustered into " B " Co., OH 7th Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 8/22/1861 at Columbus, OH
On 10/16/1861 he was commissioned into " C " Co., OH 55th Infantry.
He resigned on 3/15/1862
Promotions :
* 2nd Lieut. 10/16/1861 ( As of Co. C, 55th OH Infantry )
Other Information:
born in Massachusetts
died 5/24/1873 at Lava Beds, CA
( Graduated USMA 1867. Killed in action with Modoc Indians )
Sources:
---Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio
---Heitman: Register of the United States Army 1789-1903
--- USMA: Register of Graduates and Former Cadets
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arthur Cranston married Mary Bacon in Washington D. C. , in 1869. They had a son, Arthur Jr. in 1871. Arthur Jr. would serve as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War. Mary B. Cranston married an Army Surgeon, Dr. Fred C. Ainsworth in Texas in 1881.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
From Wikipedia
On April 26 , Captain Evan thomas commanding five officers, sixty six troops and fourteen Warm Springs Scouts left Gillem's camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte ( now Hardin Butte ), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain T
homas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded.
Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed. On May 2. Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N, Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter Seven: WE HAVE SICKENING NEWS
Thomas's patrol gave every appearance of being able to accomplish its goal. He himself was the son of Lorenzo Thomas, who for several years had been the Adjutant General of the U. S. Army.
With him were the sons of two other generals: 1st Lieutenant Thomas F. Wright, whose father , George Wright, a brigadier general of Volunteers , had commanded the Military Division of the Pacific, and Lt. Albion Howe, son of Civil War General A. P. Howe, who was now a Major in the 4th Artillery.
Two other officers , 2nd Lt. George M. Harris and 1st Lt. ARTHUR CRANSTON, along with Dr. Bernard A. Semig, made up the commissioned officers of the patrol. Thomas also took along H. C. Tickner, as a guide, and a civilian packer, Louis SWebber. The 59 enlisted men in the patrol consisted of Company E, 12th Infantry, and Batteries A and K, all three having been at Gillem's Camp since its establishment and having participated in the attack on the Stronghold.
Company E took the lead, immediately deploying as skirmishers. Thomas accompanied by Wright and Ticknor, walked behind. Then, marching in a column of twos, came Harris Battery K, followed by Howe with Battery A. Behind them Lieutenant CRANSTON and Doctor Semig kept company, while at the tail was a tiny rear guard composed of one sergeant and three privates.
Before much distance was covered, the lack of experience and the general carelessness that was to mark the patrol became apparent. The infantrymen, instead of deploying to the flanks as skirmishers, huddled together as they slowly moved up the gradual slope toward the butte.
Semig noticed that the infantry was not up on top of the ridges on either flank as he knew it should be and mentioned his concern to CRANSTON. CRANSTON passed the word up the column, and " the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but---- these passed at the column, and "the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but..... these passed at the foot of the ridges nearest the column and kept drawing away from the ridges.
Semig and CRANSTON also noted with some concern that both batteries were closing up on the infantry so that thaw whole command was " marching more in the shape of a skirmishers than a skirmish line and main column." Their concern was justified for unknown to the patrol, Scarfaced Charley and a number of Modocs were shadowing the soldiers.
At noon the soldiers reached the sloping uneven basin at the foot of the west side of the hill. The grass covered butte itself rose about 200 feet above the men. The grassy , bush-strewn , mile wide area itself was dotted with humps of lava, depressions, caves, and ungainly rocks. Here, Captain Thomas ordered a halt for food and rest.
While the men ate, Captain Thomas, Lieutenant Harris, and two enlisted men prepared to climb the hill in order to signal Gillam's Camp that they had arrived at their destination safely. They did not make the climb. In one moment , the crash of rifles from the northeast, east, south and west, from 400 to 1,000 yards distant, cut through the silence of the lava beds.
Lieutenant Wright was the first to react. He immediately ordered a " set of fours" from left of his skirmish line to advance on the ridge to the northeast , 50 yards away. They were repulsed. Thomas ordered Wright to " advance" with all of Company B toward the ridge on the west, away from the hill. Wright led them to the bluff, but in the end was deserted by all his men save seven or eight.
When Thomas gave his order to Wright, LIEUTENANT CRANSTON
volunteered to take five men to dislodge the Indians form the rocks to the north of the hill. Thomas gave his permission. All six were slaughtered.
Now the command dissolved. Half the soldiers , deserted their comrades and raced madly back the way they had come. At this time, all organization ceased.
But not all resistance. Thomas, Harris, Howe, Semig, and a handful of men withdrew toward the west following after Lieutenant Wright and the few who had stayed with him.
Defending themselves as best they could in a depression, Thomas and all his command, now reduced to the officers and twenty men fought until all were killed or severely wounded. Wright and his small group suffered the same fate.
LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
List of Officers
CRANSTON, ARTHUR--- 1st Lt, 4TH Art
Company Officer, Battery M
Assisted Captain Thomas with mortars, 2d Battle of Stronghold
Killed on Thomas Patrol, April 26
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE INDIAN HISTORY OF THE MODOC WAR
AND THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT
Jeff C. Riddle
Marnell and Company
San Francisco, CA. 1914
There were 76 officers and men and also Donald McKay and his Warm Springs Scouts. Lieut. T. F. Wright, Lieut. A. B. Howe and First Lieut. Arthur Cranston, Captain Evan Thomas were also killed. Lieut. George M. Harris , dangerously wounded, died three days later on. Surgeon Semig, seriously wounded. leg amputated. A total of 27 killed and 17 wounded. These officers were killed on April 26th.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Telegram to General Scofield, San Francisco, California
From: Headquarters in the Field, Tule Lake, California, May 8, 1873
I sent two friendly squaws into the Lava Beds day before yesterday. they returned yesterday, having found the bodies of Lieut. Cranston and other parties, but no Modocs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N. Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter 8: A VERY SQUARE FIGHT
During Davis' first week at Gillem's Camp, he employed two Indian women to scout around the base of the Sand ( Hardin ) Butte to search for the bodies of CRANSTON and his men. By May 6, these women had found the bodies; but not until the 9th did a patrol ( the remnants of Batteries A and K and Company E, as well as Company G, 12th Infantry ) go out to attempt recovery. This effort failed because the bodies had already decomposed too much for removal. The troops gave them a hasty burial on the spot, marking the graves with headboards.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 12: GILLEM'S CAMP
In August, 1873 , after the war was over, Lt. George Kingsbury took a detail of six men and a guide from Fort Klamath to the lava beds to transfer bodies from different battle sites throughout the area to the cemetery at former Gillem's Camp. At the scene of the attack on the Thomas patrol, Kingsbury recovered thirteen bodies. From there he marched to the Stronghold where he located two more. these remains were taken to the cemetery, all but one were buried., and the graves carefully marked with headboards. The unburied body was LT. ARTHUR CRANSTON'S. Kingsbury sent it back to Fort Klamath and from there it was shipped to the Presidio, San Francisco, for final burial.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
United States Army Officer. Having served as a private in Company C of the 55th Ohio Infantry in the early years of the Civil War, Cranston was appointed a Cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1867, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 4th United States Artillery. By the outbreak of the Modoc War in 1872, he had been promoted to First Lieutenant. On April 26, 1873, CRANSTON was with a reconnaissance mission led by Captain Evan Thomas of the 4th Artillery and Lieutenant Thomas Wright of the 12th Infantry when they were ambushed by a small party of Modoc Indians. In what later became known as the Thomas-Wright Massacre; Lt. Cranston, Capt. Thomas, and Lt. Wright, as well as two other officers and thirteen men, were killed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Researched and Transcribed by ED CATTERSON
[email protected]
12/22/2020
USMA CLASS OF 1867
CULLUM'S REGISTER #2190
KILLED IN ACTION AT THE BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
MODOC INDIAN WAR
26 APRIL 1873
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2190 ........ ( Born Mas. ) ........ ARTHUR CRANSTON ........ ( Ap'd ) ........ 35
Military History : ---- Cadet at the Military Academy, July 1, 1862, to June 17, 1867 when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to
( SECOND LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, JUNE 17, 1867 )
Served in garrison at Ft. Delaware, Del., Sep. 30, 1867 , to Feb. 1870, ---- Ft. Macon, N. C., Feb. to sep. 1870., ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Sep. , 1870, ----- Raleigh, N. C., Oct. 1870., to June, 1871, ---- Ft. Monroe, Va. ( Artillery School for Practice ), June, 1871 to May, 1872, -----Ft.
( FIRST LIEUT., 4TH ARTILLERY, NOV. 30, 1871 )
Washington, Md., May, 1872, ---- Ft. Foote, Md., June to Oct, 1872, ---- Ft. McHenry, Md., Oct, 1872, ---- and the Presidio, San Francisco, Cal., Dec 6, 1872, to Jan , 1873 ; and on the Modoc Campaign, Jan to Apr. 26, 1873.
( KILLED, APR 26, 1873, IN THE ACTION OF THE LAVA BEDS, OR., AGED 30 )
Buried San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, Cal.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
CIVIL WAR SERVICE
ARTHUR CRANSTON
Residence was not listed; 18 years old
Enlisted on 4/25/1861 as a Private
On 4/25/1861 he mustered into " B " Co., OH 7th Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 8/22/1861 at Columbus, OH
On 10/16/1861 he was commissioned into " C " Co., OH 55th Infantry.
He resigned on 3/15/1862
Promotions :
* 2nd Lieut. 10/16/1861 ( As of Co. C, 55th OH Infantry )
Other Information:
born in Massachusetts
died 5/24/1873 at Lava Beds, CA
( Graduated USMA 1867. Killed in action with Modoc Indians )
Sources:
---Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio
---Heitman: Register of the United States Army 1789-1903
--- USMA: Register of Graduates and Former Cadets
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arthur Cranston married Mary Bacon in Washington D. C. , in 1869. They had a son, Arthur Jr. in 1871. Arthur Jr. would serve as a lieutenant in the Spanish American War. Mary B. Cranston married an Army Surgeon, Dr. Fred C. Ainsworth in Texas in 1881.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
BATTLE OF SAND BUTTE
From Wikipedia
On April 26 , Captain Evan thomas commanding five officers, sixty six troops and fourteen Warm Springs Scouts left Gillem's camp on a reconnaissance of the lava beds to locate the Modoc. While they were eating lunch at the base of Sand Butte ( now Hardin Butte ), in a flat area surrounded by ridges, Captain T
homas and his party were attacked by 22 Modoc led by Scarfaced Charley. Some of the troops fled in disorder. Those who remained to fight were either killed or wounded. US casualties included four officers killed and two wounded, one dying within a few days, and 13 enlisted men killed and 16 wounded.
Following the successful Modoc attack, many soldiers called for Col. Gillem to be removed. On May 2. Bvt. Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis, the new commander of the Department of the Columbia, reported to relieve Gillem of command, and assume control of the army in the field.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N, Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter Seven: WE HAVE SICKENING NEWS
Thomas's patrol gave every appearance of being able to accomplish its goal. He himself was the son of Lorenzo Thomas, who for several years had been the Adjutant General of the U. S. Army.
With him were the sons of two other generals: 1st Lieutenant Thomas F. Wright, whose father , George Wright, a brigadier general of Volunteers , had commanded the Military Division of the Pacific, and Lt. Albion Howe, son of Civil War General A. P. Howe, who was now a Major in the 4th Artillery.
Two other officers , 2nd Lt. George M. Harris and 1st Lt. ARTHUR CRANSTON, along with Dr. Bernard A. Semig, made up the commissioned officers of the patrol. Thomas also took along H. C. Tickner, as a guide, and a civilian packer, Louis SWebber. The 59 enlisted men in the patrol consisted of Company E, 12th Infantry, and Batteries A and K, all three having been at Gillem's Camp since its establishment and having participated in the attack on the Stronghold.
Company E took the lead, immediately deploying as skirmishers. Thomas accompanied by Wright and Ticknor, walked behind. Then, marching in a column of twos, came Harris Battery K, followed by Howe with Battery A. Behind them Lieutenant CRANSTON and Doctor Semig kept company, while at the tail was a tiny rear guard composed of one sergeant and three privates.
Before much distance was covered, the lack of experience and the general carelessness that was to mark the patrol became apparent. The infantrymen, instead of deploying to the flanks as skirmishers, huddled together as they slowly moved up the gradual slope toward the butte.
Semig noticed that the infantry was not up on top of the ridges on either flank as he knew it should be and mentioned his concern to CRANSTON. CRANSTON passed the word up the column, and " the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but---- these passed at the column, and "the Lieutenants detailed parties for each flank, but..... these passed at the foot of the ridges nearest the column and kept drawing away from the ridges.
Semig and CRANSTON also noted with some concern that both batteries were closing up on the infantry so that thaw whole command was " marching more in the shape of a skirmishers than a skirmish line and main column." Their concern was justified for unknown to the patrol, Scarfaced Charley and a number of Modocs were shadowing the soldiers.
At noon the soldiers reached the sloping uneven basin at the foot of the west side of the hill. The grass covered butte itself rose about 200 feet above the men. The grassy , bush-strewn , mile wide area itself was dotted with humps of lava, depressions, caves, and ungainly rocks. Here, Captain Thomas ordered a halt for food and rest.
While the men ate, Captain Thomas, Lieutenant Harris, and two enlisted men prepared to climb the hill in order to signal Gillam's Camp that they had arrived at their destination safely. They did not make the climb. In one moment , the crash of rifles from the northeast, east, south and west, from 400 to 1,000 yards distant, cut through the silence of the lava beds.
Lieutenant Wright was the first to react. He immediately ordered a " set of fours" from left of his skirmish line to advance on the ridge to the northeast , 50 yards away. They were repulsed. Thomas ordered Wright to " advance" with all of Company B toward the ridge on the west, away from the hill. Wright led them to the bluff, but in the end was deserted by all his men save seven or eight.
When Thomas gave his order to Wright, LIEUTENANT CRANSTON
volunteered to take five men to dislodge the Indians form the rocks to the north of the hill. Thomas gave his permission. All six were slaughtered.
Now the command dissolved. Half the soldiers , deserted their comrades and raced madly back the way they had come. At this time, all organization ceased.
But not all resistance. Thomas, Harris, Howe, Semig, and a handful of men withdrew toward the west following after Lieutenant Wright and the few who had stayed with him.
Defending themselves as best they could in a depression, Thomas and all his command, now reduced to the officers and twenty men fought until all were killed or severely wounded. Wright and his small group suffered the same fate.
LAVA BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
List of Officers
CRANSTON, ARTHUR--- 1st Lt, 4TH Art
Company Officer, Battery M
Assisted Captain Thomas with mortars, 2d Battle of Stronghold
Killed on Thomas Patrol, April 26
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE INDIAN HISTORY OF THE MODOC WAR
AND THE CAUSES THAT LED TO IT
Jeff C. Riddle
Marnell and Company
San Francisco, CA. 1914
There were 76 officers and men and also Donald McKay and his Warm Springs Scouts. Lieut. T. F. Wright, Lieut. A. B. Howe and First Lieut. Arthur Cranston, Captain Evan Thomas were also killed. Lieut. George M. Harris , dangerously wounded, died three days later on. Surgeon Semig, seriously wounded. leg amputated. A total of 27 killed and 17 wounded. These officers were killed on April 26th.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Telegram to General Scofield, San Francisco, California
From: Headquarters in the Field, Tule Lake, California, May 8, 1873
I sent two friendly squaws into the Lava Beds day before yesterday. they returned yesterday, having found the bodies of Lieut. Cranston and other parties, but no Modocs.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
MODOC WAR, Its Military History and Topography
Erwin N. Thompson
Argus Books
1971
Chapter 8: A VERY SQUARE FIGHT
During Davis' first week at Gillem's Camp, he employed two Indian women to scout around the base of the Sand ( Hardin ) Butte to search for the bodies of CRANSTON and his men. By May 6, these women had found the bodies; but not until the 9th did a patrol ( the remnants of Batteries A and K and Company E, as well as Company G, 12th Infantry ) go out to attempt recovery. This effort failed because the bodies had already decomposed too much for removal. The troops gave them a hasty burial on the spot, marking the graves with headboards.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chapter 12: GILLEM'S CAMP
In August, 1873 , after the war was over, Lt. George Kingsbury took a detail of six men and a guide from Fort Klamath to the lava beds to transfer bodies from different battle sites throughout the area to the cemetery at former Gillem's Camp. At the scene of the attack on the Thomas patrol, Kingsbury recovered thirteen bodies. From there he marched to the Stronghold where he located two more. these remains were taken to the cemetery, all but one were buried., and the graves carefully marked with headboards. The unburied body was LT. ARTHUR CRANSTON'S. Kingsbury sent it back to Fort Klamath and from there it was shipped to the Presidio, San Francisco, for final burial.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
United States Army Officer. Having served as a private in Company C of the 55th Ohio Infantry in the early years of the Civil War, Cranston was appointed a Cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Graduating in 1867, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 4th United States Artillery. By the outbreak of the Modoc War in 1872, he had been promoted to First Lieutenant. On April 26, 1873, CRANSTON was with a reconnaissance mission led by Captain Evan Thomas of the 4th Artillery and Lieutenant Thomas Wright of the 12th Infantry when they were ambushed by a small party of Modoc Indians. In what later became known as the Thomas-Wright Massacre; Lt. Cranston, Capt. Thomas, and Lt. Wright, as well as two other officers and thirteen men, were killed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Researched and Transcribed by ED CATTERSON
[email protected]
12/22/2020
Bio by: G.Photographer
Family Members
Children
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
