Kinzie Bates papers, 1863-1929, bulk 1874-1877

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Summary

Creators:
Bates, Kinzie, -1884.
Abstract:
The collection contains 32 items by or related to United States army office Kinzie Bates (died 1884), including his 1877 diary written during his field assignments to various Dakota Territory camps near the Black Hills during army campaigns against the Sioux and their search for Sitting Bull and Lame Deer.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Kinzie Bates papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains 32 items by or related to United States army office Kinzie Bates (died 1884), including his 1877 diary written during his field assignments to various Dakota Territory camps near the Black Hills during army campaigns against the Sioux. The collection contains typed transcripts of all the correspondence by Kinzie Bates and his diary. Elizabeth Chumley Bates' 134 page diary, which contains mostly blank pages, includes a three-page chronology of Kinzie Bates' life.

The majority of correspondence in the collection was written by Bates to his wife, Elizabeth Chumley Bates, in 1874 and 1875, during three thirty-day field assignments to various Dakota Territory camps along the Niobrara River south of the Black Hills. His diary, made up of 48 letters written to his wife, was written in 1877 during the army's search for Sitting Bull and Lame Deer. The letters and journal entries record the U. S. Army campaigns during the war with the Sioux. Bates' letters tell in great detail the everyday hardships of military life including the separation from his wife. He also gives opinions regarding fellow officers, including Colonel Nelson A. Miles, General William Hazen, and his commanding officer Major Henry Lazelle. Bates gives detailed descriptions of the scenery, game and people he encountered on his marches, as well as his experience with several groups of Indians including the Yankton Sioux and the Brul Indians. Bates often mentions Sitting Bull's current location and the army's newest strategy to catch him.

The collection also contains a photograph of Kinzie Bates from late in his military career, and his obituary from the Detroit Free Press.

Biographical / historical:

United States Army Officer Kinzie Bates joined the 1st Michigan Infantry as a private in 1861 and saw battle during the United States Civil War at Corinth and Vicksburg, Mississippi. After the war he was promoted to Captain and stationed at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was transferred to the frontier in 1869 and married Elizabeth Chumley Bates in 1873. Bates participated in the final months of Colonel Nelson A. Miles' "Yellowstone Campaign" as a battalion commander in the US 1st Infantry. Bates died in 1884.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from L T Respess Books, August 18, 1998.
Processing information:

Processed by Brooke Black in 2000. In May 2024, Mari Khasmanyan added formerly loose materials into box 2 and updated the finding aid.

Arrangement:

The collection is broadly arranged chronologically.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Kinzie Bates papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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