(page Four Of Five)
(page Four Of Five)
Fetterman's Monument (cont)though prior to the massacre the Indian warriors had handed him a couple of thoughtful lessons in the field. Fetterman, anxious, at odds with his commanding officer, leader of a clique which was highly critical of Carrington, disobeyed orders on that day of Dec. 21. He was certain that this would be his chance to prove that Carrington was a cowardly and bumbling commander. If Fetterman's troubles ended that terrible day, Carrington's were only beginning. He and his subordinate Ten Eyck, who was driven out of the Army a drunken and defeated man, had to face the blame which was heaped on them. Early newspaper accounts, weak on facts and strong in lurid imagination, made Carrington and Ten Eyck the heavies. The Fetterman affair was fused as still another issue between the Army and the civilian Indian Bureau, which agreed on only one thing: a scapegoat was needed and Carrington was a convenient man for the role. (PAGE FOUR OF FIVE)