Wiseman massacre

The Wiseman massacre was an incident that led to the deaths of five children at the hands of Native Americans on the morning of July 24, 1863, in what is now Cedar County, Nebraska. The children's parents were Henson and Phoebe Wiseman. The five children who died and their ages were Arthur, 16, Hannah, 14, Andrew, 9, William "Henry", 8, and Loren, 4.[1][2][3][4] The massacre occurred approximately 3 miles east-northeast of St. James, Nebraska.[4]

Description of the incident

The parents

In 1862, the children's father, Henson Wiseman, enlisted in Company I, of the 2nd Nebraska Cavalry. In the spring of 1863, Henson was called to Fort Berthold, under the command of General Alfred Sully, to assist in operations of the "Indian Wars". The children's mother, Phoebe Cross Wiseman, left their home on July 21 to purchase supplies in the town of Yankton. Phoebe walked to the nearby village of St. James, approximately 5 miles from her home, and rode the stage to Elm Grove, which was across the Missouri River from Yankton. She spent the night at the George Hall residence and the next morning crossed the river to Yankton, made her purchases, and returned to Elm grove in the evening. That night she stayed with Mrs. Amos Parker to rest for the journey back to her home. Phoebe returned to St. James by stage and was delayed on her way home by a thunderstorm. When she was approaching the home, she stopped to rest and was shocked that neither the children nor the family dog was coming to greet her. When Phoebe came close to the home, she saw books on the ground in front of the home and then noticed blood on the door latch. As she ran to the door, she tripped over the body of her 8-year-old son, William "Henry" Wiseman. When she opened the door to the home, she saw the remnants of an apparent struggle and heard groaning and rustling on the floor. Frightened, thinking it was natives, Phoebe fled the scene and returned to St. James. The men of the town refused to return to the scene until the following day.

The dead

When they arrived, they saw Henry lying in the front yard shot in the back, just as his mother said. The men also heard groaning, but it was from two of the children that were still alive. Hannah was lying in the hall and had been shot in the mouth. She had also been raped with arrows that penetrated her vaginal area and came out through her hips. Hannah lived five days, the longest of the two surviving children, but never spoke and slipped in and out of consciousness. Andrew lay dead on the floor next to his older brother Arthur. Arthur lay on the floor with gun in hand. The gun barrel was bent and the stock shattered. Loren was found sitting on the bed, grasping the bed post. He had been stabbed in the lung and requested water. When asked who did this, he replied, "Indians". Loren lived for three days before succumbing to his injuries.

The perpetrators

Based on evidence of shoes stolen from the massacre site, four renegade natives were thought to be at fault. They were believed to be, though never proven, from the Yankton and Santee Sioux tribes. When news of the tragedy reached Henson, then 200 miles north in Dakota Territory, he immediately returned home. It is said that he vowed to kill every "Indian" he saw for the rest of his life. Henson Wiseman lived to the age of 94 and died on February 19, 1912.[4]

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References
  1. Huse, William. History of Dixon County, Nebraska. Its Pioneers, Settlement, Growth and Development, and Its Present Condition--Its Villages, Townships, Enterprises and Leading Citizens, Together with Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men, Incidents of Pioneer Life, Etc. Norfolk [Neb.]: Press of the Daily News, 1896.
  2. Morton, J. Sterling, Albert Watkins, and George L. Miller. Illustrated History of Nebraska: A History of Nebraska from the Earliest Explorations of the Trans-Mississippi Region, with Steel Engravings, Photogravures, Copper Plates, Maps, and Tables. Lincoln: J. North, 1905. v. 3, p. 727–29
  3. Becher, Ronald. Massacre Along the Medicine Road: A Social History of the Indian War of 1864 in Nebraska Territory. Caldwell, Idaho: Caxton Press, 1999.
  4. The Wiseman massacre: the history of the Henson and Pheobe Wiseman family. Louise Guy. Published 2002 by L. Guy in Hartington, NE
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