FORT WALLACE – A magnificent and colorful panorama of 45 historical re-enactors in full costume and 30 horses greeted the audience of nearly 500 people who came to witness the grand review of Native Americans and U.S. Army Scouts 150 years after they fought in the Battle of Beecher Island. Thomas White Eagle and his sons, along with other Native American re-enactors, came charging onto the scene with loud whoops.

On Sept. 8 and 9, the Fort Wallace Memorial Association coordinated about 125 people to tell the remarkable story from history, that spanned 300 miles of Kansas and Colorado. Eminent Indian Wars historians Jerry Greene, Dave Harrington, D.K. Clark and John Monnett participated in the event, helping those in attendance gain an understanding of the type of people who took part in these conflicts, their lives and livelihoods and why they were there.

The authentically outfitted re-enactors were assigned distinct roles of battle participants, including Lt. Fred Beecher of Fort Wallace, who died in the battle and for whom it is named. The biographies were announced to the crowd by historian Marla Matkin. A surprise guest, country music artist Michael Martin Murphey, arrived in time to view this event, and helped to give souvenir coins to the participants.

Sunday began with a church service in the 1888 Bethany Lutheran Church. A horseback procession to the Wallace Cemetery was followed by a service honoring all who died in the Battle of Beecher Island, including the great Northern Cheyenne warrior Roman Nose and Indian braves. Right after the wreath was placed for Roman Nose, a single eagle circled above the cemetery group, evoking smiles and goosebumps.

The Fort Wallace activities were part of a four-weekend commemoration that also took place at Fort Harker, Fort Hays and Beecher Island, tracing the assembling of Scouts, their equipping and their journey to meet in battle with the Plains Tribes in Eastern Colorado. Fort Wallace events focused on what happened at the fort that led into the battle involving a novel “Special Forces” military unit, the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers and the Plains Indian Tribes of Arapaho, Kiowa and Cheyenne. This story is depicted in movies, novels and is the subject of many paintings, including one in the Kansas Statehouse.

Museum events planned in 2020 will focus on the culture of the buffalo with “Harvest of the Plains.” Visit ftwallace.com for details.