Defiance of Eagles Read online

  DEFIANCE OF EAGLES

  William W. Johnstone with J. A. Johnstone

  PINNACLE BOOKS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  EPILOGUE

  USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  Copyright Page

  PROLOGUE

  June 19, 1878—on board the Benton

  on the Missouri River

  General Fielding called Colonels Cahill and Hamilton to the cabin of the riverboat, where around a map spread out on a table, they discussed the details of a strategy Fielding had put together that very morning. After giving everyone their orders, the officers left to meet with their subordinates, and from there, the plan was dispensed to the next level of commanders.

  Colonel Edward Hamilton, in charge of the Third Cavalry from Fort Ellis, Montana, had given the assignment of marching up the Yellowstone and the Bighorn to be in position to block the Indians should they try to run, and, if Indians didn’t try to run, to assign someone to move quickly to join with Cahill in the attack.

  The officer Edward assigned for the task was Major Boyd Ackerman.

  “You will proceed down the Yellowstone with all due speed,” Edward told Ackerman. “Continue until you either encounter the Indians or hear the sound of guns. If you hear the sound of guns, move as quickly as possible to provide support.”

  Ackerman saluted, then, with two hundred men, started down the river. He sent two Arikara Indian scouts ahead of his column, and, on the afternoon of the 21st, the two scouts came galloping back. They were so excited, and were speaking so rapidly, that Ackerman couldn’t understand them, so he had his chief of scouts translate for him.

  “They say that there is a big Indian village ahead of us. Cahill has already had some of his men attack at the south end, and he is coming to attack at the north end of the village.”

  “How big is the village?” Ackerman asked.

  “Very big, many, many lodges,” one of the scouts answered. “And many warriors. More warriors than all the bullets in all the guns here.”

  “And that fool Cahill is attacking?” Ackerman asked.

  “He isn’t there yet,” Captain Lindell said. Lindell was Ackerman’s second in command. “If we hurry, we can join with him before he attacks.”

  Ackerman shook his head. “This is insane,” he said. “Cahill has no business committing his troops under these circumstances. He studied tactics at the Academy just as I did. You don’t commit to battle until you have the advantage.”

  “Major, I believe he is expecting us to join him,” Captain Lindell said. “Our orders were to proceed at best possible speed until we either encountered the Indians, or heard the sound of guns.”

  “Have we encountered any Indians, Captain? Have we heard the sound of guns?” Ackerman asked.

  “Not exactly, but our scouts have encountered the Indians.”

  “Our orders are also to block any possible retreat of the Indians. We will take up positions here, so that we can do that.”

  “With all due respect, Major, if there are that many Indians, they won’t be retreating,” Captain Lindell said.

  “You have my orders, Captain,” Ackerman said. “Put the men in position to block the retreat of the Indians.”

  Lindell stared at Ackerman for a long moment.

  “Follow my orders, Captain, or I will relieve you of your position, now!” Ackerman said angrily.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Over the next few minutes, Captain Lindell put his men in position to block any Indians who might try to run from the battle. No sooner were they in position than they heard the sound of guns.

  “Major, the sound of guns!” Lindell said. “Shall we proceed?”

  “We are in position now; I hardly see what purpose would be served by abandoning good defensive positions on what might well prove to be a futile effort. Scouts, proceed forward until you can see what is happening, then return with your report.”

  The sound of the guns continued, and even from here, they could see dust and gun smoke rising into the air. They could also hear the Indians’ shouts and yells.

  The scouts rode ahead, and the sound of the guns continued in their absence. Then, the intensity of the gunfire began to lessen.

  “Do you hear that, Captain? It was probably no more than a brief skirmish. When the main attack comes, the Indians will be coming this way, and we must be ready for them.”

  “That is the main attack, Major,” Lindell replied in a clipped voice.

  When the scouts returned, they gave their report.

  “The soldiers are like pebbles in a creek. The Indians are like the water flowing around the pebbles,” they said.

  “Now just what the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ackerman asked.

  “Major, it means that Cahill is in trouble. Big trouble. We have to go to his support, and we have to go now!” Lindell said.

  “I’ve heard enough from you, Lindell. If Cahill was foolish enough to attack before we were able to join with him, then his fate is his fault. I’ll be damned if I’ll risk my life to save some arrogant bastard who got himself into trouble.”

  By now the shooting was sporadic at best, then it stopped altogether, and the only thing that could be heard were the yelps and shouts of the Indians.

  “My God!” Lindell said. “Listen to that! What do you think that means?”

  “I think it means that Cahill turned tail and ran,” Ackerman said.

  “Major, permission to go ahead with the scouts to see what I can find out?”

  “Permission denied,” Ackerman said. “We will stay here, in a blocking position, until we know, without a doubt, that the Indians aren’t coming this way.”

  Ackerman kept his troops in position for the rest of the day, and into the night. They made cold camp that night, Ackerman refusing to allow any fires to be built. For supper they ate hardtack and beef jerky, and they chewed coffee beans.

  They stayed in position all through the next day, again hearing gunfire, but this time from farther away than it had been the day before. Just before nightfall of the second day, they saw a huge cloud of smoke, billowing into the sky, and though Captain Lindell asked, again, to be allowed to go forward and see what was going on, Ackerman again refused to give him permission.

  Finally, on the morning of June 23rd, their positions were approached by Colonel Hamilton.

  “Where is Cahill?” Edward asked.

  “I don’t know, sir, I haven’t seen him,” Ackerman replied.

  “What do you mean, you haven’t seen him? Weren’t your orders to join him? What have you been doing all this time?”

  “Colonel, I deemed it more prudent to establi
sh a blocking position, should the Indians try to escape.”

  “Join your men with my column,” Colonel Hamilton said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Twenty minutes later the large column continued toward Crooked Creek. As they approached the battlefield, they saw a lot of white objects lying around on the ground.

  “What is that?” Ackerman asked.

  “God in heaven,” Edward said. “It is bodies. They are soldiers who have been stripped naked.”

  As the men rode through the battlefield, looking down at the naked and the dead, not a word was spoken. The bodies were arrayed in skirmish formation, which meant that they had been able to mount a defense. Tom Cahill was found, facedown, scalped, his skull crushed, dozens of arrows bristling from his body.

  As Colonel Hamilton moved through the strewn corpses, he saw Falcon MacCallister with Captain Rawlings, walking among the dead.

  “Falcon?” Edward said, completely shocked to see his brother-in-law. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I was in the area when I heard the sound of guns. I investigated, and, quite unexpectedly, found myself in the middle of an Indian battle.”

  “Were you with Cahill?”

  “No, I wound up with Captain Rawlings. We were engaged a little over a mile away,” he said.

  Falcon and Edward stepped over to one side of the battlefield and looked out at the many soldiers from both Reno’s and Hamilton’s commands, the living among the dead.

  “How’s my sister?” Falcon asked.

  “Megan is doing well.”

  “And my niece?”

  “Growing into a beautiful young woman,” Edward said. “Though I may be a bit vain in saying so.”

  “What do you have to be vain about? It’s the MacCallister lineage,” Falcon said.

  Edward smiled. “I suppose it is.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t seem right, carrying on small talk here, in the presence of men who have given their last full measure of devotion to their comrades, their commander, and their country.”

  “No, I guess it doesn’t.”

  “I sent two hundred men to join with Cahill. They were under Ackerman’s command.”

  “Two hundred men? It’s too bad they didn’t get here in time. That would have doubled Cahill’s command and changed the outcome.”

  “They would have been here in time, if Ackerman had carried out my orders,” Edward said. “He stopped, not two miles from here. Captain Lindell tells me they heard the sound of battle, but Ackerman refused to advance.”

  “Refused, or couldn’t?”

  “There were no Indians that prevented it. He just refused. Tell me truthfully, Falcon, if Ackerman had followed orders, if he had joined with Cahill, do you think the outcome of the battle would have been different?”

  “Yes, I think it would have been. As I said, that would have doubled Cahill’s strength, and reinforced, he could have put enough pressure on the Indians to the north of the village that Rawlings could have left their entrenchment and advanced from the south. With Ackerman from the north, and Captain Rawlings from the south, it would have made a huge difference.”

  “Would you be willing to testify to that?”

  “Testify?”

  “At Ackerman’s court-martial. I intend bringing charges.”

  CHAPTER ONE

  Fort Ellis, Montana Territory

  The officers who were to hear the general court-martial filed in and took their seats. Because Boyd Ackerman was a major, the jury was made up of his peers, majors and lieutenant colonels.

  The chief witness against him was his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hamilton. Edward was sworn in and the trial counsel, a captain, began to question him.

  “Colonel Hamilton, you are the one who brought charges against Major Ackerman, is that correct, sir?”

  “That is correct.”

  “And would you tell the court what position you held, relative to the events of this trial?”

  “I was commanding officer of a detached element of the Third Cavalry, under the command of General Fielding during the Battle of Crooked Creek.”

  “And, for the record, that would be the campaign in which General Cahill, and all who were with him, were killed?”

  “Yes.”

  “And what was Major Ackerman’s position?”

  “Major Ackerman commanded two troops of the Third Cavalry, two hundred men.”

  “So he was subordinate to you?”

  “He was.”

  “And would you state for the court, Colonel Hamilton, what charges you have filed against Major Ackerman?”

  “I will. I have filed charges against Major Ackerman to the effect of dereliction of duty and willful disobedience of a direct order. He was ordered to proceed with his two cavalry troops, with all due speed, to join with Colonel Cahill in the campaign to force the hostiles back to their reservation. His failure to repair resulted in the annihilation of Cahill and all the men with him. I could have charged him with cowardice had I so wanted.”

  “Objection,” the defense said. “If the charge of cowardice wasn’t made, it has no relevance in this testimony.”

  “Objection sustained,” the trial judge said. He looked over toward the panel of officers who made up the jury. “The panel is instructed to disregard any consideration of cowardice, as that is not a part of the charge.”

  The trial judge turned his attention back to the trial counsel. “You may continue with your examination.”

  “Colonel Hamilton, you have accused Major Ackerman of willful disobedience of a direct order. Are you certain that the disobedience was willful, and not caused by something beyond Major Ackerman’s control? By this I mean did he try to effect a junction with Cahill’s troops, but was unable to do so because of circumstances?”

  “It was willful disobedience.”

  “And why are you sure?”

  “Major Ackerman made a statement, overheard by two other officers who will testify in this trial, that he had no intention of risking his life to save the life of, and I quote—that arrogant bastard—end quote, referring to Cahill.”

  “Your witness, Lieutenant,” the trial counsel said, walking away from the witness chair.

  The defense counsel approached.

  “Colonel, is it not true that if Major Ackerman had led his men into Crooked Creek valley on that fateful day that he, and all his men, may also have been killed? Shouldn’t he be credited with saving his command?”

  “Anytime you commit troops to battle, you run the risk of sustaining casualties, sometimes very heavy casualties. It is my belief that had Major Ackerman carried out his orders, it would have saved lives, specifically those brave soldiers who were with Colonel Cahill. If you don’t commit your command to battle when ordered to do so, it isn’t a question of saving the men, it is a question of failing to carry out your duty.”

  “Do you actually believe that if Ackerman had joined Cahill, that the outcome would have been different?”

  “Colonel Cahill had two hundred and ten men with him. Had Ackerman joined him as ordered, it would have doubled his strength. Military strategists have made the observation that an additional two hundred men would have changed the outcome of the battle.”

  “With all due respect, Colonel, those so-called strategists weren’t there. I was,” Ackerman called out from his position at the defendant’s table.

  The trial judge struck the table with his gavel. “You have not been given permission to speak,” he said.

  “I have no further questions of this witness,” the defense counsel said.

  “Your Honor, prosecution calls to the stand Falcon MacCallister.”

  Falcon approached the witness stand.

  “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” the trial counsel asked, administering the oath.

  “I do.”

  “You may be seated.”

  Trial counsel waited until Falcon wa
s seated, then he began the examination.

  “Were you present during the battle at Crooked Creek?”

  “I was.”

  “How is it that you, a civilian, happened to be there?”

  “You hit on it. I just happened to be there. I was in the area, totally unaware of any Indian unrest. When I heard all the shooting, I knew that it had to be a battle of some sort, so I rode to the sound of the guns.”

  “And, as I understand, you wound up with Captain Rawlings’s command, did you not?”

  “Yes.”

  “In your opinion, and based upon your firsthand knowledge of the battle, could Major Ackerman have reached the battlefield? Or were the Indians so positioned that it would have been impossible for them to do so?”

  “All of the Indians were either engaged with Cahill, or were keeping Captain Rawlings’s command pinned down. A relief element from the north could have reached Cahill.”

  “And had that relief element united with Cahill, do you think it would have made any difference?”

  “I think it would have made a great difference,” Falcon said. “It would have greatly increased the numbers, and they would have approached the Indians from a side they weren’t expecting. I believe it would have broken the Indian attack.”

  “Thank you, no further questions.”

  The defense council approached Falcon.

  “You were with Captain Rawlings. Did you attempt to relieve Colonel Cahill?”

  “We did.”

  “And what happened?”

  “We were forced back by the Indians.”

  “No further questions.”

  “Redirect?” the trial judge asked.

  The prosecutor rose, but did not approach the witness. “From which direction did Captain Rawlings try to effect his relief effort?”

  “From the south.”

  “And were there any Indians between you and Colonel Cahill?”

  “Yes, the entire Indian force was between Captain Rawlings and Colonel Cahill.”

  “And from which direction would Major Ackerman’s relief column have come?” the prosecutor asked.

  “From the north,” Falcon said.

  “Were there Indians between where Colonel Cahill and his gallant troops made their last stand and any relief element that would have approached from the north?”