Military Service On The Frontier
Initially, Grattan's poor performance at West Point left him without a definite assignment as an officer. For a time he was attached as a Brevet Second Lieutenant to the 6th Infantry. Given the customary three months leave following his graduation, Grattan was to have reported to Company G, 6th Infantry, at Fort Laramie, by October 1, 1853. However he failed to arrive until November 16, 1853. Within his first month, according to recorded reports from Post Surgeon Charles Page, Grattan received a reputation as being brash and boastful, while also giving off the impression that he was proud to serve in the army. The most disturbing trait, according to later accounts given by Page, was that Grattan displayed a disdain and dislike of the American Indians, despite having had no contact with them whatsoever up to that point, save seeing or meeting any who were in or around the post.
In July and August, 1854, new settlers moving west were plagued by raids from the Cheyenne, and calling on the army to do something about it. After one mid-August raid, settlers and traders encountered the Cheyenne warriors and pursued them, only to give up the chase before engaging. When Grattan was told this, he ridiculed the pursuers for fearing a confrontation with the Cheyenne. However, fear had little to nothing to do with the pursuers backing away. In reality, the settlers and traders who were pursuing the band of warriors had enough experience to recognize that the Cheyenne seemed to be baiting them into a possible ambush, thus they stopped their pursuit and reported the incident to Fort Laramie. During his ridicule of the men, Grattan stated that with 10 men he could defeat the entire Cheyenne nation.
Around this same time, in expectation that treaty annuities were soon to come, elements of the Lakota and Oglala had camped near the fort. Collectively the Sioux villages spread across a three mile area along the North Platte River. In the Native American camps, seasoned chiefs were struggling to control the more impatient young warriors, who were angered by the sight of their people starving, and over former broken promises by the whites. This would be compounded by the fact that Fort Laramie was at the time under the command of two young inexperienced officers, with one being a brash and totally untested young Second Lieutenant.
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