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Making Peace With Cochise in 1872: Important Manuscripts and Original Photographs

Capt. Joseph A. Sladen, Capt. Tom Jeffords (Cochise's "Blood Brother") and Concepción

An amazing collection of original material, including important manuscripts, photographs, and rare printed items, related to the 1872 U.S. Army campaign in southeastern Arizona to make peace with Cochise, the legendary Chircahua Apache chief. This remarkable group of primary source items comes from a key participant in the events, Medal of Honor recipient Joseph A. Sladen, Civil War veteran, aide and confidant of Brigadier General Oliver Otis Howard, the leader of the peace effort. Included here are Sladen's personal items documenting the dramatic and truly historical moment, when in October 1872 a small party of U.S. military officers and two Apache Indians entered the stronghold of the famous Chiricahua Apache chief Cochise, and convinced him that the violence between his people and the Americans had to stop. The collection includes the actual draft manuscript account by Capt. Sladen (in his hand), as well as the final original typescript prepared by Sladen's son (Maj. Gen. Fred Winchester Sladen) titled Making Peace with Cochise in 1872. The latter account was published as a book by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1997. Four rare original photograph portraits accompany the documents, along with several printed items and books from Sladen's personal library.

According to historian Edwin R. Sweeney, who has written extensively on the Apache chief Cochise, Sladen's role as aide to Gen. Howard was key to the successful peace negotiations:

Joseph Sladen's journal of making peace with Cochise records one of the few instances of this kind of interaction between whites and Indians during the nineteenth century.

Sladen was an open-minded and unpretentious man, who eventually came to discard his preconceived notions about Indians. He also viewed the Apaches through a different lens than did General Howard. Howard, as a Christian evangelist [a deeply religious man who earned the moniker "Christian Soldier" during the Civil War], could not empathize readily with the culture of the Chiricahua... In contrast, after spending nearly two weeks in a heretofore hostile Apache camp, Sladen recognized that the Chiricahuas were not unlike other ethnic groups. He quickly realized that Chiricahua society revolved around the foundation of the family unit. He admired several elements of their social habits and daily routines: their generosity with each other, especially when it came to sharing food; their custom of playing practical jokes on each other; their quick sense of humor and ability to laugh at the most trivial of occurrences... their inherent honesty; their cleanliness; and their chastity - Introduction to 1997 edition of Making Peace with Cochise.

Joseph A. Sladen

A distinguished Army officer who began his military career during the Civil War with the 33rd Massachusetts Infantry, Joseph A. Sladen was awarded the Medal of Honor for distinguished gallantry in the Battle of Resaca, Georgia (May 14, 1864). But it would be his post-Civil War experience in the West, particularly the present episode of achieving peace with Cochise in 1872, which can rightfully be called the supreme highlight of Sladen's significant role in American Frontier history.

Joseph Alton Sladen, born in England in 1841, moved to Massachusetts at a young age. He enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War, serving in the 33rd Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, with a citation for bravery at the Battle of Resaca in 1864, where he voluntarily joined the fight and inspired his comrades. After the war Sladen continued his service in the army, transitioning into the post-war era with an important assignments as aide-de-camp to General Oliver Otis Howard (who had lost his right arm at the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862) and in the Freedmen's Bureau, the organization charged with supervising nearly 4 million liberated enslaved people.

Sladen's most notable contribution during the Frontier Indian Wars was his involvement in the 1872 peace negotiations with the Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise. As General Howard's aide-de-camp, Sladen journeyed through New Mexico and Arizona, a pivotal expedition he detailed in his account "Making Peace With Cochise." This successful mission led to a treaty with Cochise, marking a significant achievement in the fraught relationships between Native Americans and the United States government during this era.

In later years Sladen faced personal challenges, including severe injuries leading to the loss of his leg, but he continued his military career, participating in the Nez Perce War of 1877 and the Bannock War of 1878. His dedication saw him serve in various additional military capacities, including time at the United States Military Academy and eventually reaching the rank of captain before retiring due to his disability in 1889.

Post-military, Sladen settled in Portland, Oregon, embarking on a successful career in insurance and banking, and serving as a clerk of the U.S. Circuit Court. He remained active in civic and professional organizations, contributing significantly to his community until his death in 1911. His remains were reinterred at West Point Cemetery in 1929.

Sladen's Handwritten Account

Historian Edwin R. Sweeney, author of an important biography of Cochise, describes the importance of Sladen's journal, and how it evolved from draft notes (present here), incorporating material from an 1896 letter from Sladen to Alice Rollins Crane (also present here, in the form of Sladen's retained carbon typescript) to a polished finished work prepared by his son, a prominent military figure in his own right:

[Sladen] maintained a journal during his two-month quest to find Cochise. From this chronicle, in the 1880s Sladen wrote the summary of his trip to find Cochise. That summary contained the essence of the journal's final manuscript. On October 26, 1896, Sladen penned a forty-page letter to Alice Rollins Crane. Most of the information in the letter was drawn from Sladen's 1872 journal, though he might have added a few details and anecdotes. Sladen's son Fred [Maj. Gen. Fred Winchester Sladen] later used these two documents, the summary and the letter, to "put together [this] interesting story of a unique experience."

Alice Crane, who was an intimate friend of Tom Jeffords, the frontiersman who had made the necessary preparations for the journey to find Cochise, had also requested information about the mission from General Howard... Crane had in her possession firsthand accounts from the three principal Americans who had been involved in the treaty. Of these three accounts, Sladen's version is apparently the only one that has survived... Crane's plan to write a book about Cochise and the famous treaty apparently never reached fruition, and her account, if it exists, has not surfaced. - Introduction, Making Peace with Cochise, pages 19-20.

Thomas Jefferson Jeffords - Cochise's "Blood Brother"

Tom Jeffords (1832-1914), a U.S. Army scout and Indian agent, played a crucial role in ending the Indian wars in Arizona through his friendship with Apache leader Cochise. He first attempted to negotiate peace with Cochise in 1871, but it was only after their friendship developed over several months that Cochise agreed to peace terms. This led to the establishment of a reservation in the Dragoon and Chiricahua Mountains with Jeffords as the agent in 1872. This arrangement maintained peace in southern Arizona for several years. Afterward, Jeffords engaged in various enterprises, including working as a postmaster and water company head, before dying near Tucson in 1914.

The collection consists of the following items:

• Original holograph draft manuscript of Sladen's Account of Making Peace with Cochise. [Vancouver Barracks, Washington, ca. 1880s]. 119 leaves of various sizes and types of paper. Text of both sides of sheets. Mostly in pencil. Extensive emendations and corrections. With manuscript note on old brown-paper wrappers: "Father Sladen's story of Cochise written by him - in his hand."
• Retained carbon typescript of a lengthy letter by J. A. Sladen to Mrs. Alice Robbins Crane. Portland, Oregon. October 26, 1896. 44 leaves, text on recto only. A few manuscript corrections.
• Making Peace With Cochise, Chief of Chiricaua Indians 1872 by Captain J. A. Sladen. U. S. A. Quarto volume bound in early 20th-century half tan morocco over brown cloth. Gilt title on front cover. 54 leaves typescript. [ca. 1900]. Original bound typescript of Sladen's account, based on the above handwritten draft notes and retained carbon typescript of Sladen's lengthy letter to Mrs. Alice Robbins Crane. Preface with autograph signature of Sladen's son, Fred W. Sladen: "This interesting story of a unique experience was put together by my aide, Lieutenant J. A. Cranston, U. S. A. from pencil notes made in the 80s by my Father while stationed at VanCouver Barracks, Washington, and from a carbon copy of a letter written by him to a Mrs. Alice Robbins Crane, Los Angeles."
• Original Photographs:
  • Tintype portrait of J. A. Sladen in Western garb (a cavalry tunic in style used by Custer), with pair of Army revolvers (one on either hip), and sheath knife, standing next to a chair, likely made in itinerant or makeshift photographer's studio in Arizona Territory. Ca. 1872. 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches.
  • Tintype portrait of another young army officer, likely Tom Jeffords, similarly dressed, made in the same makeshift studio. Ca. 1872. 5 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches.
  • Albumen photograph portrait of an older Tom Jeffords, seated, with double-barrel hammer shotgun in lap. Los Angeles: Lawson, 147 South Main Street. Ca. 1890. Mounted print, cabinet card format. Inscribed in pencil on verso of mount: "Captain T. J. Jeffords, Tucson, Arizona, Compliments of Alice Rollins Crane, Los Angeles, Calif." With additional note in ink: "Capt. Jeffords was the scout who led Gen. Howard and Capt. Sladen into Conchise's Camp in the Dragoon Mts. in 1872."
  • Albumen photograph portrait of Concepción, a Mexican man raised by Aravaipa Apaches, who served as an interpreter. Ca. 1875. Mounted print, cabinet card format. Manuscript caption in ink on mount below portrait: "Conception. Mexican-Apache Interpreter, White Mountain Reservation. Interpreter for Gen. Howard with the White Mountain Apache, Arizona, 1872. Conception had been stolen from the Mexicans when a child, but had retained his language." This rare, likely unpublished image of Concepcion
• Printed books and pamphlets from Sladen's personal library and additional material:
  • War Department, Quartermaster General's Office, Washington, D.C. Outline Description of U. S. Military Posts and Stations in the Year 1871. Washington. 1872. Large quarto. Original green cloth binding. Inscribed presentation copy to Gen. O. O. Howard, signed by the Quartermaster General, M. C. Meigs, 19 May 1873. 271 pages. With manuscript "Camp Apache" notation renaming printed name of White Mountain, Camp Thomas, Arizona Territory Territory (page 78).
  • Howard, O. O. Maj. Gen. My Life and Experiences Among Our Hostile Indians. A Record of Personal Observations, Adventures, and Campaigns Among the Indians of the Great West. With Some Account of Their Life, Habits, Traits, Religion, Ceremonies, Dress, Savage Instincts, and Customs in Peace and War. Sold Only to Subscribers. Hartford, Conn. 1907. 570 pages. Frontispiece portrait and numerous plates. The book's printed dedication reads "To Captain Joseph A. Sladen, United States Army (Now Clerk of the United States Circuit Court), Portland, Oregon, My loyal and faithful aide-de-camp and sincere and devoted friend, who for twenty-three years was by my side through campaigns and battles, rising from a private soldier to his present rank, whose retirement from active military duty was the result of losing his leg while in service under my command, this volume is affectionately dedicated by the Author." Bookplate of Elizabeth Lefferts Sladen. Howes H711.
  • Howard, O. O. The Indians. Account of Gen'l Howard's Mission to the Apaches and Navajos. Re-printed From the Washington Daily Morning Chronicle of November 10, 1872. [Washington, D.C.] 12 pages. Printed in two-columns. Self wrappers. Rare separate printing of Gen. Howard's account.
  • Howard, O. O. The United Service. May 1800. Our Indians of the Southwest [caption title]. [525]-552 pages. Extracted from an unidentified larger work.
  • Photocopy of a rare typescript: Ariziona Material: Origin of Name -- Arizona, copy from the Forbes Notes, Tucson, Arizona: March 6, 1926. Charles Morgan Wood; Exact Transcripts Made by Frank C. Lockwood, June 20, 1925, from a notebook by Doctor Robert H. Forbes, kept from Sept. 2, 1911 to Oct. 1917; Excerpts from General O. O. Howard's personal account of his treaty with Cochise. March 25, 1912. Total of 26 leaves.

Rarity

Such original documents and photographs, related to exceptional and important army officers such as Joseph A. Sladen, who sought to understand and make peace with erstwhile hostile Apaches, are very rare in the market. The presence of Sladen's handwritten draft manuscript and four rare original photograph portraits add greatly to the collection.

Provenance

• Joseph Alton Sladen
• Major General Fred Winchester Sladen, son of J. A. Sladen.
• Frank J. Sladen, Jr. (1920-2005), son of Frank J. Sladen, grandson of Joseph Alton Sladen. Frank J. Sladen, Jr.'s foreword to the 1997 University of Oklahoma Press publication of his grandfather's Journal states that he inherited two manuscript journals by J. A. Sladen: "one in the meticulous scrawl of that gentleman, my grandfather, and the other a typed version. I still guard both zealously..."