November 16, 1847; Howell, Kansas: Fort Mann was established in April 1847 as a midpoint on the Santa Fe Trail between Fort Leavenworth and Santa Fe. In November 1847 several companies of Missouri Volunteers of the Indian Battalion were garrisoned at the fort, including Capt. William Pelzer and Company C, his all-German foot artillery; Capt. Paul Holtzscheiter and the all-German Infantry Company D; and Capt. Napoleon Koscialowski with Infantry Company E. Pelzer was characterized by Indian agent Thomas Fitzpatrick as a man with not the slightest savvy in dealing with Indians.
In the middle of the afternoon on 16 November, a Pawnee chief and three warriors approached the fort. Pelzer, Lt. Caleb S. Tuttle, and a six-man guard went outside the fort to parley with them. The chief handed Pelzer a letter declaring they were peaceful, so the captain let them inside. After smoking a peace pipe with the chief, Pelzer fired a howitzer to impress his guests. Meanwhile, he sent a detail to bring the chief's sixty other Pawnees into the fort.
Pelzer was still suspicious of the Indians, however, and planned to disarm and hold them until Lt. Col. William E. Gilpin of the Indian Battalion, who was camped at the Big Timbers with two other companies, could give him instructions. When the other Pawnees arrived, Pelzer told the guards not to let them leave. The Indians, assuming they were going to be fed, seated themselves in a circle around the flagpole.
Around this time, a sentry alerted Pelzer that another 300 or more Indians were gathered on the opposite bank of the Arkansas River. Several Pawnees were still waiting outside the fort, and Pelzer ordered a guard to bring them in. Fearful that the Indians at the river would try to free those in the fort, Pelzer asked the chief in sign language if they were with him. The chief said no, but Pelzer accused him of lying. The captain hurriedly conferred with Lt. Henry L. Rouett about what to do next. Rouett wanted to release the Indians, but Pelzer snapped back that he would rather "butcher" them all.
It is uncertain whether the Pawnees understood Pelzer's threat, but the chief no doubt had already sensed trouble, and he signaled for his tribesmen to run for their lives. Pelzer ordered his men to fire. One warrior was killed and two were wounded in the first volley. While most of the Pawnees escaped through the open gate, three of them ran into Pelzer's quarters for cover. The soldiers fired into the building. One of the warriors fled, making it over the fort walls, but he was soon killed. The other two gathered all the combustible goods they could find and started a fire. The soldiers shot through the door and windows, leaving both Indians "perfectly riddled with balls."
Four Pawnees were killed in the melee, and about twenty were wounded. Three soldiers, including Captain Holtzscheiter, were wounded. Newspapwers blamed Pelzer for the bloody fiasco.
