Alfred Sully

Life & Legacy

Alfred Sully (May 22, 1820 or 1821 – April 27, 1879) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War and the American Indian Wars. He served as Brevet Brigadier General in the Union army during the American Civil War but was removed from command by John Gibbon for failure to suppress a mutiny by the 34th New York Infantry Regiment. He was cleared by a court of inquiry of any wrongdoing and sent to command the District of Iowa (including the Territory of North Dakota) in the Department of the Northwest during the Sioux Wars.
He led Sully's Expedition, a series of punitive expeditions against native Americans in the aftermath of the Dakota War of 1862. After the Civil War, he served as major in the United States Army and continued to fight in the Indian Wars including the Nez Perce War and out of Fort Dodge, Fort Harker and Fort Vancouver. He served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Montana in 1869 and as colonel of the 21st Infantry Regiment in 1873.