Battle of Beecher Island

Battle of Beecher Island
Part of the Comanche War, American Indian Wars
A map of the Republican River and its tributaries, with the location of Beecher Island highlighted in red.
Date 17–19 September 1868 Location Yuma County, Colorado 39°52′18″N 102°11′08″W / 39.87165°N 102.1855°W / 39.87165; -102.1855 Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Arapaho Cheyenne Sioux
Commanders and leaders
Brv-Col. G. A. Forsyth Lt. F. H. Beecher† J. H. Mooers, Surgeon†	Roman Nose†
Strength
50 civilian scouts	200-1,000 warriors
Casualties and losses
6 killed 15 wounded[1]	9–32 killed[2]
Beecher Island Battlefield class=notpageimage| Location within Colorado

The Battle of Beecher Island, also known as the Battle of Arikaree Fork, was an armed conflict between several of the Plains Native American tribes and Forsyth's Scouts, a company of selected civilian frontiersmen, recruited and commanded by Brevet-Colonel George Alexander Forsyth. The battle occurred in late September 1868 with Forsyth and the scouts making a stand at Beecher Island, on the Arikaree River, then known as part of the North Fork of the Republican River, near present-day Wray, Colorado, named afterwards for Lieutenant Fredrick H. Beecher, Forsyth's executive officer killed during the battle.