Photographs mostly made by William S. Soule and George E. Trager, and probably acquired by John Rutter Brooke while stationed with the US Army at Camp Supply (circa 1873) and the Department of the Platte (1888-1895). Photographs by William S. Soule document life at Camp Supply, depicting Arapaho people (including Chief Powder Face), tipis and encampments, drying bison meat, and one image of Cheyenne captives, identified as Dull Knife, Curly Hair, and Big Head. Photographs by George E. Trager (through his studios Trager and Kuhn and the Northwestern Photographic Company) depict Red Cloud, Pine Ridge Agency, Rosebud Agency, and a Grand Council between Plains chiefs at Pine Ridge. The collection also includes three images relating to a Ute Bear Dance at Uintah Agency.
Biographical/Historical note:
John Rutter Brooke (1838-1926) graduated from Ursinus College shortly before enlisting in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry division in April 1861. At the age of twenty-three, Brooke was granted the rank of colonel and served as the commanding officer for the 53rd Pennsylvania volunteer regiment. He led the 53rd at Antietam and a brigade of the Union Army's 1st Division during the Gettysburg campaign, leading to his appointment as Brigadier General in 1864. During peacetime, Brooke participated in the removal of Native American tribes to reservations. He commanded troops at Camp Supply in 1873, the U.S. 7th Cavalry during the attack at Wounded Knee, the Department of the Platte when the Ghost Dance War began in 1890 and the 1st Corps during the Spanish-American War. In 1897, he was promoted to major general and served as military governor of Puerto Rico and Cuba in the last years of the 19th century. Brooke returned to the United States as commanding officer of the Department of the East, eventually retiring to Philadelphia in 1902.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 4599, NAA MS 4598, USNM ACC 63760
Location of Other Archival Materials:
Photographs previously filed in MS 4598 have been relocated and merged with Photo Lot 4599. These photographs were also collected by John Rutter Brooke and donated in accession 063760 and form part of this collection.
Additional Soule photographs held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 3912, MS 4791, MS 2531, Photo Lot 24, Photo Lot 97-6, and the BAE historical negatives.
John R. Brooke also donated a large copper nugget, a bolo and sheath, and a dagger, which are held in the anthropology collections of the National Museum of Natural History in accession 063760.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania holds John Rutter Brooke papers.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Photo Lot 4599, John Rutter Brooke photograph collection from Camp Supply and Pine Ridge Reservation, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
