Sarah Catherine White Brooks (Civilian Captive) 1850-1939

Sarah Catherine White

NPS, Kate Roesch

Sarah Catherine White, a comely young woman, was born on December 10, 1850 at Elk Grove, Wisconsin. The Cheyenne captured Sarah on her father’s farm near Concordia, Kansas, on August 13, 1868, and held captive for about 7 months.

Kansas historian, E.F. Hollibaugh described Sarah as, “Miss White was of rather a submissive nature for she knew of no other alternative, and was a general favorite among both the braves and the squaws. Miss White was completely overcome [by the trauma] and could not speak a word.” That gave way when she met Anna Morgan in October after Anna was traded off for some horses with the Sioux. “The two young women were company for each other and were allowed to converse together around the campfire.”

On November 27, 1868, Sarah and Anna were in Chief Whirlwind’s village downstream from Chief Black Kettle’s village when Lieutenant Colonel George Custer attacked it. Sarah said, “She heard the firing of rifles and revolvers in the Battle of the Washita. She was down river a short distance in the other camps. As soon as the battle started, the Indians spirited her away and took her farther down the river. It was so cold that her feet were frostbitten.”

On March 22, 1869, the Cheyennes released Sarah and Anna from captivity near Sweetwater Creek, Texas, to Lt. Colonel Custer and his 7th US Cavalry and soldiers of 19th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. Custer turned Sarah and Anna over to the care of his cook, Mrs. Courtenay. Who cleaned her up and gave her a dress to wear.

As time went by Sarah grew into a strong and sure woman, moving forward mentally distancing herself from the ordeal. She kept into touch with Custer and the others who rescued her. Miss White later became a schoolteacher, first teaching at the Elk Township, and later at Clyde, Kansas.

She married a farmer name Erastus Otis Brooks, and had seven children. Sarah own over a section of land, and with the help of her two sons, Lewis and William, did very well. Mrs. White said, “When she hears people complaining of hardships and hard times, she often thinks their knowledge along these lines is very limited.” Sarah died peacefully on May 11, 1939 at Concordia, Kansas.

Bibliography:

Jeff Broome. Dog Soldier Justice.
Fort Collins, CO: Citizen Printing Company, 2003.

Jerome A. Greene. Washita: The U.S. Army and the Southern Cheyenne, 1867-1869.
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.

Richard G. Hardorff. Washita Memories: Eyewitness Views of Custer's Attack on Black Kettle's Village.
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2006.

E.F. Hollibaugh. Biographical History of Cloud County, Kansas.
Gloucester, UK: Andesite Press, 2015.

David L. Spotts. Campaigning with Custer 1868-69
Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.

United States Congress. House Committee on Pensions.
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1936.