Civil War Battles in Nevada

In an expedition to the Humboldt River, Captain Wells and Company D took a 1,200 mile scouting operation, from their camp at Fort Churchill north and west to the California border and back. In the 84 days, they never engaged or saw any hostile Indians.

The Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake and Mud Lake operations in March 1865 involved Companies D and E investigating the murders of miners and the theft of cattle from settlers. The 10 March incident at Walker Lake with Capt Wallace and Company E was settled quickly, with the suspected murderers being handed over by the Paiute band. For Capt Wells and Company E, however, encountering the Smoke Creek Paiutes at Mud Lake (now Winnemucca Lake) on 14 March. Though only one man was wounded, twenty-nine Indians were killed in the action. Reports from both sides offer largely different versions of the incident.

Table (or Godfrey's) Mountain, 20 May 1865.

Capt Littlefield, with 35 men of Company D, while on a scouting run near Paradise Valley, encountered a large band of Paiute's. Largely outnumbered, he returned to camp to notify Captain Wells, who gathered up Co. E, and returned to the scene with a force of 65 soldiers. Chief Zeluawick, with 500 Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock warriors, held a position on top of a butte. Wells, Littlefield and 40 men (the remainder of the force keeping the horses) charged up the hill, and fought until nightfall, when a retreat was ordered. Two soldiers were killed, and four wounded in the attempted assault.

Skirmishes with these bands of Paiutes continued throughout the summer, with additional troops of the 1st Nevada Infantry and 2nd California Cavalry taking part. Companies D and E, along with a detachment from Company F, were mustered out on 18 November 1865. Companies A, B and C were mustered out of service on 12 July 1866, while the remainder of Company F stayed on until 21 July.