William L. Carpenter

William Lewis Carpenter (January 13, 1844, at Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, New York – July 10, 1898, at Madison Barracks, Jefferson County, New York) was a U.S. Army Officer, naturalist and a geologist who helped document the minerals and resources of the Black Hills of South Dakota which inadvertently led to the Great Sioux War of 1876. Early career During the American Civil War he served as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy from 1861 to 1864. Wanting to see more action, he resigned from the Navy and joined the Army. He became a private in Battery "D" 2nd Artillery on July 29, 1864. He transferred to Battery "L" September 25, 1865. He served at the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, and with the Army of the Potomac. He made corporal on September 28, 1866, and sergeant on January 29, 1867. After publication of several scientific articles, ranging in topic from naturalist to geological surveys, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on April 5, 1867. He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Regiment and encouraged to continue his scientific research on the frontier. Black Hills duty