Harney began his many years of interactions with Native Americans on the Great Plains in 1825, when he accompanied Colonel Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O'Fallon on an expedition to sign treaties with the Upper Missouri tribes.

In 1832, Harney fought in the Black Hawk War against the Sauk and Fox tribes, serving as General Zachary Taylor's assistant inspector.

In June 1834, while he was a major in the Paymaster Corps, Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, Harney was charged with beating an enslaved woman, Hannah, to death.

The coroner ruled Hannah died as a result of Harney's violent actions, and he was indicted for murder by a grand jury in July.

[3] Harney and troops under his command often fought the Seminole war leader and mystic Sam Jones, also known as Abiaka.

[4] Placed in temporary command of the 1st Brigade in David Twiggs's division, Harney fought with distinction at the Battle of Cerro Gordo and received a promotion to brevet brigadier general.

However, he was accused of mistreatment of captured prisoners from the St. Patrick's Battalion, which included US Army deserters and escaped slaves.

Worth, Harney assumed command of Military Department Number Five, which comprised almost all of the settled portion of Texas.

He was assigned to control Indian raids, which led to the First Sioux War (discussed in part below), although Harney actually commanded Military Department No.

[5] Recalled from leave after he had attempted to visit his family in Paris in 1854, Harney led a punitive expedition against the Sioux after they killed a small US Army detachment in Nebraska Territory, an event called the Grattan massacre.

The success of the campaign encouraged Harney to suggest that mobile units might replace permanent army posts.

Harney sent Captain George E. Pickett and troops to San Juan Island, precipitating the Pig War with British forces.

As the American Civil War began, Harney was still in command of the Army's Department of the West based at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, and his wife's family was prominent in the area.

General Twiggs accepted a Confederate commission to head the Department of Louisiana and was accordingly dismissed from the US Army and replaced by Edwin V. Sumner.

President Andrew Johnson appointed Harney to the Indian Peace Commission and so he returned to the Great Plains in 1865 and 1867 to negotiate treaties.

However, the appointment was made not due to his advocacy of Indians, but rather because he had been one of the few men to successfully wage war against them and was someone who could gain their attention.

Initial reports stated 86 Indians were killed and 70 women and children were captured; however, the totals were later determined to be higher as additional casualties were found in the following days.

The Sullivan Chamber of Commerce cooperates with the foundation and can arrange visits to the home, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.