hancock ordered george armstrong custer to take the 7th cavalry in pursuit. this was custer's first action in the indian wars. it was not very successful, the scattered indians were hard to follow and when custer stopped at fort hays for forage for his horses he found there was none to be had and he became stuck there. on 19 april hancock ordered the camp at pawnee fork to be destroyed in retaliation and sparked an indian war, unnecessarily so according to many commentators both contemporary and modern. one of the indians being pursued by custer from pawnee fork was the nineteen-year-old porcupine.