The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
and various
Apache tribal confederations fought in the
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
in 1846, the United States inherited conflicted territory from Mexico which was the home of both settlers and Apache tribes. Conflicts continued as new United States citizens came into traditional Apache lands to raise livestock and crops and to mine minerals.
The U.S. Army established forts to fight Apache tribal war parties and force Apaches to move to designated
Indian reservations
An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
created by the U.S. in accordance with the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...
. Some reservations were not on the traditional areas occupied by the Apache. In 1886, the U.S. Army put over 5,000 soldiers in the field to fight, which resulted in the surrender of
Geronimo and 30 of his followers. This is generally considered the end of the Apache Wars, although conflicts continued between citizens and Apaches. The
Confederate Army briefly participated in the wars during the early 1860s in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, before being diverted to action in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
and
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
Background
Historically, the Apache had raided enemy tribes and sometimes each other, for livestock, food or captives. They raided with small parties, for a specific purpose. The Apache only rarely united to gather armies of hundreds of men, using all tribal male members of warrior age.
The first conflicts between the Apache (who call themselves ''T`Inde, Inde, N`dee, N`ne'', meaning the "people") and other people in the Southwest date to the earliest Spanish settlements, but the specific set of conflicts now known as the Apache Wars began during the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
.
Cochise
The Apache Wars were sparked when American troops erroneously accused Apache leader
Cochise
Cochise (; Apache: ''Shi-ka-She'' or ''A-da-tli-chi'', lit.: ''having the quality or strength of an oak''; later ''K'uu-ch'ish'' or ''Cheis'', lit. ''oak''; June 8, 1874) was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principa ...
and his tribe of kidnapping a young boy during a raid. Cochise professed truthfully that his tribe had not kidnapped the boy and offered to try and find him for the Americans, but the commander refused to believe him and instead took Cochise and his party hostage for the return of the boy. Cochise escaped, and a standoff developed as Cochise's tribe and allies surrounded the American forces, demanding the release of the rest of Cochise's party. After a standoff, during which 3 additional braves and a number of American soldiers and postmen were captured, the Apache retreated, believing they were being
flanked, but in revenge for the continued holding of their people killed soldiers and postmen they had captured. The Americans in turn killed the 6 men they had captured, though they allowed the women and children to go free. In what became known as the
Bascom affair, three of the men killed were Cochise's brother and nephews, and Cochise gathered the Apache tribes and made war on the U.S. for vengeance, sparking the century-long conflict.
The first U.S. Army campaigns specifically against the Apache began in 1849.
Conflicts
Jicarilla War
At the start of the Mexican–American War in 1846, many Apache tribal chieftains promised American soldiers safe passage through their land, though other tribes fought in defense of Mexico and against the influx of new settlers to New Mexico. When the United States claimed the
frontier territories of Mexico in 1848,
Mangas Coloradas
Mangas Coloradas or Mangus-Colorado (La-choy Ko-kun-noste, alias "Red Sleeve"), or Dasoda-hae ("He Just Sits There") (c. 1793 – January 18, 1863) was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Mimbreño (Tchihende) division of the Central ...
signed a peace treaty, respecting the Americans as the conquerors of the Mexicans' land.
However, as Tiller relates regarding the treaty signed at Santa Fe on April 2, 1851, "The Jicarillas were expected to comply with the terms of the treaty immediately, yet as far as the new Mexicans were concerned, their part of the bargain would go into effect only after Congress had ratified it." The
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
never did ratify the treaty. An uneasy peace between the Apache and the Americans persisted until an influx of gold miners into the
Santa Rita Mountains
The Santa Rita Mountains ( O'odham: To:wa Kuswo Doʼag), located about 65 km (40 mi) southeast of Tucson, Arizona, extend 42 km (26 mi) from north to south, then trending southeast. They merge again southeastwards into the Pat ...
of present-day Arizona led to conflict.
The Jicarilla War began in 1849 when a group of settlers were
attacked and killed by a force of Jicarillas and
Utes in northeastern New Mexico. A second massacre occurred in 1850, in which several mail carriers were killed. The U.S. Army became involved in 1853. The Army went on to fight at the
Battle of Cieneguilla
The Battle of Cieneguilla (pronounced sienna-GEE-ya; English: small swamp) was an engagement of the Jicarilla War involving a group of Jicarilla Apaches, possibly their Ute allies, and the American 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 30, 1854 near ...
, a significant Apache victory, and later the
Battle of Ojo Caliente Canyon
:''This engagement should not be confused with the 1879 Battle of Ojo Caliente between Victorio's band and the 9th Cavalry.''
The Battle of Ojo Caliente Canyon, or simply the Battle of Ojo Caliente was an engagement of the Jicarilla War on Ap ...
, an American victory.
Chiricahua wars
![DragoonMountains](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/DragoonMountains.JPG)
In 1851, near the
Piños Altos mining camp, Mangas Coloradas was attacked by a group of miners; they tied him to a tree and severely beat him. Similar incidents continued in violation of the treaty, leading to Apache reprisals against European Americans. In December 1860, thirty miners
launched a surprise attack on an encampment of ''Bedonkohe'' on the west bank of the
Mimbres River
The Mimbres is a river in southwestern New Mexico.
Course
The Mimbres forms from snowpack and runoff on the southwestern slopes of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness in the Black Range at in Grant County. The river ends in the Guzmán Basin, a smal ...
in retaliation for the theft of numerous livestock. According to the historian Edwin R. Sweeney, the miners "...killed four Indians, wounded others, and captured thirteen women and children." The Apache quickly retaliated with raids against U.S. citizens and property.
In early February 1861, a group of Coyotero Apaches stole cattle and kidnapped the stepson of the rancher John Ward near
Sonoita, Arizona
Sonoita (; ood, Ṣon ʼOidag) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 818 at the 2010 census.
The origin of the name of the CDP is the O'odham ''Ṣon ʼOidag'', which may be best ...
. Ward sought redress from the nearby American Army. Lieutenant
George N. Bascom was dispatched, and Ward accompanied the detail. Bascom set out to meet with Cochise near
Apache Pass
Apache Pass, also known by its earlier Spanish name Puerto del Dado ("Pass of the Die"), is a historic mountain pass in the U.S. state of Arizona between the Dos Cabezas Mountains and Chiricahua Mountains at an elevation of . It is approximate ...
and the
Butterfield Overland Stagecoach station to secure the cattle and Ward's son. Bascom started on the wrong foot by lying to Cochise about his purposes and intents, something that was detested by Apaches, who did not tolerate liars. Cochise was unaware of the incident, but he offered to seek those responsible. Dissatisfied, Bascom accused Cochise of having been involved. He took Cochise and his group of family members, including his wife and children, under arrest while under a
white flag
White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale.
Contemporary use
The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...
in the negotiating tent. Angered, Cochise slashed his way from the tent and escaped. After further failed negotiations, Cochise took a member of the stage coach station hostage after an exchange of gunfire.
With Bascom unwilling to exchange prisoners, Cochise and his party killed the members of a passing Mexican wagon train. The Apache killed and ritually mutilated nine Mexicans and took three whites captive but killed them later. They were unsuccessful in attempting an ambush of a Butterfield Overland stagecoach. With negotiations between Cochise and Bascom at an impasse, Bascom sent for reinforcements. Cochise killed the remaining four captives from the Butterfield Station and abandoned negotiations. Upon the advice of military surgeon Dr. Bernard Irwin, Bascom hanged the Apache hostages in his custody. The retaliatory executions became known as the
Bascom affair; they initiated another eleven years of open warfare between the varying groups of Apache and the United States settlers, the U.S. Army and the
Confederate Army.
![ApachePassAZ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/ApachePassAZ.JPG)
After the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
began in April 1861, Mangas Coloradas and Cochise, his son-in-law, struck an alliance, agreeing to drive all Americans and Mexicans out of Apache territory. Their campaigns against the Confederates were the battles of
Tubac
Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which tr ...
,
Cookes Canyon
Cookes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Thomas Cookes (MP) (1804–1900), British politician
*Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (bap. 1648–1701), English philanthropist
*Cookes baronets
See also
* Cooks (surname)
*Cooke
Co ...
,
Florida Mountains
The Florida Mountains are a small long, mountain range in New Mexico. The mountains lie in southern Luna County about southeast of Deming, and north of the state of Chihuahua, Mexico; the range lies in the north of the Chihuahuan Desert reg ...
,
Pinos Altos and
Dragoon Springs. Other Apache war parties fought the Rebels as well;
Mescalero
Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-cen ...
Apache attacked and captured a herd of livestock at
Fort Davis on August 9, 1861, with the Apache killing two guards in the process. The Army sent out a patrol to try to retrieve the livestock, and the Apache killed them all. Mangas Coloradas and Cochise were joined in their campaign by the chief
Juh
Juh (also known as Ju, Ho, Whoa, and sometimes Who;Kraft, Louis (2000). - ''Gatewood and Geronimo''. - Albuquerque: University of New Mexico. - p.4. - c. 1825 – Sept/Oct 1883) was a warrior and leader of the Janeros local group of the Ndé ...
and the notable warrior
Geronimo. They thought that they had achieved some success when the Americans closed the Butterfield Overland Stagecoach and Army troops departed, but those actions were related to the beginning of the Civil War.
The United States military leadership decided to move against the
Arizona Confederates in what the Union considered part of the
New Mexico Territory by dispatching a column of Californian volunteers under Colonel
James Henry Carleton
James Henry Carleton (December 27, 1814 – January 7, 1873) was an officer in the US Army and a Union general during the American Civil War. Carleton is best known as an Indian fighter in the Southwestern United States.
Biography
Carleton wa ...
. The
California Column
The California Column was a force of Union volunteers sent to Arizona and New Mexico during the American Civil War. The command marched over from California through Arizona and New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and as far east as El Paso, ...
, as it was known, followed the old Butterfield Overland Trail east. In 1862 the troops encountered Mangas Coloradas and Cochise's followers near the site of the spring in Apache Pass. In the
Battle of Apache Pass
The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona, in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforc ...
, soldiers shot and wounded Mangas Coloradas in the chest. While recuperating, he met with an intermediary to call for peace with the United States.
In January 1863, Coloradas agreed to meet with U.S. military leaders at
Fort McLane
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
, near present-day
Hurley in southwestern
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
. Coloradas arrived under a white flag of truce to meet with Brigadier General
Joseph Rodman West
Joseph Rodman West (September 19, 1822 – October 31, 1898) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Union general in the United States Army during and after the American Civil War and the chief executive of the District of Columbia. As a ...
, an officer of the
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
militia. Again the Americans violated the neutrality of a white flag. The armed soldiers took him into custody, and West is reported to have ordered his sentries to execute the Apache tribal chief. That night Mangas was tortured and shot, as he was "trying to escape." The following day, soldiers cut off his head, boiled it and sent the skull to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
. The mutilation of Coloradas' body increased the hostility of the Apache people against the United States.
Carleton then decided to forcefully move the Navajo and Apache to reservations. Initially, he intended to make the
Rio Grande valley safer for settlement and end the raids on travelers. He began by forcing various tribes of Mescalero and Navajo onto the reservation at
Fort Sumner
Fort Sumner was a military fort in New Mexico Territory charged with the internment of Navajo and Mescalero Apache populations from 1863 to 1868 at nearby Bosque Redondo.
History
On October 31, 1862, Congress authorized the construction of For ...
. He enlisted
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...
, one-time friend of the
Navajo, to round them up by destroying their crops and livestock, and forcing them on the
Long Walk to Fort Sumner.
Texas Indian Wars
On November 25, 1864, the
Plains Apache fought in one of the largest battles of the
American Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
at the
First Battle of Adobe Walls
The First Battle of Adobe Walls was a battle between the United States Army and American Indians. The Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache) tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to at ...
. Carson led an army of 400 soldiers and
Ute
Ute or UTE may refer to:
* Ute (band), an Australian jazz group
* Ute (given name)
* ''Ute'' (sponge), a sponge genus
* Ute (vehicle), an Australian and New Zealand term for certain utility vehicles
* Ute, Iowa, a city in Monona County along ...
scouts to the Texas panhandle and captured an encampment from which the inhabitants had fled. More than 1,000
Comanche,
Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...
and Plains Apache attacked. Carson took a position in an abandoned
adobe building on top of a hill and repulsed several attacks. After a day of fighting, Carson retreated and the Indians permitted him to leave without opposition. Iron Shirt, a Plains Apache chief, was killed in the battle. Six soldiers were killed; the army estimated that the Indians suffered 60 killed and wounded.
Yavapai War
The
Yavapai Wars
The Yavapai Wars, or the Tonto Wars, were a series of armed conflicts between the Yavapai and Tonto tribes against the United States in the Arizona Territory. The period began no later than 1861, with the arrival of American settlers on Yavapai a ...
, or the
Tonto Wars
Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and telev ...
, were a series of armed conflicts between the
Yavapai
The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
and
Tonto
Tonto is a fictional character; he is the Native American (either Comanche or Potawatomi) companion of the Lone Ranger, a popular American Western character created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker. Tonto has appeared in radio and tele ...
tribes against the U.S. in Arizona. The period began no later than 1861, with the arrival of American settlers on Yavapai and Tonto land. At the time, the Yavapai were considered a tribe of the
Western Apache people
The Western Apache live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowe ...
because of their close relationship with tribes such as the Tonto and Pinal. The war culminated with the Yavapai's removal from the
Camp Verde Reservation to
San Carlos on February 27, 1875, an event now known as Exodus Day.
In 1871, a group of 6 white Americans, 48 Mexicans, and almost 100
Papago warriors
attacked Camp Grant and massacred about 150 Apache men, women, and children. Campaigning against the Apache continued in the mid-1870s. The battles of
Salt River Canyon and
Turret Peak are prime examples of the violence in the Arizona region. Soldiers and civilians, especially from
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, frequently pursued various Apache tribal war parties, trying to end their raids.
Victorio's War
In 1879, the veteran Chiricahua war chief
Victorio
Victorio (Bidu-ya, Beduiat; ca. 1825–October 14, 1880) was a warrior and chief of the Warm Springs band of the Tchihendeh (or Chihenne, often called Mimbreño) division of the central Apaches in what is now the American states of Texas, New ...
and his followers were facing forced removal from their homeland and reservation at
Ojo Caliente, New Mexico
Ojo Caliente is an unincorporated community in Taos County, New Mexico, United States.
Description
The community lies along U.S. Route 285 near the Rio Grande between Española and Taos, approximately north of Santa Fe, the state capital. It ...
and transfer to San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in Arizona. On August 21, 1879, Victorio, 80 warriors, and their women and children fled the reservation. Victorio was joined by other Apache, especially Mescalero, and his force may have reached a maximum of 200 warriors, an unusually large force of Apache.
For 14 months, Victorio led a
guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactics ...
against the U.S. Army and white settlers in southern New Mexico, western Texas, and northern Mexico. He fought more than a dozen battles and skirmishes with the U.S. Army and raided several civilian settlements. Several thousand American and Mexican soldiers and Indian scouts pursued him, as he fled from one stronghold to another. Victorio and many of his followers met their end on October 14, 1880, when they were surrounded and killed by Mexican soldiers at the
Battle of Tres Castillos
The Battle of Tres Castillos, October 14–15, 1880, in Chihuahua State, Mexico resulted in the death of the Chiricahua Apache chieftain Victorio and the death or capture of most of his followers. The battle ended Victorio's War, a 14-month long ...
in
Chihuahua, Mexico. A lieutenant of Victorio's,
Nana
Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name
* Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname
* Nana ( ...
, continued the war. With fewer than 40 warriors Nana raided extensively in New Mexico from June to August 1881. Nana survived the raid and died of old age in 1896.
Battles near Fort Apache
In August 1881, a force of soldiers from
Fort Apache Indian Reservation
The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of ...
was sent to investigate recent reports of Apache unrest and to detain the
medicine man
A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and cerem ...
Nock-ay-det-klinne. The arrest of Nock-ay-det-klinne by three native scouts was peaceful until they made their way back to camp. Upon arrival the camp on August 31, had already been surrounded by Nock-ay-det-klinne's followers. The
Battle of Cibecue Creek
The Battle of Cibecue Creek was an engagement of the Apache Wars, fought in August 1881 between the United States and White Mountain Apaches in Arizona, at Cibecue Creek on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. After an army expedition of sco ...
began, and Nock-ay-det-klinne was killed. The following day, the Apache warriors
attacked Fort Apache in reprisal for the death of Nock-ay-det-klinne.
In the spring of 1882, the warrior Na-tio-tisha lead a party of about 60 White Mountain Apache warriors. In early July they ambushed and killed four
San Carlos policemen, including the police chief. After the ambush, Na-tio-tisha led his war-party northwest through the
Tonto Basin
The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage basin of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation '' transition zone'' across central and eastern Ariz ...
. Local Arizona settlers were greatly alarmed and demanded protection from the U.S. Army. It sent out fourteen
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
of
U.S. Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, was the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army by an act of Congress on 3 August 1861.Price (1883) p. 103, 104 This act converted the U.S. Army's two regiments of dragoons, one r ...
from forts across the region. In the middle of July, Na-tio-tisha led his war-party up Cherry Creek to the
Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...
, intending to reach General Springs, a well-known water hole on the Crook Trail. Noticing they were being trailed by a single troop of cavalry, the Apache lay an ambush seven miles north of General Springs, where a fork of East Clear Creek cuts a gorge into the Mogollon Rim. The Apaches hid on the far side and waited. The cavalry company was led by Captain
Adna Chaffee. The chief scout,
Al Sieber
Al Sieber (February 27, 1843 1844 was a leap year, leading to some confusion about Sieber's birth date. His tombstone in Globe gives his birth date as 1844, as does the book ''Chief of Scouts''. Both are incorrect. – February 19, 1907) was a Ge ...
, discovered the Apache trap and warned the troops. During the night, Chaffee's lone company was reinforced by four more from Fort Apache under the command of Major A.W. Evans. Then they were ready to begin the
Battle of Big Dry Wash.
Geronimo campaign
![Geronimo 17apr1886](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Geronimo_17apr1886.jpg)
After two decades of guerrilla warfare, Cochise chose to make peace with the U.S. He agreed to relocate his people to a reservation in the
Chiricahua Mountains
The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. ...
. Soon afterward in 1874, Cochise died. In a change of policy, the U.S. government decided to move the Chiricahua to the San Carlos reservation in 1876. Half complied and the other half, led by Geronimo, escaped to Mexico. In the spring of 1877, the U.S. captured Geronimo and brought him to the San Carlos reservation. He stayed there until September 1881. As soldiers gathered near the reservation, he feared being imprisoned for previous activities. He fled the reservation with 700 Apache and went to Mexico again.
On April 19, 1882, Chiricahua chief Juh attacked the San Carlos reservation and forced Chief Loco to break out. During the hostilities, Juh's warriors killed the chief of police Albert D. Sterling, along with Sagotal, an Apache policeman. Juh led Loco and up to 700 other Apaches back to Mexico.
In the spring of 1883, General
George Crook was put in charge of the Arizona and New Mexico Indian reservations. With 200
Apache Scouts
The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts. Most of their service was during the Apache Wars, between 1849 and 1886, though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States mil ...
, he journeyed to Mexico, found Geronimo's camp, and with
Tom Horn
Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a ...
as his interpreter, persuaded Geronimo and his people to return to the San Carlos reservation. Chiefs Bonito, Loco, and Nana came with Crook at the time. Juh remained in Mexico where he died accidentally in November. Geronimo did not come until February 1884. Crook instituted several reforms on the reservation, but local newspapers criticized him for being too lenient with the Apache; newspapers of the time demonized Geronimo. . On May 17, 1885, Geronimo escaped again to Mexico. Geronimo and his party killed dozens of people during the
Bear Valley Raid and similar attacks.
In the spring of 1886, Crook went after Geronimo and caught up with him just over the Mexico border in March. Geronimo and his group fled, and Crook could not catch them. The
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* D ...
reprimanded Crook for the failure, and he resigned. He was replaced by Brigadier General
Nelson Miles
Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War.
From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...
in April 1886. Miles deployed over two dozen
heliograph
A heliograph () is a semaphore system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter. The heliograp ...
points to coordinate 5,000 soldiers, 500 Apache Scouts, 100
Navajo Scouts
The Navajo Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts between 1873 and 1895. Generally, the scouts were signed up at Fort Wingate for six month enlistments. In the period 1873 to 1885, there were usually ten to twenty-five scouts at ...
, and thousands of civilian militia men against Geronimo and his 24 warriors. Lieutenant.
Charles B. Gatewood
First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood (April 5, 1853 – May 20, 1896) was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the Ameri ...
and his Apache Scouts found Geronimo in
Skeleton Canyon
Skeleton Canyon, called Cañon Bonita by the Mexicans, is located northeast of the town of Douglas, Arizona, in the Peloncillo Mountains, which straddle the modern Arizona and New Mexico state line, in the New Mexico Bootheel region.
This ...
in September 1886 and persuaded them to surrender to Miles.
An 1887 letter from Charles Winters from Troop D of the
6th Cavalry Regiment
The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviatio ...
describes a soldier's experiences during the Apache Wars in New Mexico:
Dear Friend!
I will now take and write to you a few lines, to let you know that I am yet alive, and doing well. I joint icthe Army in January, 86 and had a good fight with Geronimo and his Indians. I also had two hard fights, where i came very near getting killed, but i got true icalright. I was made Corporal when i first enlisted, but have now got high enough to be in Charge of Troop D. 6th U.S. Cavalry and it requires a good man for to get that office, and that is more than i expected. Charley White from Cranbury came out with me and got in the same Troop with me, and I sent him with twenty more men out on a Scout after Indians and Charley was lucky enough to be shot down by Indians the first day, and only three of my men returned. I was very sorry but it could not be helped.
The Territory of New Mexico is a very nice place never no Winter and lots of Gold and Silver Mines all around but for all that it is a disagreeable place on account of so many Indians. I like it first rate and I think as soon as my five years are up I will go bak icto Old New Jersey but not today. My name isn't Charley Winters no more since i shot that man at Jefferson Barracks when he tried to get away from me. My Captain at time told me to take the name of his son who died and so my name since then is Charles H. Wood. I will now close and hope that you will soon write and let me know how you are getting along. Give my best regards to all and to yourself and oblige.
The Army imprisoned Geronimo and many other Apache men, including some of the local Apache scouts, then they transported them to the East as prisoners of war. They held them at
Fort Pickens
Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and was one of the few ...
and
Fort Marion
The Castillo de San Marcos ( Spanish for "St. Mark's Castle") is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States; it is located on the western shore of Matanzas Bay in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.
It was designed by the Spanish ...
in Florida. Northerners vacationing in
St. Augustine, where Fort Marion was located, included teachers and missionaries, who became interested in the Apache prisoners. Volunteers participated in teaching the Apache to speak and write English, about Christian religion and elements of American culture. Many citizens raised funds to send nearly 20 of the younger male prisoners to college after they were released from detainment. Most attended
Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, a historically black college. Many Apache died in the prisons. Later, Apache children were taken to the
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisl ...
in Pennsylvania, where fifty of them died. Eventually, after 26 years, the Apache in Florida were released to return to the Southwest, but Geronimo was sent to
Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he died.
Post-1887 period
Despite the surrender of Geronimo and his followers in 1886, Apache warriors continued warfare against Americans and Mexicans. U.S. forces went on
search and destroy
Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, ''search''ing out ...
missions against the small war parties, using tactics including
solar signaling, wire
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
, joint American and Mexican intelligence sharing, allied
Indian Scouts, and local quick reaction posse groups. Though several resistance groups holding out in the Searria Madre mountains with sightings ranging from the 1952 all the way to 2017 with some possible sightings from local ranchers, hikers, or explorers.
The U.S. Cavalry had several expeditions against the Apache after 1886. During one of them,
10th Cavalry and
4th Cavalry forces under First Lieutenant
James W. Watson pursued mounted Apache warriors north of
Globe, Arizona
Globe ( apw, Bésh Baa Gowąh "Place of Metal") is a city in Gila County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,249. The city is the county seat of Gila County. Globe was founded c. 1875 as a mining ca ...
, along the
Salt River. During the
Cherry Creek campaign, Sergeant James T. Daniels of the 4th Cavalry, and Sergeant
William McBryar
William McBryar (February 14, 1861 – March 8, 1941) was a Buffalo Soldier in the United States Army and a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Cherry Creek Campaign in Arizona Territor ...
of the 10th Cavalry, and Sergeant
Y. B. Rowdy of the Apache Scouts are the last recipients of the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
for actions during the Apache Wars.
[Melzer, p. 285]
Aftermath
The last Apache raid into the United States occurred as late as 1924 when a war party of natives, who were later caught and arrested, stole some horses from Arizonan settlers. This is considered to be the end of the American Indian Wars, but the Apache–Mexico Wars continued for another nine years, until the final holdouts were defeated at the
Caste War of Yucatán in 1933. Though several resistance groups holding out in the Sierra Madre mountains with sightings ranging from the 1952 all the way to 2017 with some possible sightings from local ranchers, hikers, or explorers.
See also
*
Arizona War
The Earp Vendetta Ride was a deadly search by a federal posse led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp for a loose confederation of outlaw "Cowboys" they believed had ambushed his brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, maiming the former and killing t ...
*
Indian Campaign Medal
The Indian Campaign Medal is a decoration established by War Department General Orders 12, 1907.
*
Navajo Wars
The term Navajo Wars covers at least three distinct periods of conflict in the American West: the Navajo against the Spanish (late 16th century through 1821); the Navajo against the Mexican government (1821 through 1848); and the Navajo agains ...
*
Buffalo Soldier
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...
s
*
Emmet Crawford
Emmet Crawford (December 22, 1844 – January 18, 1886) was an American soldier who rose through the ranks to become an officer. He was most noted for his time spent in the Arizona Territory under General George Crook in the United States Cava ...
*
King Woolsey
King S. Woolsey (ca. 1832 – June 30, 1879) was an American pioneer rancher, prospector and politician in 19th century Arizona. Woolsey Peak and other features of Arizona geography have been named after him, but he has also been criticized by ...
Notes
References
*
*
*Pettis, George H. "Kit Carson's Fight with the Comanche and Kiowa Indians". ''Historical Society of New Mexico. Personal Narrative No. 12, Battles of the War of the Rebellion'', Santa Fe, 1908.
*Rajtar, Steve, ''Indian War Sites: A Guidebook to Battlefield, Monuments and Memorials, State by State with Canada and Mexico'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson North Carolina, 1999.
*
*
*Tiller, Veronica E. Velarde, ''The Jicarilla Apache Tribe: A History, 1846–1970'', University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1983.
*
Further reading
*Bigelow, John Lt "On the Bloody Trail of Geronimo" NY: Tower Books 1958
*
*Clarke, Dwight L., "Stephen Watts Kearny: Soldier of the West"
*Cochise, Ciyé "The First Hundred Years of Nino Cochise" NY: Pyramid Books 1972
*Curtis, Charles A. Army Life in the West (1862-1865). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, April 20, 2017. .
*Davis, Britton "The Truth about Geronimo" New Haven: Yale Press 1929
*Geronimo (edited by Barrett) "Geronimo, His Own Story" NY: Ballantine Books 1971
* Kaywaykla, James (edited Eve Ball) "In the Days of Victorio: Recollections of a Warm Springs Apache" Tucson: University of Arizona Press 1970
*Lavender, David. The Rockies. Revised Edition. NY: Harper & Row, 1975.
*Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. NY: W.W. Norton, 1987.
*
*Smith, Duane A. Rocky Mountain West: Colorado, Wyoming, & Montana, 1859-1915. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992.
*Terrell, John Upton,
''Apache Chronicle"
*Williams, Albert N. Rocky Mountain Country. NY: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1950.
External links
Map of Battles and Skirmishes Between the Apaches and U.S. Army
{{Buffalo Soldiers
19th-century conflicts
Indian wars of the American Old West
Wars involving the indigenous peoples of North America
Wars between the United States and Native Americans
Guerrilla wars
Arizona Territory
New Mexico Territory
Wars fought in Arizona
Military history of New Mexico
Wars fought in Texas
Apache Wars
1850s conflicts
1860s conflicts
1870s conflicts
1880s conflicts
1890s conflicts
1900s conflicts
1910s conflicts