The Battle of the Diablo Mountains was an October 1854 engagement between the U.S. Army and the

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and ...

. A small force of

Mounted Rifles Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially m ...

attacked a much larger force of Lipan Apaches at the base of the Diablo Mountains in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Battle

Setting out from

Fort Inge Fort Inge was a frontier fort in Uvalde County, Texas, United States. History Established as Camp Leona on March 13, 1849, Fort Inge was garrisoned intermittently until March 19, 1869. The fort served as a base for United States Army troops assign ...

in South Texas on October 1, 1854, Captain John G. Walker, in command of around 40 men of the Mounted Rifles, headed for the Diablo Mountains region along the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

border with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Their mission was to investigate the reports from local settlers of stolen livestock, taken by

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

warriors. On the third day out, in the morning of October 3, 1854, Captain Walker and his men encountered well over 200 Lipan warriors near a herd of captured farm animals. Immediately Walker ordered an attack which surprised the Apaches significantly. A brief skirmish ensued and the Apaches quickly fled, leaving most of the stolen livestock. Casualties are unknown, except for Second Lieutenant

Eugene Asa Carr Eugene Asa Niel Carr (March 20, 1830 – December 2, 1910) was a soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge. Ear ...

who was wounded by an arrow and subsequently commended by General

Persifor F. Smith Persifor Frazer Smith (November 16, 1798May 17, 1858) was a United States Army officer during the Seminole Wars and Mexican–American War. As commander of U.S. forces in California, he was one of the last California interim government, 1846–18 ...

for his "''gallantry and coolness''" and promoted to first lieutenant. This was the future general's first combat action.

References

* Lowe, Richard G.,''Walker's Texas Division, C.S.A: Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi'', Louisiana State University Press, 2004, . * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., ''Civil War High Commands'', Stanford University Press, 2001, . * Warner, Ezra J., ''Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders'', Louisiana State University Press, 1964, .
Texas History site for Carr
: * 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. N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1975. *Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. N.Y.: W.W. Norton, 1987. *Smith, Duane A. Rocky Mountain West: Colorado, Wyoming, & Montana, 1859-1915. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992. * *Williams, Albert N. Rocky Mountain Country. N.Y.: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1950.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diablo Mountains Battles involving the Apache Battles involving the United States History of United States expansionism 19th-century military history of the United States History of Texas Conflicts in 1854 1854 in Texas Apache Wars October 1854 events

Battle

See also

References

External links