The First Battle of Adobe Walls was a battle between the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and American Indians. The

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 eve ...

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

and Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache) tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to attacks on white settlers moving into 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 ...

. The battle on November 25, 1864, resulted in light casualties on both sides but was one of the largest engagements fought on the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

.Trosser, John (2004).
Adobe Walls Texas
September 7, 2007.

Background

The Battle of Adobe Walls occurred on November 25, 1864, in the vicinity of Adobe Walls, the ruins of

William Bent William Wells Bent (May 23, 1809 – May 19, 1869) was a frontier trader and rancher in the American West, with forts in Colorado. He also acted as a mediator among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United St ...

's abandoned

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

trading post and saloon, located on the northern side of the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Stinnett in Hutchinson County. The battle came about when General

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 ...

, commander of the military

District of New Mexico The District of New Mexico was a military district of the United States Army in the Territory of New Mexico that existed from 1865 to 1890. The District of Arizona and the District of New Mexico replaced the Department of New Mexico from June 27 ...

, decided to punish severely the plains tribes of the

and

, whom he deemed responsible for attacks on wagon trains on the

Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...

. The Indians saw the wagon trains as trespassers who killed buffalo and other game the Indians needed to survive. As 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 th ...

drained available troops, attacks on the Great Plains worsened, leading in the later part of 1863 to cries from settlers for protection. Carleton wanted to put an end to the raids, or at least to send a sharp signal to the Indians that the Civil War had not left the United States unable to protect its people. He selected Colonel

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 ...

to lead the expeditionary force as the most seasoned veteran Indian fighter at his disposal. Carson took command of the

1st Regiment New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry The 1st Regiment New Mexico Cavalry was a volunteer cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Civil War In August 1861, Ceran St. Vrain and Kit Carson organized the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry Regiment. This ...

, with orders to proceed against the winter campgrounds of the Comanches and Kiowas, which were reported to be somewhere in the

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches a ...

of the southern Panhandle area, on the south side of the Canadian River. The Carson expedition was the second invasion of the heart of the

Comancheria The Comancheria or Comanchería (Comanche: Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ, 'Comanche land') was a region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s. Historian Pekka Hämäläinen has argued that the Comancheria ...

, after the Antelope Hills expedition. Kit Carson, about 1860

Prelude

On November 10, 1864, Carson started from

Fort Bascom Fort Bascom, established in 1863 in New Mexico Territory, is located on the Canadian River in Quay County, New Mexico, slightly west of the Texas border, 10 miles north of Tucumcari, New Mexico. The fort was named in honor of Captain George Nic ...

with 260 cavalry, 75 infantry and 72

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 ...

and

Jicarilla Apache Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athab ...

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

that he had recruited from Lucien Maxwell's ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico. On November 12 Carson's force, accompanied by two mountain

howitzers A howitzer () is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like oth ...

under the command of Lieutenant George H. Pettis, 27 wagons, an ambulance and with 45 days rations, proceeded down the Canadian River into the Texas Panhandle. Carson had decided to march first to Adobe Walls, which he was familiar with from his employment there by Bent more than 20 years earlier.Comanches, The Destruction of a People. Oxford Press, 1949. Carson, long familiar with the Utes and Jicarillas, had confidence in his Indian scouts. They covered his flanks and each morning two of them rode far ahead of the slow-moving column to search for Comanche and Kiowa encampments. Inclement weather, including an early snowstorm, slowed progress. On November 24 the 1st Cavalry reached Mule Springs in Moore County, approximately west of Adobe Walls. That same afternoon the Indian scouts reported they had found the trail of a large Indian village. Carson left his infantry behind to guard his supply train and ordered a night march of cavalry and artillery. He rode in the van with the Utes and Jicarillas. Next morning he ordered the two howitzers forward to join him in the van. Coming to the easily fordable Canadian River, he deployed one company of cavalry on the north side of the river and continued with the remainder on the south side.

Battle

Approximately two hours after daybreak on November 25, Carson's cavalry found and attacked a Kiowa village of 176 lodges. The chief

Dohäsan Dohäsan, Dohosan, Tauhawsin, Tohausen, or Touhason (late 1780s to early 1790s – 1866) was a prominent Native American. He was War Chief of the Kata or Arikara band of the Kiowa Indians, and then Principal Chief of the entire Kiowa Tribe, ...

and his people fled, passing the alarm to allied Comanche villages nearby;

Guipago Guipago (Gui-pah-gho, or ''Lone Wolf he Elder' '' Alone among the Wolves '') (c. 1820 – July 1879) was the last Principal Chief of the Kiowa tribe. He was a member of the Koitsenko, the Kiowa warrior elite, and was a signer of the Little Arkan ...

led the warriors to protect the fleeing women and children. Marching forward to Adobe Walls, four miles from the Kiowa village, Carson dug in there about 10:00 am, using one corner of the ruins for a hospital. He discovered to his dismay that there were numerous villages in the area, including a large Comanche village. Carson saw large numbers of Indians pouring forward to engage him in battle, a much greater force than he had expected.The Comanches: Lords of the Southern Plains. University of Oklahoma Press. 1952. Pettis, who wrote the most complete report of the battle, estimated that 1,200–1,400 Comanche and Kiowa attacked the soldiers and Indian scouts who numbered 330 (75 men had been left behind to guard the supply train). Carson dismounted his cavalry and deployed them around the two howitzers. His Indian scouts skirmished with about 200 Comanche and Kiowa warriors "mounted and covered with paint and feathers . . . charging backwards and forwards . . . their bodies thrown over the sides of their horses, at a full run, and shooting occasionally under their horses." Dohäsan, assisted by

Satank Satank (Set-angya or Set-ankeah, translated as chief Topinabee A quiet Sitting Bear) was a prestigious Kiowa warrior and medicine man. He was born about 1800, probably in Kansas, and killed June 8, 1871. An able warrior, he became part of the Koi ...

, Guipago and Satanta, led the Kiowas in the first attack. Fierce fighting developed as the Kiowa, Plains Apache and Comanche warriors repeatedly attacked Carson's position. Satanta replied to Carson's bugler with his own bugle calls to confuse the soldiers. Carson succeeded in repelling the attacks only through his clever use of supporting fire from the twin howitzers. The first shells from the howitzers caused the Comanche and Kiowa to retire from the battlefield, but they soon returned in even greater numbers and renewed the attack. By afternoon Pettis estimated Carson's army faced more than 3,000 Indians. After six to eight hours of fairly continuous fighting, Carson realized he was running low on howitzer shells and ammunition in general, and he ordered his forces to retreat to the Kiowa village in his rear. Carson was also concerned about the fate of the 75 men guarding his much-needed supply train. The Indians tried to block his retreat by setting fire to the grass and brush down near the river. The wily Carson, however, set backfires and retreated to higher ground, where the twin howitzers continued to hold off the Indians. When twilight came, Carson ordered about half his command and his Indian scouts to burn the lodges of the village, which also resulted in the death of the Kiowa Apache chief Iron Shirt, who refused to leave his

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...

. The soldiers confiscated many "finely finished buffalo robes" and burned the rest, and the Indian scouts killed and mutilated four Kiowas too decrepit to flee. The weary soldiers continued their retreat and found their supply train intact that night. Carson and his soldiers rested in camp on November 26, their Indian opponents visible on a hilltop about two miles away. Carson's Indian scouts skirmished with the Comanche and Kiowa, but no serious attack was mounted on the soldiers. The next day Carson gave the order to return to New Mexico. Some of his officers wished to renew the battle, but Carson, consulting only with his Utes and Jicarillas, ordered the retreat to New Mexico.

Aftermath

Declaration of victory

The United States Army declared the First Battle of Adobe Walls a victory. The Kiowa, to the contrary, recorded in their annual record, painted on buffalo skin, that the period was "muddy travel winter, the time when the Kiowas repelled Kit Carson." Carson was well known by all the Indians of the Southern Plains. The battle left the Comanche and Kiowa unchallenged in their control of the Texas Panhandle until the

Battle of the North Fork of the Red River The Battle of North Fork or the Battle of the North Fork of the Red River occurred on September 28, 1872, near McClellan Creek in Gray County, Texas, United States. A monument on that spot marks the site of the battle between the Comanche India ...

eight years later. Most authorities believe that Carson's decision to retreat was wise and that he deserves credit for a good defense. He was outnumbered, and only his clever use of backfires and the howitzers prevented his force from being overrun and killed as

Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

was 9 years later at the Little Bighorn. The number of Indians engaged against Carson in this battle has been estimated as high as 3,000, but that is likely an exaggeration. The total number of warriors possessed by the Comanche, Kiowa and Kiowa Apache probably did not total anywhere near 3,000. As the Kiowa village consisted of 176 lodges and the Comanche village of about 500 lodges, it is unlikely that the total Indian force numbered more than two fighting men per lodge or 1,300. As it was, Carson left six dead and 25 wounded, including one Indian scout killed and four wounded, while he estimated that the Comanche and Kiowa suffered approximately 50–60 deaths and as many as 100 wounded. The official U.S. Army report on the battle, however, estimated an Indian loss of a total of 60 killed and wounded. Given the long-distance nature of the fighting the estimate of Indian casualties can only be a guess. Only one Comanche

scalp The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the human face at the front, and by the neck at the sides and back. Structure The scalp is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic: * S: The ski ...

was reported taken by Carson's soldiers.

Epilogue

The First Battle at Adobe Walls would be the last time the Comanche and Kiowa forced American troops to retreat from a battlefield, and it marked the beginning of the end of the plains tribes and their way of life. A decade later the Second Battle of Adobe Walls was fought on June 27, 1874, between 250–700 Comanche and a group of 28 hunters defending the settlement of Adobe Walls. After a four-day siege, the Indians withdrew. The Second Battle is historically significant because it led to the

Red River War The Red River War was a military campaign launched by the United States Army in 1874 to displace the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Native American tribes from the Southern Plains, and forcibly relocate the tribes to reservatio ...

of 1874–75, resulting in the final relocation of the Southern Plains Indians to reservations in what is now Oklahoma.The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement: A Century and a Half of Savage Resistance to the Advancing White Frontier. Arthur H. Clarke Co. 1933.

Historical marker

In 1964 the Texas State Historical Survey Committee erecte
Historical Marker 1690
to preserve the memory of the First Battle of Adobe Walls. The marker is not located at the actual battle site but rather to the west.First Battle of Adobe Walls: From Stinnett take SH 207, north to junction with SH 136: Texas marker #169

/ref> The marker states that "though Carson made a brilliant defense, the Indians won."

Notes

References

* Bial, Raymond. ''Lifeways: The Comanche''. New York: Benchmark Books, 2000. * Brice, Donaly E. ''The Great Comanche Raid: Boldest Indian Attack on the Texas Republic'' McGowan Book Co. 1987 * "Comanche
Skyhawks Native American Dedication
(August 15, 2005)
"Comanche" on the History Channel
(August 26, 2005) * Dunnegan, Ted

(August 19, 2005) * Fehrenbach, Theodore Reed ''The Comanches: The Destruction of a People''. New York: Knopf, 1974, . Later (2003) republished under the title ''The Comanches: The History of a People'' * Foster, Morris. ''Being Comanche''. * Frazier, Ian. ''Great Plains''. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1989. * Guild, Thelma S. and Carter, Harvey L. ''Kit Carson: Pattern for Heroes'' Bison Books 1988 * John, Elizabeth and A.H. Storms ''Brewed in Other Men's Worlds: The Confrontation of the Indian, Spanish, and French in the Southwest'', 1540–1795. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 1975. * Jones, David E. Sanapia: ''Comanche Medicine Woman''. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974. * Lodge, Sally.'' Native American People: The Comanche''. Vero Beach, Florida 32964: Rourke Publications, Inc., 1992. * Lund, Bill. ''Native Peoples: The Comanche Indians''. Mankato, Minnesota: Bridgestone Books, 1997. * Mooney, Martin. ''The Junior Library of American Indians: The Comanche Indians''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1993.
Native Americans: Comanche
(August 13, 2005). * Richardson, Rupert N. ''The Comanche Barrier to South Plains Settlement: A Century and a Half of Savage Resistance to the Advancing White Frontier''. Glendale, CA: Arthur H. Clark Company, 1933. * Rollings, Willard. ''Indians of North America: The Comanche''. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1989. * Secoy, Frank. ''Changing Military Patterns on the Great Plains''. Monograph of the American Ethnological Society, No. 21. Locust Valley, NY: J. J. Augustin, 1953. * Streissguth, Thomas. ''Indigenous Peoples of North America: The Comanche''. San Diego: Lucent Books Incorporation, 2000.

(August 14, 2005). * Wallace, Ernest, and E. Adamson Hoebel. ''The Comanches: Lords of the Southern Plains''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1952. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adobe Walls, First Battle of Conflicts in 1864 1864 in the United States Battles involving the Comanche Comanche tribe Texas–Indian Wars Battles involving the Apache 1864 in Texas Apache Wars Native American history of Texas November 1864 events