The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Yakima Native American War of 1855 or the Plateau War, was a conflict between the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
Yakama
The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state.
Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their ...
, a
Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, and the tribal allies of each. It primarily took place in the southern interior of present-day
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Isolated battles in
western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. T ...
and the northern
Inland Empire were sometimes separately referred to as the
Puget Sound War
The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muckl ...
and the
Palouse War
The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Pend d'oreille-Paloos War, was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Skitswish ("Coeur d'Alen ...
, respectively.
Background
Treaties between the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and several Indian tribes in the
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
resulted in reluctant tribal recognition of U.S. sovereignty over a vast amount of land in the
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
. The tribes, in return for this recognition, were to receive
half of the fish in the territory in perpetuity, awards of money and provisions, and
reserved lands where white settlement would be prohibited.
While governor
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represe ...
had guaranteed the inviolability of Native American territory following tribal accession to the treaties, he lacked the legal authority to enforce it pending ratification of the agreements by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. Meanwhile, the widely publicized discover of gold in Yakama territory prompted an influx of unruly
prospectors who traveled, unchecked, across the newly defined tribal lands, to the growing consternation of Indian leaders. In 1855 two of these prospectors were killed by Qualchin, the nephew of
Kamiakin, after it was discovered they had raped a Yakama woman.
Outbreak of hostilities
Death of Mosheel’s Family
A party of American miners came across two Yakama women, a mother and daughter traveling together with a baby. The miners assaulted and killed both women and the infant. The husband and father of the women, a Yakama man named Mosheel, collected two friends, one of whom was Qualchin, and the men tracked down the miners who had killed Mosheel’s family. They ambushed the murderers in their camp and killed all of them.
Death of Andrew Bolon
![BIA Agent Andrew Bolon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/BIA_Agent_Andrew_Bolon.jpg)
On September 20, 1855,
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
agent
Andrew Bolon, hearing of the death of the prospectors at the hands of Qualchin, departed for the scene on horseback to investigate but was intercepted by the Yakama chief Shumaway who warned him Qualchin was too dangerous to confront. Heeding Shumaway's warning, Bolon turned back and began the ride home. En route he came upon a group of Yakama traveling south and decided to ride along with them. One of the members of this group was Mosheel, Shumaway's son.
After Bolon told Mosheel that the death of the miners was considered a wrongdoing, and would be punished by American soldiers as soon as he returned home, Mosheel grew angry. At some point, he decided Bolon should be killed. Though a number of Yakama in the traveling party protested, their objections were overruled by Mosheel who invoked his regal status. Discussions about Bolon's fate took place over much of the day (Bolon, who did not speak Yakama, was unaware of the debate unfolding among his traveling companions). During a rest stop, as Bolon and the Yakama were eating lunch, Mosheel and at least three other Yakama set upon him with knives. Bolon yelled out in a
Chinook dialect, "I did not come to fight you!" before being stabbed in the throat. Bolon's horse was then shot, and his body and personal effects burned.
Battle of Toppenish Creek
When Shumaway heard of Bolon's death he immediately sent an ambassador to inform the U.S. Army garrison at Fort Dalles, before calling for the arrest of his son, Mosheel, whom he said should be turned over to the territorial government to forestall the American retaliation he felt would likely occur. A Yakama council overruled the chief, however, siding with Shumaway's older brother, Kamiakin, who called for war preparations. Meanwhile, district commander
Gabriel Rains
Gabriel James Rains (June 4, 1803 – September 6, 1881) was a career United States Army officer and a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
Early life
Gabriel James Rains was born in June 1803 in Ne ...
had received Shumaway's ambassador and, in response to the news of Bolon's death, ordered
Major Granville O. Haller to move out with an expeditionary column from Fort Dalles. Haller's force was met and turned back at the edge of Yakama territory by a large group of Yakama warriors. As Haller withdrew, his company was engaged and routed by the Yakama at the
Battle of Toppenish Creek
The Battle of Toppenish Creek was the first engagement of the Yakima War in Washington (state), Washington. Fought on October 5, 1855, a company of United States, American soldiers, under Major Granville O. Haller, was attacked by a band of Yaka ...
.
War spreads
The death of Bolon, and the United States defeat at Toppenish Creek, caused panic across the territory with fears that an Indian uprising was in progress.
The same news, however, emboldened the Yakama and uncommitted bands rallied to Kamiakin.
Rains, who had just 350 federal troops under his immediate command, urgently appealed to Acting Governor
Charles Mason
Charles Mason (April 1728[Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...]
where he had traveled to present the treaties to the Senate for ratification) for military aid, writing that
Meanwhile, Oregon Governor
George Law Curry
George Law Curry (July 2, 1820 – July 28, 1878) was a predominant American political figure and newspaper publisher in the region that eventually became the state of Oregon. A native of Pennsylvania, he published a newspaper in St. Louis, Mis ...
mobilized a cavalry regiment of 800 men, a portion of which crossed into Washington territory in early November.
Now with more than 700 troops at his disposal, Rains prepared to march on Kamiakin who had encamped at
Union Gap
Union Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,568. Union Gap has become the retail hub for the entire Yakima Valley as a result of Valley Mall and other thriving businesses be ...
with 300 warriors.
Raid on the White River settlements
![Connell's Prairie Marker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Connell%27s_Prairie_Marker.jpg)
As Rains was mustering his forces in
Pierce County,
Leschi, a Nisqually chief who was half Yakama, had sought to forge an alliance among the Puget Sound tribes to bring war to the doorstep of the territorial government. Starting with just the 31 warriors in his own band, Leschi rallied more than 150 Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat, though other tribes rebuffed Leschi's overtures. In response to news of Leschi's growing army, a volunteer troop of 18
dragoons, known as Eaton's Rangers, was dispatched to arrest the Nisqually chief.
On October 27, while surveying an area of the
White River, ranger James McAllister and farmer Michael Connell were ambushed and killed by Leschi's men. The rest of Eaton's Rangers were besieged inside an abandoned cabin, where they would remain for the next four days before escaping. The next morning Muckleshoot and Klickitat warriors raided three settler cabins along the White River, killing nine men and women. Many settlers had left the area in advance of the raid, having been warned of danger by
Chief Kitsap
Kitsap or Ktsap (died April 18, 1860) was a war chief of the Suquamish Native American tribe. One source says that he was the most powerful chief on Puget Sound from 1790 to 1845. Kitsap County, Washington and the Kitsap Peninsula are named for ...
of the neutral
Suquamish
The Suquamish () are a Lushootseed language, Lushootseed-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people, located in present-day Washington (state), Washington in the United States. They are a southern Coast Salish peopl ...
. Details of the raid on the White River settlements were told by John King, one of the four survivors, who was seven years old at the time and was - along with two younger siblings - spared by the attackers and told to head west. The King children eventually came upon a local Native American known to them as Tom.
Leschi would later express regret for the raid on the White River settlements and post-war accounts given by Nisqually in his band affirmed that the chief had rebuked his commanders who had organized the attack.
Battle of White River
Army Captain Maurice Maloney, in command of a reinforced company of 243 men, had previously been sent east to cross the Naches Pass and enter the Yakama homeland from the rear. Finding the pass blocked with snow he began returning west in the days following the raid on the White River settlements. On November 2, 1855 Leschi's men were spotted by the vanguard of Maloney's returning column, and fell back to the right bank of the White River.
![Tyee Dick 1814-1904](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Tyee_Dick_1814-1904.jpg)
On November 3 Maloney ordered a force of 100 men under Lt. William Slaughter to cross the White River and engage Leschi's forces. Attempts to ford the river, however, were stopped by the fire of Indian sharpshooters. One American soldier was killed in a back-and-forth exchange of gunfire. Accounts of Indian fatalities range from one (reported by a Puyallup Indian, Tyee Dick, after the end of the war) to 30 (claimed in Slaughter's official report), though the lower number may be more credible (one veteran of the battle, Daniel Mounts, would later be appointed Indian agent to the Nisqually and heard Tyee Dick's casualty numbers confirmed by Nisqually). At four o'clock, when it was becoming too dark for the Americans to cross the White River, Leschi's men fell back three miles to their camp on the banks of the
Green River Green River may refer to:
Rivers
Canada
* Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River
*Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte
*Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...
, jubilant at having successfully prevented the American crossing (Tyee Dick would later describe the battle as ''hi-ue he-he, hi-ue he-he'' - "lots and lots of fun").
The next morning Maloney advanced with 150 men across the White River and attempted to engage Leschi at his camp at the Green River, but poor terrain made the advance untenable and he quickly called off the attack. Another skirmish on November 5 resulted in five American fatalities, but no Indian deaths. Unable to make any headway, Maloney began his withdrawal from the area on November 7, arriving at Fort Steilacoom two days later.
Battle of Union Gap
One hundred fifty miles to the east, on November 9, Rains closed with Kamiakin near
Union Gap
Union Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,568. Union Gap has become the retail hub for the entire Yakima Valley as a result of Valley Mall and other thriving businesses be ...
.
The Yakama had erected a defensive barrier of stone breastwork which was quickly blown away by American artillery fire. Kamiakan had not expected a force of the size Rains had mustered and the Yakama, anticipating a quick victory of the kind they had recently scored at Toppenish Creek, had brought their families. Kamiakan now ordered the women and children to flee as he and the warriors fought a delaying action. While leading a reconnaissance of the American lines, Kamiakan and a group of fifty mounted warriors encountered an American patrol which gave chase. Kamiakan and his men escaped across the Yakima River; the Americans were unable to keep up and two soldiers drowned before the pursuit was called off.
![Cutmouth John](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Cutmouth_John.png)
That evening Kamiakan called a war council where it was decided the Yakama would make a stand in the hills of Union Gap. Rains began advancing on the hills the next morning, his progress slowed by small groups of Yakama employing
hit and run tactics
Hit-and-run tactics are a tactical doctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not to decisively defeat the en ...
to delay the American advance against the main Yakama force. At four o'clock in the afternoon Maj. Haller, backed by a howitzer bombardment, led a charge against the Yakama position. Kamiakan's forces scattered into the brush at the mouth of
Ahtanum Creek
Ahtanum Creek is a tributary of the Yakima River in the U.S. state of Washington. It starts at the confluence of the Middle and North Forks of Ahtanum Creek near Tampico, flows along the north base of Ahtanum Ridge, ends at the Yakima River near ...
and the American offensive was called off.
In Kamiakan's camp, plans for a night raid against the American force were drawn up but abandoned. Instead, early the next day, the Yakama continued their defensive retreat, tiring American forces who eventually broke off the engagement. In the last day of fighting the Yakama suffered their only fatality, a warrior killed by U.S. Army Indian Scout
Cutmouth John.
Rains continued to Saint Joseph's Mission which had been abandoned, the priests having joined the Yakama in flight. During a search of the grounds, Rains men discovered a barrel of gunpowder, leading them to erroneously believe the priests had been secretly arming the Yakama. A riot among the soldiers ensued and the mission was burned to the ground. With snow beginning to fall, Rains ordered a withdrawal, and the column returned to Fort Dalles.
Skirmish at Brannan's Prairie
By the end of November, federal troops had returned to the White River area. A detachment of the 4th Infantry Regiment, under Lt. Slaughter, accompanied by militia under Capt. Gilmore Hays, searched the area from which Maloney had previously withdrawn and engaged Nisqually and Klickitat warriors at Biting's Prairie on November 25, 1855, resulting in several casualties but no decisive outcome. The next day an Indian sharpshooter killed two of Slaughter's troops. Finally, on December 3, as Slaughter and his men were camped for the night on Brannan's Prairie, the force was fired upon and Slaughter killed. News of the death of Slaughter greatly demoralized settlers in the principal towns. Slaughter and his wife were a popular young couple among the settlers and the legislature adjourned for a day of mourning.
Conflict of command
![20130214073638!Governor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/20130214073638%21Governor.Gen.Stevens_cropped.jpg)
In late November 1855 Gen.
John E. Wool arrived from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and assumed control of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
side in the conflict, making his headquarters at
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
. Wool was widely considered pompous and arrogant and had been criticized by some for blaming much of the western conflicts between Natives and whites on whites. After assessing the situation in Washington, he decided that Rains' approach of chasing bands of Yakama around the territory would lead to an inevitable defeat. Wool planned to wage a static war by using the territorial militia to fortify the major settlements while better trained and equipped U.S. Army regulars moved-in to occupy traditional Indian hunting and fishing grounds, starving the Yakama into surrender.
To Wool's chagrin, however, Oregon Governor Curry decided to launch a preemptive and largely unprovoked attack against the eastern tribes of the
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to:
* Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named
* Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
, Palouse,
Umatilla, and Cayuse who had, up to that point, remained cautiously neutral in the conflict (Curry believed it was only a matter of time before the eastern tribes entered the war and sought to gain a strategic advantage by attacking first). Oregon militia, under Lt. Col. James Kelley, crossed into the
Walla Walla Valley
The Walla Walla River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining the Columbia just above Wallula Gap in southeastern Washington in the United States. The river flows through Umatilla County, Oregon, and Walla Walla County, Washington. Its drai ...
in December, skirmishing with the tribes and, eventually, capturing Peopeomoxmox and several other chiefs. The eastern tribes were now firmly involved in the conflict, a state-of-affairs Wool blamed squarely on Curry. In a letter to a friend, Wool commented that,
Meanwhile, on December 20, Washington Governor Isaac Stevens had finally made it back to the territory after a perilous journey that involved a final, mad dash across the hostile Walla Walla Valley. Dissatisfied with Wool's plan to wait until spring before resuming military operations, and having learned of the raid on the White River settlement, Stevens convened the Washington Legislature where he declared "the war shall be prosecuted until the last hostile Indian is exterminated. Stevens was further perturbed at the lack of a military escort afforded him during his dangerous passage through Walla Walla and went on to denounce Wool for "the criminal neglect of my safety." Oregon Governor Curry joined his Washington counterpart in demanding Wool's dismissal. (The matter came to a head in the fall of 1856 and Wool was reassigned by the Army to command of the Eastern Department.)
1856
Battle of Seattle
In late January 1856, Stevens arrived in Seattle aboard the ''
USCS Active'' to reassure citizens of the town. Stevens confidently declared that, "I believe that
New York and
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
will as soon be attacked by the Indians as the town of Seattle." Even as Stevens was speaking, however, a 6,000-man tribal army was moving on the unsuspecting settlement. As the governor's ship was sailing from the harbor - carrying Stevens back to Olympia - members of some of the Puget Sound's neutral tribes began streaming into Seattle requesting sanctuary from a large Yakama war party that had just crossed
Lake Washington. The threat was confirmed with the arrival of
Princess Angeline
Princess Angeline ( – May 31, 1896), also known in Lushootseed as Kikisoblu, Kick-is-om-lo, or Wewick, was the eldest daughter of Chief Seattle.
Biography
She was born around 1820 to Chief Seattle in what is now Rainier Beach in Seattle, Wash ...
who brought news from her father,
Chief Seattle
Chief Seattle ( – June 7, 1866) was a Suquamish and Duwamish chief. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with "Doc" Maynard. The city of Seattle, in th ...
, that an attack was imminent.
Doc Maynard
David Swinson "Doc" Maynard (March 22, 1808March 13, 1873) was an American pioneer, doctor, and businessman. He was one of Seattle's primary founders. He was an effective civic booster and, compared to other white settlers, a relative advocate ...
began the evacuation of women and children from the neutral Duwamish, by boat, to the west side of Puget Sound while a group of citizen volunteers, led by the
marine detachment of the nearby-anchored , started construction on a
blockhouse.
On the evening of January 24, 1856, two scouts from the massing tribal forces, dressed in disguise and talking their way past American sentries, covertly entered Seattle on a reconnaissance mission (some believe one of these scouts may have been Leschi himself).
Just after sunrise on January 25, 1856, American lookouts spotted a large group of Indians approaching the settlement under cover of trees. The began firing into the woods, prompting townspeople to evacuate to the blockhouse. Tribal forces - by some accounts composed of
Yakama
The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state.
Yakama people today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their ...
,
Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to:
* Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named
* Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...
,
Klickitat and
Puyallup - returned fire with small arms and began a fast advance on the settlement. Faced with unrelenting fire from ''Decaturs guns, however, the attackers were forced to withdraw and regroup, after which a decision was made to abandon the assault. Two Americans were killed in the fighting and 28 Natives lost their lives.
Snoqualmie operations
With a view to block the passes across the Cascade Mountains and prevent further Yakama movements against
western Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. T ...
, a small redoubt was established at
Snoqualmie Pass
Snoqualmie Pass is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 90 (I-90) through the Cascade Range in the U.S. state of Washington. The pass summit is at an elevation of , on the county line between Kittitas County and King County.
Snoqualmie ...
in February 1856. Fort Tilton became operational in March 1856, consisting of a blockhouse and several storehouses. The fort was manned by a small contingent of Volunteers supported by a 100-man force of
Snoqualmie warriors, fulfillment of an agreement made by the powerful Snoqualmie chief Patkanim with the government the previous November.
![Patkanim - Snoqualmie chief](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Patkanim_-_Snoqualmie_chief.jpg)
Meanwhile, Leschi, having successfully repelled and evaded the previous American attempts to defeat his forces along the White River, now faced a third wave of attack. As construction on Fort Tilton got underway, Patkanim - brevetted to the rank of captain in the Volunteers - set out at the head of a force of 55 Snoqualmie and Snohomish warriors intent on capturing Leschi. Their mission was triumphantly announced by a headline in Olympia's ''Pioneer and Democrat'' "Pat Kanim in the Field!"
Patkanim tracked Leschi to his camp along the White River, but a planned night raid was aborted after a barking dog alerted sentries. Instead, Patkanim approached to within speaking distance of Leschi's camp, announcing to the Nisqually chief, "I will have your head." Early the next morning Patkanim began his assault, the bloody fight reportedly lasting ten hours, ending only after the Snoqualmie ran out of ammunition.
Edmond Meany would later write that Patkanim returned with "gruesome evidences of his battles in the form of heads taken from the bodies of slain hostile Indians." Leschi's, however, was not among them.
Martial law declared
By spring of 1856, Stevens began to suspect that some settlers in Pierce County, who had married into area tribes, were secretly conspiring with their Native American in-laws against the territorial government.
Stevens' distrust of the Pierce County settlers may have been heightened by the strong
Whig Party sentiment in the county and opposition to
Democratic policies. Stevens ordered the suspect farmers arrested and held at Camp Montgomery. When Judge Edward Lander ordered their release, Stevens declared
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
in Pierce and Thurston counties. On May 12 Lander ruled that Stevens was in
contempt of court. Marshals sent to Olympia to detain the governor were ejected from the capitol and Stevens ordered Judge Lander's arrest by militia.
![Pierce County Martial Law decree](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Pierce_County_Martial_Law_decree.jpg)
Learning of Lander's detention,
Francis A. Chenoweth, the chief justice of the territorial supreme court, left
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...
- where he was recuperating from illness - and traveled by
canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the term ...
to Pierce County. Arriving in Steilacoom, Chenoweth reconvened the court and prepared to again issue writs of
habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
ordering the release of the settlers. Learning of Chenoweth's arrival in Pierce County, Stevens sent a company of militia to stop the chief justice, but the troops were met by the
Pierce County Sheriff whom Chenoweth had ordered to raise a
posse
Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates.
Posse may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Posse'' (1975 ...
to defend the court. The impasse was finally resolved after Stevens agreed to back down and release the farmers.
Stevens subsequently pardoned himself of contempt, but the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
called for his removal over the incident and he was censured by the
Secretary of State of the United States
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
who wrote to him that "... your conduct, in that respect, does not therefore meet with the favorable regard of the President."
The Cascades Massacre
The Cascades Massacre on March 26, 1856 was the name given to an attack by a coalition of tribes against white soldiers and settlers in the
Cascades Rapids. The native attackers included warriors from the Yakama,
Klickitat, and ''Cascades tribes'' (today identified as belonging to
Wasco tribes: ''Cascades Indians / Watlala'' or ''Hood River Wasco''). Fourteen settlers and three US soldiers died in the attack, the most losses for US citizens during the Yakima War. The United States sent reinforcements the following day to defend against further attacks. The Yakama people fled, but nine Cascades Indians who surrendered without a fight, including Chenoweth, Chief of the Hood River Band, were improperly charged and executed for treason.
Puget Sound War
The U.S. Army arrived in the region in the summer of 1856. That August
Robert S. Garnett
Robert Selden Garnett (December 16, 1819 – July 13, 1861) was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army brigadier general. He was the first general offi ...
supervised the construction of
Fort Simcoe
Fort Simcoe was a United States Army fort erected in south-central Washington Territory to house troops sent to keep watch over local Indian tribes. The site and remaining buildings are preserved as Fort Simcoe Historical State Park, located eigh ...
as a military post. Initially the conflict was limited to the Yakama, but eventually the Walla Walla and Cayuse were drawn into the war, and carried out a number of raids and battles against the American invaders.
Coeur d'Alene War
The last phase of the conflict, sometimes referred to as the
Coeur d'Alene War
The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Pend d'oreille-Paloos War, was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Skitswish ("Coeur d'Alene ...
, occurred in 1858. General
Newman S. Clarke commanded the
Department of the Pacific
The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command (Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of Or ...
and sent a force under Col.
George Wright George Wright may refer to:
Politics, law and government
* George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford
* George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island
* George Wright ...
to deal with the recent fighting. At the
Battle of Four Lakes
The Battle of Four Lakes was a battle during the Coeur d'Alene War of 1858 in the Washington Territory (now the states of Washington and Idaho) in the United States. The Coeur d'Alene War was part of the Yakima War, which began in 1855. The bat ...
near
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
in September 1858, Wright inflicted a decisive defeat on the Native Americans. He called a council of all the local Native Americans at Latah Creek (southwest of Spokane). On September 23 he imposed a peace treaty, under which most of the tribes were to go to reservations.
Aftermath
As the war wound to a close,
Kamiakin fled north to
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. Leschi was twice tried for murder by the territorial government (his first trial resulted in a
hung jury
A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again.
T ...
), convicted the second time, and then hanged outside Fort Steilacoom, the U.S. Army having refused to allow his execution to occur on Army property as military commanders considered him a
lawful combatant
Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...
. (In 2004 a Historical Court, convened by the State of Washington, conceded the Army's opinion and posthumously acquitted Leschi of murder.)
U.S. Army Indian scouts tracked and captured Andrew Bolon's murderers who were subsequently hanged.
Snoqualmie warriors were sent to hunt-down remnant hostile forces, with the territorial government agreeing to pay a bounty on scalps, however, the practice was quickly terminated by orders of the territorial auditor after questions arose as to whether the Snoqualmie were actually engaging remnant hostiles, or executing their own slaves.
The Yakama people were forced onto a reservation south of the present city of
Yakima
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...
.
See also
*
Bannock War
The Bannock War of 1878 was an armed conflict between the U.S. military and Bannock and Paiute warriors in Idaho and northeastern Oregon from June to August 1878. The Bannock totaled about 600 to 800 in 1870 because of other Shoshone peoples b ...
*
Cayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...
*
Fort Dalles
Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. Th ...
*
Fraser Canyon War
The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between the Nlaka'pamux people and white miners in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurr ...
*
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palouse'' tribe led by Red Echo (''Hahtalekin'') and ...
*
Okanagan Trail
The Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858–1859. The route was essentially the same as that used by the Hudson's Bay Company fur brigad ...
*
Rogue River War
*
Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War
The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858, also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Pend d'oreille-Paloos War, was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Skitswish ("Coeur d'Alene ...
References
Literature
Hubert H. Bancroft, ''History Of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, 1845-1889''San Francisco: The History Company, 1890. Chapter VI: Indian Wars 1855-1856, and V :Indian Wars 1856-1858
* Ray Hoard Glassley: ''Indian Wars of the Pacific Northwest'', Binfords & Mort, Portland, Oregon 1972
External links
"Yakama (Yakima) Indian War begins on October 5, 1855" HistoryLink.org Essay 5311
"Major Gabriel Rains and 700 soldiers and volunteers skirmish with Yakama warriors under Kamiakin at Union Gap on November 9, 1855" HistoryLink.org Essay 8124
"Yakama tribesmen slay Indian Subagent Andrew J. Bolon near Toppenish Creek on September 23, 1855" HistoryLink.org Essay 8118
"Guide to the Yakima War (1856-1858)" Washington State University Library
{{Authority control
Conflicts in 1855
Conflicts in 1856
Conflicts in 1857
Conflicts in 1858
1855 in the United States
Wars between the United States and Native Americans
Native American history of Washington (state)
History of Washington (state)
Indian wars of the American Old West
1856 in the United States
1857 in the United States
1858 in the United States
Yakama