Comanche campaign
Comanche campaign | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Comanche | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Quanah Parker |
The Comanche campaign is a general term for military operations by the United States government against the Comanche tribe in the newly settled west. Between 1867 and 1875, military units fought against the Comanche people in a series of expeditions and campaigns until the Comanche surrendered and relocated to a reservation.
Background
This treaty was later followed by the Medicine Lodge Treaty in 1867, which helped to solidify the reservation system for the Plains Indians. These policies eventually became part of President Ulysses S. Grant's Peace Policy, which prioritized missionary work and education over fighting.[2] President Grant's Peace Policy became an important part of the white-Indian relations for a number of years.
"Comanche campaign"
A faction of the Comanche tribe, the Quahadi, was arguably the most resistant towards the Anglo settlers. Skeptical of what they would bring, the Quahadi avoided contact with these men. Goods were never exchanged between the groups, and because of this seclusion they were largely unaffected by the cholera plagues in 1816 and 1849. The Quahadi were noted for their fierce nature; so much so that other Comanche feared them. They were the wealthiest of the Comanche in terms of horses and cattle, and they had never signed a peace treaty. It was this faction of the Comanche that gave the American troops the most trouble during this period.[3] General
Llano Estacado
In the fall of 1871, Mackenzie and his 4th Cavalry, as well as two companies in the
Red River War
The Second Battle of Adobe Walls in 1874 was one of the opening engagements of the summer and fall campaign in 1874, even though it did not involve military personnel. After the attack, federal officials issued an order stating that all Southern Plains Indians were expected to be living on their designated reservation lands by August 1, 1874.[11] After the deadline passed, approximately 2,000 Comanche remained in the Comancheria region. When they refused to relocate, the United States government dispatched 1,400 soldiers, launching an operation that became known as the Red River War.[12]
One of the deciding battles of the Red River War was fought at Palo Duro Canyon on September 28, 1874. Colonel Mackenzie and his Black Seminole Scouts and Tonkawa scouts surprised the Comanche, as well as a number of other tribes, and destroyed their camps.[13] The battle ended with only three Comanche casualties, but resulted in the destruction of both the camp and the Comanche pony herd. This defeat spelled the end of the war between the Comanche and the Americans.[14]
Aftermath
Following the Red River War, a campaign that lasted from August–November in 1874, the Comanche surrendered and moved to their new lands on the reservation. However even after that loss, it was not until June 1875 that the last of the Comanche, those under the command of Quanah Parker, finally surrendered at Fort Sill.[15] Though the U.S. troops themselves were directly responsible for just a few hundred deaths, their tactics in the Comanche campaign were the most devastating to the tribe. The tactics they used eventually led to the economic, rather than military, downfall of the tribe. The Comanche tribe, starting with nearly 5,000 people in 1870, finally surrendered and moved onto the reservation with barely 1,500 remaining in 1875.
Notes
- ^ Kavanagh 1996, p. 399.
- ^ a b Hämäläinen 2008, p. 313.
- ^ Gwynne 2010, p. 6.
- ^ a b Hämäläinen 2008, p. 332.
- ^ a b c Carlson 2003, p. 63.
- ^ Gwynne 2010, p. 2.
- ^ Gwynne 2010, p. 10-11.
- ^ a b Hämäläinen 2008, p. 334.
- ^ Hämäläinen 2008, p. 335.
- ^ a b Hämäläinen 2008, p. 337.
- ^ Carlson 2003, p. 64.
- ^ Hämäläinen 2008, p. 338.
- ISBN 9780842025867.
- ^ Hämäläinen 2008, p. 341.
- ^ Carlson 2003, p. 65.
References
- Carlson, Paul Howard (2003). The Buffalo Soldier Tragedy of 1877 (1st ed.). College Station: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1585442534.
- ISBN 9780300151176.
- ISBN 9781416591054.
- Kavanagh, Thomas W. (1996). Comanche Political History: An Ethnohistorical Perspective, 1706-1875. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803227302.
See also
- Comanche
- Cow camp massacre, 1866 attack on three teen-aged boys
- Texas-Indian Wars
- Red River War
- Native Americans in the United States
- Indian Campaign Medal