American Indian Wars
American Indian Wars | |||||||
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U.S. Cavalrymen pursuing American Indians | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
United States - at least 10,476 soldiers killed or died of wounds[1] |
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars,
As settlers spread westward across the United States after 1780, armed conflicts increased in size, duration, and intensity between settlers and various Indian tribes. The climax came in the War of 1812, when major Indian coalitions in the Midwestern United States and the South fought against the United States and lost. Conflict with settlers became less common and was usually resolved by treaties between the federal government and specific tribes, which often required the tribes to sell or surrender land to the United States. These treaties were frequently broken by the U.S. government.
The Indian Removal Act passed by Congress in 1830 neither authorized the unilateral abrogation of treaties guaranteeing Native American land rights within the states, nor the forced relocation of the eastern Indians.[2] Yet both occurred and on a massive scale, it forced Indian tribes to move from east of the Mississippi River to the west on the American frontier, especially to Indian Territory which became Oklahoma. As settlers expanded onto the Great Plains and the Western United States, the nomadic and semi-nomadic Indian tribes of those regions were forced to relocate to Indian reservations.
Indian tribes and coalitions often won battles with the encroaching settlers and soldiers, but their numbers were too few and their resources too limited to win more than temporary victories and concessions from the U.S. and other countries that colonized areas that had composed the modern-day borders of the United States of America. Contemporary historians, such as Jeffrey Ostler, have stated in their definition that the American Indian Wars would fit into the modern legal definition of genocide.[3]
Colonial periods (1609–1774)
The colonization of North America by English, Spanish, French, Russian and Dutch was resisted by some Indian tribes and assisted by other tribes.[4][5] Wars and other armed conflicts in the 17th and 18th centuries included:
- Beaver Wars (1609–1701) between the Iroquois and the French, who allied with the Algonquians
- Powhatan Confederacy in the Colony of Virginia
- Pequot tribe and colonists from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Connecticut Colonyand allied tribes
- Kieft's War (1643–45) in the Dutch territory of New Netherland (New Jersey and New York) between colonists and the Lenape people
- Peach War (1655), the large-scale attack by the Munsee on several New Netherland settlements
- Esopus tribe of Lenape Indians and colonial New Netherlanders in Ulster County, New York
- King Philip's War (Metacom's Rebellion) (1675–78) in New England between colonists and the local tribes including, but not limited to, the Nipmuc, Wampanoag, and Narragansett
- Chowanoc War (1675–77) in the Province of Carolina
- King William's War (1688–1697)
- Tuscarora War (1711–15) in the Province of North Carolina
- Yamasee War (1715–17) in the Province of South Carolina
- Dummer's War (1722–25) in northern New England and French Acadia (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia)
- Pontiac's War (1763–66) in the Great Lakes region[6]
- Lord Dunmore's War (1774) in western Virginia (Kentucky and West Virginia)
In several instances, the conflicts were a reflection of European rivalries, with Indian tribes splitting their alliances among the powers, generally siding with their trading partners. Various tribes fought on each side in
East of the Mississippi (1775–1842)
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2023) |
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British merchants and government agents began supplying weapons to Indians living in the United States following the Revolution (1783–1812) in the hope that, if a war broke out, they would fight on the British side. The British further planned to set up an Indian nation in the Ohio-Wisconsin area to block further American expansion.[11] The US protested and declared war in 1812. Most Indian tribes supported the British, especially those allied with Tecumseh, but they were ultimately defeated by General William Henry Harrison. The War of 1812 spread to Indian rivalries, as well.
Many refugees from defeated tribes went over the border to Canada; those in the South went to Florida while it was under Spanish control as they would be considered free, and not slaves, under the
American Revolutionary War (1775–1783)
The American Revolutionary War was essentially two parallel wars for the American Patriots. The war in the east was a struggle against British rule, while the war in the west was an "Indian War". The newly proclaimed United States competed with the British for control of the territory east of the Mississippi River. Some Indians sided with the British, as they hoped to reduce American settlement and expansion. In one writer's opinion, the Revolutionary War was "the most extensive and destructive" Indian war in United States history.[13]
Some Indian tribes were divided over which side to support in the war, such as the
When the British made peace with the Americans in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, they ceded a vast amount of Indian territory to the United States. Indian tribes who had sided with the British and had fought against the Americans were enemy combatants, as far as the United States was concerned; they were a conquered people who had lost their land.
Cherokee–American wars
The frontier conflicts were almost non-stop, beginning with Cherokee involvement in the American Revolutionary War and continuing through late 1794. The so-called "Chickamauga Cherokee", later called "Lower Cherokee", were from the
Northwest Indian War
In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance officially organized the Northwest Territory for settlement, and American settlers began pouring into the region. Violence erupted as Indian tribes resisted, and so the administration of President George Washington sent armed expeditions into the area. However, in the Northwest Indian War, a pan-tribal confederacy led by Blue Jacket (Shawnee), Little Turtle (Miami),[15] Buckongahelas (Lenape), and Egushawa (Ottawa) defeated armies led by Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair. General St. Clair's defeat was the most severe loss ever inflicted upon an American army by Indians. Following the successive defeats, the United States sent delegates to discuss peace with the Northwestern Confederacy, but the two sides could not agree on a boundary line. The United States dispatched a new expedition led by General Anthony Wayne, which defeated the confederacy at the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers. Realizing that British assistance was not forthcoming, the native nations were compelled to sign the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ceded Ohio and part of Indiana to the United States.[16]
Tecumseh, the Creek War, and the War of 1812
By 1800, the Indian population was approximately 600,000 in what would become the contiguous United States. By 1890, their population had declined to about 250,000.[17] In 1800, William Henry Harrison became governor of the Indiana Territory, under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, and he pursued an aggressive policy of obtaining titles to Indian lands. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa organized Tecumseh's War, another pan-tribal resistance to westward settlement.
Tecumseh was in the South attempting to recruit allies among the
Second Seminole War
American settlers began to push into Florida, which was now an American territory and had some of the most fertile lands in the nation. Paul Hoffman claims that covetousness, racism, and "self-defense" against Indian raids played a major part in the settlers' determination to "rid Florida of Indians once and for all".
In May 1830, the Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress which stipulated forced removal of Indians to Oklahoma. The
The US Army had 11 companies (about 550 soldiers) stationed in Florida.
On December 29, General Clinch left Fort Drane with 750 soldiers, including 500 volunteers on an enlistment due to end January 1, 1836. The group was traveling to a Seminole stronghold called the
In the Battle of Lake Okeechobee, Colonel Zachary Taylor saw the first major action of the campaign. He left Fort Gardiner on the upper Kissimmee River with 1,000 men on December 19 and headed towards Lake Okeechobee. In the first two days, 90 Seminoles surrendered. On the third day, Taylor stopped to build Fort Basinger where he left his sick and enough men to guard the Seminoles who had surrendered. Taylor's column caught up with the main body of the Seminoles on the north shore of Lake Okeechobee on December 25.
The Seminoles were led by "Alligator", Sam Jones, and the recently escaped Coacoochee, and they were positioned in a hammock surrounded by sawgrass. The ground was thick mud, and sawgrass easily cuts and burns the skin. Taylor had about 800 men, while the Seminoles numbered fewer than 400. Taylor sent in the Missouri volunteers first, moving his troops squarely into the center of the swamp. His plan was to make a direct attack rather than encircle the Indians. All his men were on foot. As soon as they came within range, the Indians opened with heavy fire. The volunteers broke and their commander Colonel Gentry was fatally wounded, so they retreated back across the swamp. The fighting in the sawgrass was deadliest for five companies of the Sixth Infantry; every officer but one was killed or wounded, along with most of their non-commissioned officers. The soldiers suffered 26 killed and 112 wounded, compared to 11 Seminoles killed and 14 wounded. No Seminoles were captured, although Taylor did capture 100 ponies and 600 head of cattle.
By 1842, the war was winding down and most Seminoles had left Florida for Oklahoma. The US Army officially recorded 1,466 deaths in the Second Seminole War, mostly from disease. The number killed in action is less clear. Mahon reports 328 regular army killed in action, while Missall reports that Seminoles killed 269 officers and men. Almost half of those deaths occurred in the Dade Massacre, Battle of Lake Okeechobee, and Harney Massacre. Similarly, Mahon reports 69 deaths for the Navy, while Missal reports 41 for the Navy and Marine Corps. Mahon and the Florida Board of State Institutions agree that 55 volunteer officers and men were killed by the Seminoles, while Missall says that the number is unknown. A northern newspaper carried a report that more than 80 civilians were killed by Indians in Florida in 1839. By the end of 1843, 3,824 Indians had been shipped from Florida to the Indian Territory.[citation needed]
West of the Mississippi (1804–1924)
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The series of conflicts in the western United States between Indians, American settlers, and the United States Army are generally known as the Indian Wars. Many of these conflicts occurred during and after the Civil War until the closing of the frontier in about 1890. However, regions of the West that were settled before the Civil War saw significant conflicts prior to 1860, such as Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, California, and Washington state.[19][20]
Various statistics have been developed concerning the devastation of these wars on the peoples involved. Gregory Michno used records dealing with figures "as a direct result of" engagements and concluded that "of the 21,586 total casualties tabulated in this survey, military personnel and civilians accounted for 6,596 (31%), while Indian casualties totaled about 14,990 (69%)" for the period of 1850–90. However, Michno says that he "used the army's estimates in almost every case" and "the number of casualties in this study are inherently biased toward army estimations". His work includes almost nothing on "Indian war parties", and he states that "army records are often incomplete".[21]
According to Michno, more conflicts with Indians occurred in the states bordering Mexico than in the interior states. Arizona ranked highest, with 310 known battles fought within the state's boundaries between Americans and Indians. Also, Arizona ranked highest of the states in deaths from the wars. At least 4,340 people were killed, including both the settlers and the Indians, over twice as many as occurred in Texas, the second highest-ranking state. Most of the deaths in Arizona were caused by the Apaches. Michno also says that 51 percent of the battles took place in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico between 1850 and 1890, as well as 37 percent of the casualties in the country west of the Mississippi River.[22]
Background
American settlers and fur trappers had spread into the western United States territories and had established the
The
Miners, ranchers, and settlers expanded into the plain, and this led to increasing conflicts with the Indian populations of the West. Many tribes fought American settlers at one time or another, from the
During the American Civil War, Army units were withdrawn to fight the war in the east. They were replaced by the volunteer infantry and cavalry raised by the states of California and Oregon, by the western territorial governments, or by the local militias. These units fought the Indians and kept open communications with the east, holding the west for the Union and defeating the Confederate attempt to capture the New Mexico Territory. After 1865, national policy called for all Indians either to assimilate into the American population as citizens, or to live peacefully on reservations. Raids and wars between tribes were not allowed, and armed Indian bands off a reservation were the responsibility of the Army to round up and return.
Texas
The 18th and early 19th centuries in Texas were characterized by competition and warfare between the Comanches in the north and west of the state and
The first notable battle between American settlers and Comanche was the Fort Parker massacre in 1836, in which a war party of Comanches, Kiowas, Wichitas, and Delawares attacked the Texan outpost at Fort Parker. A small number of settlers were killed during the raid, and the abduction of Cynthia Ann Parker and two other children caused widespread outrage among Texans.
The Republic of Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836. The Texas government under President Sam Houston pursued a policy of engagement with the Comanches and Kiowas. Houston had lived with the Cherokees, but the Cherokees joined with Mexican forces to fight against Texas. Houston resolved the conflict without resorting to arms, refusing to believe that the Cherokees would take up arms against his government.[28] The administration of Mirabeau B. Lamar followed Houston's and took a very different policy towards the Indians. Lamar removed the Cherokees to the west and then sought to deport the Comanches and Kiowas. This led to a series of battles, including the Council House Fight, in which the Texas militia killed 33 Comanche chiefs at a peace parley. The Comanches retaliated with the Great Raid of 1840, and the Battle of Plum Creek followed several days later.
The Lamar Administration was known for its failed and expensive Indian policy; the cost of the war with the Indians exceeded the annual revenue of the government throughout his four-year term. It was followed by a second Houston administration, which resumed the previous policy of diplomacy. Texas signed treaties with all of the tribes, including the Comanches. In the 1840s and 1850s, the Comanches and their allies shifted most of their raiding to a weak and newly independent Mexico. Comanche armies numbering in the hundreds raided deep into Mexico for horses and captives and used Texas as a safe haven from Mexican retaliation.(see Comanche–Mexico Wars)
Texas joined the Union in 1845, and the Federal government and Texas took up the struggle between the Plains Indians and the settlers. The conflicts were particularly vicious and bloody on the Texas frontier in 1856 through 1858, as settlers continued to expand their settlements into Comancheria. The first Texan incursion into the heart of the Comancheria was in 1858, the so-called
The battles between settlers and Indians continued in 1860, and Texas militia destroyed an Indian camp at the Battle of Pease River. In the aftermath of the battle, the Texans learned that they had recaptured Cynthia Ann Parker, the little girl captured by the Comanches in 1836. She returned to live with her family, but she missed her children, including her son Quanah Parker. He was the son of Parker and Comanche Chief Peta Nocona, and he became a Comanche war chief at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. He ultimately surrendered to the overwhelming force of the federal government and moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma in 1875.
Pacific Northwest
On 1–4 October 1804,
A number of wars occurred in the wake of the
In 1858, the fighting spread on the east side of the Cascades. This second phase of the Yakima War is known as the
In southwest Oregon, tensions and skirmishes escalated between American settlers and the
Shortly after the Fraser Canyon War the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, including areas that are now part of the United States and Canada, from Washington to Alaska, suffered major population loss, cultural devastation, and loss of sovereignty due to the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic.[31] The Chilcotin War of 1864 occurred near the end of the epidemic when a road from the gold fields to the coast was being built through Tsilhqotʼin (Chilcotin) territory without permission. At the time, and still today, First Nations such as the Tsilhqotʼin say the colonial government deliberately spread smallpox with the aim of ending indigenous sovereignty and indigenous rights in British Columbia.[32][33] Workers on the road-building project threatened the Tsilhqotʼin with smallpox. The war ended with the hanging of six Tsilhqotʼin chiefs. In 2014, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark formally exonerated the executed chiefs and apologized for these acts, acknowledging that "there is an indication [that smallpox] was spread intentionally."[34] The discovery of gold in Idaho and Oregon in the 1860s led to similar conflicts which culminated in the Bear River Massacre in 1863 and Snake War from 1864 to 1868.
In the late 1870s, another series of armed conflicts occurred in Oregon and Idaho, spreading east into Wyoming and Montana. The Nez Perce War of 1877 is known particularly for Chief Joseph and the four-month, 1,200-mile fighting retreat of a band of about 800 Nez Perce, including women and children. The Nez Perce War was caused by a large influx of settlers, the appropriation of Indian lands, and a gold rush—this time in Idaho. The Nez Perce engaged 2,000 American soldiers of different military units, as well as their Indian auxiliaries. They fought "eighteen engagements, including four major battles and at least four fiercely contested skirmishes", according to Alvin Josephy. Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce were much admired for their conduct in the war and their fighting ability.[35]
The Bannock War broke out the following year for similar reasons. The Sheepeater Indian War in 1879 was the last conflict in the area.
Southwest
Various wars between Spanish and Native Americans, mainly Comanches and Apaches, took place from the 17th to the 19th century in the Southwest United States. Spanish governors made peace treaties with some tribes during this period. Several events stand out during the colonial period: On the one hand, the administration of
Indian tribes in the southwest had been engaged in cycles of trading and fighting with one another and with settlers for centuries prior to the United States gaining control of the region. These conflicts with the United States involved every non-pueblo tribe in the region and often were a continuation of Mexican–Spanish conflicts. The Navajo Wars and Apache Wars are perhaps the best known. The last major campaign of the military against Indians in the Southwest involved 5,000 troops in the field, and resulted in the surrender of Chiricahua Apache Geronimo and his band of 24 warriors, women, and children in 1886. [citation needed]
California
The U.S. Army kept a small garrison west of the Rockies, but starting in 1849, the
Great Basin
The tribes of the
The traditional way of life of the Indians was disrupted, and they began raiding travelers along the trails and aggression toward Mormon settlers. During the American Civil War, the
Most of the local groups were decimated by the war and faced continuing loss of hunting and fishing land caused by the steadily growing population. Some moved to the
Great Plains
Initially relations between participants in the Pike's Peak gold rush and the Native American tribes of the Front Range and the Platte valley were friendly.
The peaceful relationship between settlers and the Indians of the Colorado and Kansas plains was maintained faithfully by the tribes, but sentiment grew among the Colorado settlers for Indian removal. The savagery of the attacks on civilians during the
Raids by bands of plains Indians on isolated homesteads to the east of Denver, on the advancing settlements in Kansas, and on stage line stations along the South Platte, such as at Julesburg,[46][47] and along the Smoky Hill Trail, resulted in settlers in both Colorado and Kansas adopting a murderous attitude towards Native Americans, with calls for extermination.[48] Likewise, the savagery shown by the Colorado Volunteers during the Sand Creek Massacre resulted in Native Americans, particularly the Dog Soldiers, a band of the Cheyenne, engaging in savage retribution.
Dakota War
The Dakota War of 1862 (more commonly called the Sioux Uprising of 1862 in older authorities and popular texts) was the first major armed engagement between the U.S. and the
After the expulsion of the Dakota, some refugees and warriors made their way to Lakota lands in what is now North Dakota. Battles continued between Minnesota regiments and combined Lakota and Dakota forces through 1864, as Colonel Henry Sibley pursued the Sioux into Dakota Territory. Sibley's army defeated the Lakota and Dakota in three major battles in 1863: the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake on July 26, 1863, the Battle of Stony Lake on July 28, 1863, and the Battle of Whitestone Hill on September 3, 1863. The Sioux retreated further, but again faced an American army in 1864; this time, Gen. Alfred Sully led a force from near Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and decisively defeated the Sioux at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain on July 28, 1864.
Colorado War, Sand Creek Massacre, and the Sioux War of 1865
On November 29, 1864, the Colorado territory militia responded to a series of Indian attacks on white settlements by attacking a Cheyenne and Arapaho encampment on Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado, under orders to take no prisoners. The militia killed about 200 of the Indians, two-thirds of whom were women and children,[50] taking scalps and other grisly trophies.[51]
Following the massacre, the survivors joined the camps of the Cheyenne on the Smokey Hill and Republican Rivers. They smoked the war pipe and passed it from camp to camp among the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho camped in the area, and they planned an attack on the stage station and fort at Julesburg which they carried out in the January 1865 Battle of Julesburg. This attack was followed up by numerous raids along the South Platte both east and west of Julesburg, and by a second raid on Julesburg in early February. The bulk of the Indians then moved north into Nebraska on their way to the Black Hills and the Powder River.[52][53] In the spring of 1865, raids continued along the Oregon trail in Nebraska. Indians raided the Oregon Trail along the North Platte River and attacked the troops stationed at the bridge across the North Platte at Casper, Wyoming in the Battle of Platte Bridge.[54][55]
Sheridan's campaigns
After the Civil War, all of the Indians were assigned to reservations, and the reservations were under the control of the Interior Department. Control of the Great Plains fell under the Army's
Philip Sheridan was the military governor of Louisiana and Texas in 1866, but President Johnson removed him from that post, claiming that he was ruling over the area with absolute tyranny and insubordination. Shortly after, Hancock was removed as head of the Department of the Missouri and Sheridan replaced him in August 1867.[57] He was ordered to pacify the plains and take control of the Indians there, and he immediately called General Custer back to command of the 7th Cavalry; Hancock had suspended him.[58]
The Department of Missouri was in poor shape upon Sheridan's arrival. Commissioners from the government had signed a peace treaty in October 1867 with the Comanche, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, Cheyenne, and Arapaho which offered them reservation land to live on along with food and supplies,[57] but Congress failed to pass it. The promised supplies from the government were not reaching the Indians and they were beginning to starve, numbering an estimated 6,000. Sheridan had only 2,600 men at the time to control them and to defend against any raids or attacks, and only 1,200 of his men were mounted.[59] These men were also under-supplied and stationed at forts that were in poor condition. They were also mostly unproven units that replaced retired veterans from the Civil War.
Sheridan attempted to improve the conditions of the military outpost and the Indians on the plains through a peace-oriented strategy. Toward the beginning of his command, members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho followed him on his travels from Fort Larned to Fort Dodge where he spoke to them. They brought their problems to him and explained how the promised supplies were not being delivered. In response, Sheridan gave them a generous supply of rations. Shortly after, the Saline Valley settlements were attacked by Indians, and that was followed by other violent raids and kidnappings in the region. Sheridan wanted to respond in force but was constrained by the government's peace policy and the lack of well-supplied mounted troops.[57] He could not deploy official military units, so he commissioned a group of 47 frontiersmen and sharpshooters called Solomon's Avengers. They investigated the raids near Arickaree Creek and were attacked by Indians on September 17, 1868. The Avengers were under siege for eight days by some 700 Indian warriors, but they were able to keep them at bay until military units arrived to help. The Avengers lost six men and another 15 were wounded. Sherman finally gave Sheridan authority to respond in force to these threats.[59]
Sheridan believed that his soldiers would be unable to chase the horses of the Indians during the summer months, so he used them as a defensive force the remainder of September and October. His forces were better fed and clothed than the Indians and they could launch a campaign in the winter months. His winter campaign of 1868 started with the 19th Kansas Volunteers from Custer's 7th Cavalry, along with five battalions of infantry under Major John H. Page setting out from Fort Dodge on November 5. A few days later, a force moved from Fort Bascom to Fort Cobb consisting of units of the 5th Cavalry Regiment and two companies of infantry, where they met up with units from the 3rd Cavalry leaving from Fort Lyon. Sheridan directed the opening month of the campaign from Camp Supply. The Units from the 5th and 3rd Cavalry met at Fort Cobb without any sign of the 19th Kansas, but they had a lead on a band of Indians nearby and Custer led a force after them.[60]
Custer's force attacked the Cheyenne Indians and
Following Washita, Sheridan oversaw the refitting of the 19th Kansas and personally led them down the Washita River toward the Wichita Mountains. He met with Custer along the Washita River and they searched for Major Elliott's missing unit. They found the bodies of the missing unit—mutilated, some beyond recognition[61]—and the bodies of Mrs. Blynn and her child who had been taken by Indians the previous summer near Fort Lyon.[60] The defeat at Washita had scared many of the tribes and Sheridan was able to round up the majority of the Kiowa and Comanche people at Fort Cobb in December and get them to reservations. He began negotiations with Chief Little Robe of the Cheyennes and with Yellow Bear about living on the reservations.[62] Sheridan then began the construction of Camp Sill, later called Fort Sill, named after General Sill who died at Stone River.
Sheridan was called back to Washington following the election of President Grant. He was informed of his promotion to lieutenant general of the army and reassigned from the department. Sheridan protested and was allowed to stay in Missouri with the rank of lieutenant general. The last remnants of Indian resistance came from Tall Bull Dog soldiers and elements of the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes. The 5th Cavalry from Fort McPherson were sent to handle the situation on the Platte River in Nebraska. In May, the two forces collided at Summit Springs and the Indians were pursued out of the region. This brought an end to Sheridan's campaign, as the Indians had successfully been removed from the Platte and Arkansas and the majority of those in Kansas had been settled onto reservations. Sheridan left in 1869 to take command of the Army and was replaced by Major General Schofield.[62]
Black Hills War
In 1875, the
The Lakotas conducted a Ghost Dance ritual on the reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1890, and the Army attempted to subdue them. Gunfire erupted on December 29 during this attempt, and soldiers killed up to 300 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children in the Wounded Knee Massacre.[65] Following the massacre, author L. Frank Baum wrote: "The Pioneer has before declared that our only safety depends upon the total extermination of the Indians. Having wronged them for centuries, we had better, in order to protect our civilization, follow it up by one more wrong and wipe these untamed and untamable creatures from the face of the earth."[66]
Last conflicts
Many sources place the end of the American Indian Wars in the 1890s (1890 to 1901). The last campaign of the Indian Wars that has been designated by the U.S. Army, the Pine Ridge Campaign, ended in 1891.[67][68][69][70][71]
Scattered incidents of armed conflict between Indians and whites continued into the 1920s.
- October 5, 1898: Leech Lake, Minnesota: Battle of Sugar Point; last Medal of Honor given for Indian Wars campaigns was awarded to Private Oscar Burkard of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.
- 1907: Four Corners, Arizona: Two troops of the 5th Cavalry from Fort Wingate skirmish with armed Navajo men; one Navajo was killed and the rest escaped.
- March 1909: Freedmen who had resisted forcible allotment and division of tribal lands by the federal government since 1901, headquartered at Hickory ceremonial grounds in Oklahoma; a two-day gun battle seriously wounded leader Chitto Harjo and quelled this rebellion.[72]
- 1911: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico: A company of cavalry went from Fort Wingate to quell an alleged uprising by some Navajo.[citation needed]
- January 19, 1911: Washoe County, Nevada: The Last Massacre occurred; a group of Shoshones and Bannocks killed four ranchers; on February 26, 1911, eight of the Indians involved in the Last Massacre were killed by a posse in the Battle of Kelley Creek; the remaining four were captured.
- March 1914 – March 15, 1915: Bluff War in Utah between Ute Indians and Mormon residents.
- January 9, 1918: Yaquis, after a brief firefight.[73]
- March 20–23, 1923: Posey War in Utah between Ute and Paiute Indians against Mormon residents.
- 1924: The Apache Wars ended in 1924 and brought the American Indian Wars to a close. This ended the post-1887 Apache Wars period.
Effects on Native American populations
The 2020 United States Census found 3,727,135 Americans who identified themselves as being solely American Indian or Alaskan Native, about 1% of the US population. A combined total of 9,666,058 Americans identified themselves as being Native American or Alaskan Native (including in combination with another race), about 3% of the US population.[74] The Canada 2011 Census found 1,836,035 Canadians who identified themselves as being First Nations, Inuit, Métis (mixed race), about 4.3% of the Canadian population.[75] No consensus exists on how many people lived in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans, but extensive research continues to be conducted.[76][77] Contemporary estimates range from 2.1 million to 18 million people living on the North American continent prior to European colonization.[78][79] About 600,000 Native Americans lived in the areas comprising the modern United States in 1800 (including areas not part of the 1800 United States), shortly after the country's independence. This was reduced to an estimated 250,000 by 1890 before increasing in the 20th century.[80]
The number of Indians dropped to below half a million in the 19th century because of Eurasian diseases such as influenza, pneumonic plagues, and smallpox, in combination with conflict, forced removal, enslavement, imprisonment, and outright warfare with European newcomers reduced populations and disrupted traditional societies.[81][82][83][84]
The United States Census Bureau (1894) provided their estimate of deaths due specifically to war during the 102 years between 1789 and 1891, including 8,500 Indians and 5,000 whites killed in "individual affairs":
The Indian wars under the government of the United States have been more than 40 in number. They have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians. The actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given ... Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate.[85]
Jeffrey Ostler, the Beekman Professor of Northwest and Pacific History at the University of Oregon, stated, "it was genocidal war."[86] Xabier Irujo, professor of genocide studies at the University of Nevada, Reno, stated, "the toll on human lives in the wars against the native nations between 1848 and 1881 was horrific."[87]
Historiography
According to historian David Rich Lewis, American popular histories, film, and fiction have given enormous emphasis to the Indian wars.
List
See also
- Canadian Indian Act of 1876
- Captives in American Indian Wars
- Cultural assimilation of American Indians
- French and Indian Wars
- Indian Campaign Medal
- List of American Indian Wars weapons
- List of battles won by indigenous peoples of the Americas
- List of Indian massacres
- List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Indian Wars
- List of indigenous rebellions in Mexico and Central America
- Manifest destiny
- North-West Rebellion
- Red River Rebellion
- United States Army Indian Scouts
- American frontier
- Awa'uq Massacre
- California genocide
- Texas–Indian wars
- European colonization of the Americas
- Australian frontier wars
- Apache–Mexico Wars
- Comanche–Mexico Wars
- Conquest of the Desert
- Dungan Revolt (1862–1877)
- Dungan revolt (1895–1896)
- Hawaiian rebellions (1887–1895)
- Herero Wars
- Mexican Indian Wars
- New Zealand Wars
- Occupation of Araucanía
- Pacification of Algeria
- Russian conquest of the Caucasus
- Russian conquest of Central Asia
- Russian conquest of Siberia
- Sino-Tibetan War
- Xinjiang Wars
- Anglo-Zulu War
Notes
- page name guidelinesbecause of the historical nature of the page and the precision of the name
References
Citations
- ^ Jeffrey A. Friedman, "Using Power Laws to Estimate Conflict Size", page 4.
- ISSN 0018-2370.
- ^ Genocide and American Indian History; Jeffrey Ostler; University of Oregon, 2015
- ^ Saint Junipero Serra, ND Faith, July 2020. University of Notre Dame
- ISSN 1409-469X
- ^ Church, Thomas R. (January 2015). Operational Art in Pontiac's War (PDF) (Monograph). School of Advanced Military Studies. Retrieved 7 November 2018 – via Defense Technical Information Center.
- .
- ^ John Enders (1992), "Archaeologist May Have Found Site Of Alaska Massacre", The Seattle Times, Sunday, August 16, 1992
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Sources
- "Named Campaigns: Indian Wars". United States Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 2015-06-29. Retrieved 2005-12-13.
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- Parker, Aaron. The Sheepeater Indian Campaign (Chamberlin Basin Country). Idaho Country Free Press, 1968.
- Raphael, Ray. A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence. New York: The New Press, 2001. ISBN 0-06-000440-1.
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- Richter, Daniel K. ISBN 0-674-00638-0.
- Thornton, Russell. American Indian Holocaust and Survival: A Population History Since 1492. Oklahoma City: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987. ISBN 0-8061-2220-X.
- Utley, Robert M. and Wilcomb E. Washburn. Indian Wars (2002) excerpt and text search Archived 2016-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Yenne, Bill. Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West. Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2005. ISBN 1-59416-016-3.
- Michno, F. Gregory (2009). Encyclopedia of Indian wars: Western battles and skirmishes 1850–1890. Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87842-468-9.
Further reading
- Anderson, R. Warren (2024). "Politics, economics and Native American conflicts". Asia‐Pacific Economic History Review.
- Barnes, Jeff. Forts of the Northern Plains: Guide to Historic Military Posts of the Plains Indian Wars. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2008. ISBN 0-8117-3496-X.
- Glassley, Ray Hoard. Indian Wars of the Pacific Northwest, Binfords & Mort, Portland, Oregon 1972 ISBN 0-8323-0014-4
- Heard, J. Norman. Handbook of the American Frontier (5 vol Scarecrow Press, 1987–98); Covers "1: The Southeastern Woodlands", "2: The Northeastern Woodlands", "3: The Great Plains", "4: The Far West" and vol 5: "Chronology, Bibliography, Index." Compilation of Indian-white contacts & conflicts
- Kessel, W.B.; Wooster, R. (2005). Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare. Facts on File library of American history. Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-6430-4. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- McDermott, John D. A Guide to the Indian Wars of the West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8032-8246-X.
- Michno, Gregory F. Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864–1868, 360 pages, Caxton Press, 2007, ISBN 0-87004-460-5.
- Stannard, D.E. (1992). American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World. Oxford University Press paperback. Oxford University Press, US. ISBN 978-0-19-508557-0. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- Tucker, S.; Arnold, J.R.; Wiener, R. (2011). The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-697-8. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- Wooster, R. (1995). The Military and United States Indian Policy 1865–1903. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-9767-8. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
Historiography
- Bellesiles, Michael A (2004). "Western Violence", in A Companion to the American West ed. by William Deverell pp: 162–178. online
- Lewis, David Rich (2004). "Native Americans in the nineteenth-century American West." in A Companion to the American West ed. by William Deverell pp: 143–161. online
- Merrell, James H (1989). "Some Thoughts on Colonial Historians and American Indians". William and Mary Quarterly. 46 (1): 94–119. JSTOR 1922410.
- Merrell, James H (2012). "Second Thoughts on Colonial Historians and American Indians". William and Mary Quarterly. 69 (3): 451–512. .
- Miller, Lester L. Jr. Indian Wars: A Bibliography (US Army, 1988) online; lists over 200 books and articles.
- Smith, Sherry L (1998). "Lost soldiers: Re-searching the Army in the American West". Western Historical Quarterly. 29 (2): 149–163. JSTOR 971327.
Primary sources
- Greene, Jerome A (2007). Indian War Veterans: Memories of Army Life and Campaigns in the West, 1864–1898. New York: Savas Beatie. ISBN 1-932714-26-X.
- Griske, Michael (2005). The Diaries of John Hunton, Chapter 2 – "Frontier Warfare, A Tragic and Fearsome Thing". Heritage Books. ISBN 978-0-7884-3804-2.
- Kip, Lawrence (1859). Army life on the Pacific: a journal of the expedition against the northern Indians, the tribes of the Cour d'Alenes, Spokans, and Pelouzes, in the summer of 1858. Redfield. .
External links
- Indian Wars National Association
- Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas by John Henry Brown, published 1880, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
- The Indian Wars and African American Soldiers, US Army
- Increase Mather, A Brief History of the War with the Indians in New-England, (1676) Online Edition
- www.history.com; American-Indian Wars
- The War of 1812 at Real Peoples History Highlighting Native Nations in the War of 1812
- Urlacher, Brian R (2021). "Introducing Native American Conflict History (NACH) data". Journal of Peace Research.