Comanche Campaign

Comanche Campaign
Part of American Indian Wars
Comanche warriors
Date 1867-1875 Location Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas Result US victory, eventual removal of Indians
Belligerents
Plains Indians: * Arapaho * Comanche * Kiowa * Sioux * Cheyenne	United States
Commanders and leaders
Satanta Sitting Bear † Big Mouth Kicking Bird Big Bow Black Horse Big Tree several more...	Ulysses S. Grant William Tecumseh Sherman Philip Sheridan Ranald S. Mackenzie

The Comanche Campaign, or the Comanche War, from 1867 to 1875, was a series of conflicts that took place throughout the border regions of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas, between the Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, Sioux and Cheyenne tribes of native Americans against the United States Army. It involved the same tribes and may be considered a continuation of the Colorado War which ended in 1865. The Red River War of 1874 was part of the Comanche War.

War

The United States generals, during the American Civil War as the Union, were facing threats from two sides: the Confederate States of America and the Comanche and their native allies. After the Indian Removal Act, the natives were poised to retake their lost lands. They constantly raided the American frontiers, killing or capturing pioneers and looting settlements. After the 1864-65 Colorado War, the natives were convinced that the whites of the east were monsters, some of the natives witnessing the Sand Creek massacre. Several tribal chieftains allied with the Comanche, who were the prime target of American warmongering. In 1866, Union Civil War veteran Winfield Scott Hancock was sent to lead the Department of the Missouri by US General-in-Chief William Tecumseh Sherman, and to notify the native Americans that "if they want war they can have it now, but if they decline the offer, then impress on them that they must stop their insolence and threats". He took 1,400 men to intimidate the tribes by displaying his might. But on April 14, 1867, the US forces massacred many Arapaho and Cheyenne villagers, mainly women and children. But George Armstrong Custer blamed the Indians, and the chiefs Kicking Bird and Satanta convinced Hancock to terminate his expedition from Fort Leavenworth. On September 17, 1868 a column of American soldiers under George A. Forsyth were attacked at Arikaree Fork of the Republican River. The Americans held off 750 Cheyenne under Chief Roman Nose, and eventually forced them to retreat from the battle. On November 27, Custer received intelligence from California Joe, an Indian scout, that there was a village on the Washita River. The villagers were attacked and massacred by Custer, including Black Kettle, a native American chief who was the Native American chief of the Cheyenne at the Sand Creek incident. Ulysses S. Grant, another Civil War general, was elected as President of the United States in March 1869, ordering Sheridan to take over the Department of the Missouri. Other Civil War veterans were appointed to roles in the conflict, including Benjamin H. Grierson, George Crook, and Ranald S. Mackenzie. Sherman launched a new expedition, but it was undermined by the Warren Wagon Train Raid which got rid of most of his supplies. But Sherman captured Satanta, Satank, Kicking Bird, and Big Tree after the attack, when they headed to Fort Sill to draw rations. Satank was gunned down while trying to escape the column. In 1874, another Plains Indian conflict began: the Red River War. The Cheyennes attempted an attack on the Adobe Walls, but were beaten off. Soon, the water dried up and thus slowed the Indian advance. But the Indians avoided major battles and raided small US convoys of wagons or troops heading around the panhandle to Texas. When the Indians eventually surrendered, the war shifted to the northern plains and ended the great campaign in the south against the several tribes.

See Also

• Comanche Wars

References

• "Named Campaigns — Indian Wars". United States Army Center of Military History. http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/army_flag/iw.html. Retrieved July 12, 2009. 

See also

• Indian Campaign Medal