Charles River Editors - The Red River War of 1874-1875: The History of the Last American Campaign to Remove Native Americans from the Southwest

By Charles River Editors

A Kiowa drawing believed to depict the Buffalo Wallow Battle during the war

Charles River Editors is a boutique digital publishing company, specializing in bringing history back to life with educational and engaging books on a wide range of topics. Keep up to date with our new and free offerings with this 5 second sign up on our weekly mailing list , and visit Our Kindle Author Page to see other recently published Kindle titles.

We make these books for you and always want to know our readers opinions, so we encourage you to leave reviews and look forward to publishing new and exciting titles each week

The Red River War

"Of the hundreds of peoples that lived and flourished in native North America, few have been so consistently misrepresented as the Apacheans of Arizona and New Mexico. Glorified by novelists, sensationalized by historians, and distorted beyond credulity by commercial film makers, the popular image of 'the Apache' - a brutish, terrifying semi-human bent upon wanton death and destruction - is almost entirely a product of irresponsible caricature and exaggeration. Indeed, there can be little doubt that the Apache has been transformed from a native American into an American legend, the fanciful and fallacious creation of a non-Indian citizenry whose inability to recognize the massive treachery of ethnic and cultural stereotypes has been matched only by its willingness to sustain and inflate them." Keith Basso, anthropologist.

From the Trail of Tears to Wounded Knee and Little Bighorn, the narrative of American history is incomplete without the inclusion of the Native Americans that lived on the continent before European settlers arrived in the 16 th and 17 th centuries. Since the first contact between natives and settlers, tribes like the Sioux, Cherokee, and Navajo have both fascinated and perplexed outsiders with their history, language, and culture. But a mong all the Native American tribes, the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans learned the hard way that the warriors of tribes in the Southwest, most notably the Apache and Comanche, were perhaps the fiercest in North America.

While the Apache are inextricably associated with one of their most famous leaders, Geronimo, the conflict between the Comanche and white settlers in the Southwest was particularly barbaric. During Comanche raids, all adult males would be killed outright, and sometimes women and children met the same fate. On many occasions, older children were taken captive and gradually adopted into the tribe, until they gradually forgot life among their white families and accepted their roles in Comanche society. Popular accounts written by whites who were captured and lived among the Comanche only brought the terror and the tribe closer to home among all Americans back east as well.

As the 19th century progressed, the Buffalo Indians, as the various groups in the region were called, were well adapted and thrived in their environment. The middle of the century, however, proved to be increasingly challenging to the Native American tribes as the U.S. government sought to contain, if not eliminate, these nomadic hunters in order to exploit the region and its resources for the advancement of westward expansion. When the Civil War came to an end at last in 1865, it allowed for an increased military presence in Texas and the Southern Plains region. Further, the intercontinental railroad was completed in 1868, which increased the rate of the transportation of goods to the East and migrant settlers to the West.

The threat of civilians encountering hostile Native tribes was prevalent, and in order for the U.S. government to promote white settlement in the Southern Plains, the Indian Problem, needed to be swiftly addressed. The Indian Bureau and Native Americans of the region agreed to scantily enforced treaties that were skewed largely in favor of the government, while native elders saw little choice but to sign the treaties, aware of the might of the American military and understanding that without the pacts, the possibility of a war was likely.

When the treaties went unenforced and the Native Americans got little of the relief promised by the government, war did, in fact, follow. Tensions had risen in the region over several decades, and the outbreak of war came in 1874 due to the increased encroachment of white buffalo hunters onto Native American soil, the lack of enforcement of the Medicine Lodge Treaty, and the attitudes of military leaders toward Native Americans. The Red River War of 1874-1875 pitted the Southern Plains tribes against the U.S. Army, and it would prove to be the final Indian war in the region.

The Red River War of 1874-1875: The History of the Last American Campaign to Remove Native Americans from the Southwest comprehensively covers the climactic clashes between the two sides. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Red River War like never before.

Conflicts between white settlers and indigenous Americans began when European explorers happened upon the North American continent. The animosity between the two groups was exacerbated when white pioneers and the U.S. government continued to expand the boundaries of white America. The 19 th century was arguably the most violent due to advancements in technology and weaponry, in addition to poor political and military judgement.

Samuel Houston became the second president of the newly independent Texas and attempted to effect territorial compromises with the Plains tribes. Relative peace ensued until his successor, Mirabeau Lamar, assumed the office in 1839, whereupon he sought an exterminating war upon their [Southern Plains tribes] warriors; which will admit no compromise and have no termination except in their total extinction or total expulsion.

Houston

Lamar

In March 1840, a council was arranged with a number of Comanche chiefs and white representatives. Under a flag of truce, 12 Comanche chiefs attended the meeting in San Antonio, bringing one captive with them and expecting to negotiate compensation for the release of other prisoners. The Texans were shocked by the poor condition of the Comanche prisoner and began asking about the state of the other captives still being held. The Comanche description of the conditions of their captives greatly angered the Texans, who ordered a group of soldiers standing by to surround the council house. Surprised by the Texans aggressive action, the Comanche tried to escape, and all the chiefs were killed. The Texan troops took over two dozen women and children captive, releasing one woman to travel to the tribes camp and return with freed prisoners. She returned with five captives, and five more women were released with the same orders. No other prisoners were exchanged.

Shortly after this, hundreds of outraged Comanche warriors appeared on the fringes of the San Antonio settlement, screaming for revenge but remaining just beyond rifle range. As suddenly as they had appeared, the war party disappeared, leaving the Texans to believe the incident was over. The Comanche however, had left to plan their next move. By late summer, the Comanche plan for revenge was complete, and in August, a leader named Buffalo Hump was leading a massive war party into the heart of the eastern Texas settlements. Personally, Buffalo Hump considered the massacre at the San Antonio council house a great betrayal, and his goals were to kill as many settlers as possible and capture valuables. Eyewitness accounts estimate the number of Comanche warriors at upwards of 1,000, but the actual number was probably about half that. The entire number of Comanche traveling with the raiders was probably close to 1,000, as the warriors were accompanied by their wives and sons who would provide support and handle any booty they should obtain.