From Colorado to Oklahoma, the history of the Southern Plains Indian Wars of 1868 is a tragic tale.

https://truewestmagazine.com/blood-earth-indian-wars/

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Two months separated the 1868 clashes between the U.S. military and the Indians at Beecher Island and the Wa****a River.

One is known for heroism on both sides. The other has been called a "one-sided" battle or, more bluntly, a massacre.

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Custer divided his forces at the Wa****a, and it won him the "battle".

At Little Big Horn, not so much.

I've wondered if his success at Wa****a lead to his repeating the same strategy at Little Big Horn.

CanyonAg77 said:

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Custer divided his forces at the Wa****a, and it won him the "battle".

At Little Big Horn, not so much.

I've wondered if his success at Wa****a lead to his repeating the same strategy at Little Big Horn.

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I think that is a good bet. At Little Bighorn he had half his force trying to get to the village and hold the women and children hostage, just like he did successfully at Was h i t a.

If you are ever in the area (hard to do as it is in the middle of nowhere), a visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield national Monument is well worth it. I had read about the battle many times but seeing the lay of the land and listening to a presentation by the Park Historian was eye opening.

BTW this thread is sort of topical to me as I just finished reading "Empire of the Summer Moon" based on many recommendations of that book on this forum. It lived up to the hype. It was a great read about the Comanches. I learned a lot.

Empire started out seeming to buy into the Noble Savage myth, but it finished being much more balanced. The initial passages also contained some huge inaccuracies, I seem to recall it claimed 40 foot snowdrifts in the Panhandle. But on balance, it's very good.

Being right here in the middle of the Red River Wars country, I find this history pretty fascinating myself. I've found the link below to be a fascinating waste of hours of time...

https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/index.html

Good reference. Thanks. The Panhandle has had a very colorful past.
Been reading up on Old Tascosa (now Boy's Ranch) too - WoW!!