For those unfamiliar with this event, it took place on September 28, 1874, in the Palo Duro Canyon, a few miles downstream from the current state park. The best account is at:
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/
The above link has lots of information, and is well worth a visit.
I recently found some papers in a file cabinet bought at auction. One was a detailed account of the battle that effectively ended the reign of the Plains Indians. It was written close to the 100th anniversary of the battle, and next year will be the 150th.
I searched the archives, and can't find other threads on this event, so I thought this would be a good excuse to start one. I'll post the account today, and come back with maps and such later. Feel free to add to the thread.
The account was edited by the head of the Tulia, Texas, Chamber of Commerce, and my copy was mailed to the Swisher County Sheriff at the time.
https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/redriver/
Quote:
The critical battle of the Red River War began as the sun rose on September 28, 1874. At least five Indian villages had sought protection in the hidden isolation of Palo Duro Canyon. Then Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, in command of the Fourth Cavalry, charged into the canyon. With their people scattered, Indian leaders Iron Shirt of the Cheyenne, Poor Buffalo of the Comanche, and Lone Wolf of the Kiowa could not mount a united defense and fell back before the onrushing horsemen. The soldiers captured and burned the villages, including the Indians' winter food supply. They also captured 1,424 Indian horses that they drove some 20 miles from the scene of the fight where they killed more than 1,000 of the horses to prevent them from being retaken by the Indians.
After this battle, with no provisions to see them through the winter and with no horses, many of the Indians began to drift back to the reservations. Over the next several months, the U.S. Army would sweep the remaining Indian holdouts from the Texas Panhandle and force them onto the reservations. Thus ended the Indian War on the Southern Plains.
The above link has lots of information, and is well worth a visit.
I recently found some papers in a file cabinet bought at auction. One was a detailed account of the battle that effectively ended the reign of the Plains Indians. It was written close to the 100th anniversary of the battle, and next year will be the 150th.
I searched the archives, and can't find other threads on this event, so I thought this would be a good excuse to start one. I'll post the account today, and come back with maps and such later. Feel free to add to the thread.
The account was edited by the head of the Tulia, Texas, Chamber of Commerce, and my copy was mailed to the Swisher County Sheriff at the time.
