Red River War – Subduing the Southern Indians
The Red River War, a significant and often brutal chapter in the history of the American West, was a military campaign orchestrated by the U.S. Army in 1874. Its primary objective was the forced removal of several Native American tribes – the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho – from their ancestral lands on the Southern Plains. The intention was to confine them to reservations located within Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. This large-scale operation was triggered by a series of escalating conflicts stemming from broken treaties and dwindling resources, leading to a desperate struggle for survival.
The genesis of the Red River War can be traced back to the Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867. This agreement, intended to establish peace and define boundaries, allocated two reservations within Indian Territory: one for the Comanche and Kiowa, and another for the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho. Crucially, the treaty also stipulated that the U.S. government would provide the tribes with essential provisions, including training in agriculture, housing, food, supplies, and even hunting equipment such as guns and ammunition. In return for these provisions, the tribes were expected to cease their raids and attacks on white settlers and their settlements.
However, the promises enshrined in the Treaty of Medicine Lodge were quickly broken and proved to be hollow. While the reservations were indeed established on maps, the other vital provisions fell drastically short of expectations. The promised food and supplies were consistently delivered in limited quantities, if at all, leading to widespread hunger and desperation among the tribes. Furthermore, the treaty’s stipulations regarding land use were flagrantly disregarded by commercial buffalo hunters, who flooded into the area promised to the Southern Plains Indians. These hunters engaged in the systematic slaughter of buffalo, the tribes’ primary food source and a vital component of their culture and way of life, decimating the herds by the thousands.
Adding insult to injury, the treaty lands became a haven for outlaws and profiteers. These unscrupulous individuals trespassed with impunity, stealing cattle from the Indians and engaging in the illegal trafficking of guns and liquor. The Quaker Missionaries, appointed as Federal Indian Agents, witnessed the unfolding injustice and made repeated attempts to persuade the government to address these egregious violations. Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears. They received no meaningful cooperation from the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington or the military authorities, who were largely unsympathetic to the plight of the tribes. As living conditions on the reservations continued to deteriorate, many Indians, disillusioned and desperate, began to abandon their assigned lands. They joined forces with renegade bands who had returned to the open plains of Texas, seeking to sustain their traditional way of life.
The situation had become untenable. Without sufficient rations and with their primary sustenance – the buffalo – being relentlessly eradicated, the tribes found themselves in a desperate fight for survival. In the spring of 1874, a Comanche medicine man named Isa-tai, recognizing the growing despair and anger among his people, called for a Sun Dance. This was a significant departure from tradition, as the Sun Dance was not traditionally a part of Comanche religious practices. At this gathering, Isa-tai delivered a prophecy, foretelling a glorious victory to those warriors who would participate in a battle to drive away the buffalo hunters and restore their way of life.
Inspired by Isa-tai’s prophecy and fueled by desperation, Isa-tai and Comanche Chief Quanah Parker devised a plan to strike back against the perceived invaders. They recruited warriors from various tribes and led them towards the Texas Panhandle, with the intention of destroying the settlement at Adobe Walls, a known hub for buffalo hunters. This event became known as the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. On the morning of June 27, 1874, a combined force of approximately 700 Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho warriors, under the leadership of Chief Quanah Parker and Isa-tai, launched a surprise attack on the unsuspecting buffalo camp.
Despite the overwhelming numerical advantage of the attacking force, the settlement at Adobe Walls was defended by only 28 men. Among them were legendary figures of the Old West, including Bat Masterson and Billy Dixon, renowned for their skill with firearms. Isa-tai’s prophecy of an easy victory proved to be tragically false. The buffalo hunters, armed with superior rifles and fortified within the buildings of Adobe Walls, mounted a surprisingly effective defense.
Despite being vastly outnumbered, the hunters’ superior weaponry and strategic positioning allowed them to repel the initial Indian assault and subsequent attacks. The battle raged for four days, with both sides suffering casualties. Eventually, approximately 100 additional men arrived to reinforce the defenders of Adobe Walls. Faced with this unexpected influx of reinforcements, the Indian warriors were forced to retreat. While estimates of casualties vary, it is believed that as many as 70 Indians were killed, and many others, including Quanah Parker, sustained injuries.
The Red River War had a pivotal impact. The outcome of the Second Battle of Adobe Walls had profound consequences. Not only did it represent a crushing spiritual defeat for the Native American tribes, but it also served as the catalyst for the Red River War of 1874-75. This conflict, sanctioned and orchestrated by the U.S. Army, would ultimately lead to the final relocation of the Southern Plains Indians to reservations, effectively ending their traditional way of life on the open plains.
Following the Battle of Adobe Walls, the U.S. Army wasted no time in formulating a comprehensive plan to permanently subdue the Southern Plains tribes. Within a short period, thousands of troops were dispatched to the Texas Panhandle, effectively encircling the region where the various Indian bands were located. The overarching strategy was to maintain a relentless offensive against the tribes, denying them respite and forcing them into submission.
Over the course of the next year, as many as 20 separate engagements took place between the U.S. Army and the Southern Plains Indians. These clashes occurred throughout the Texas Panhandle region, within Indian Territory, and even in southern Kansas, as the tribes attempted to evade the relentless pursuit of the military forces.
The constant pressure exerted by the well-equipped and determined U.S. Army gradually wore down the Indians. Constantly on the run, short on supplies, and facing the harsh realities of winter, they were increasingly vulnerable. A decisive blow was struck on September 28, 1874, at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon. In this engagement, the Army, under the command of Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie, launched a surprise attack on a large Indian encampment nestled within the depths of Palo Duro Canyon. Mackenzie’s scouts had skillfully tracked the Indian trail to the edge of the canyon before the soldiers descended the steep slopes to the valley floor, some 700 feet below.
The Indians, caught completely off guard, were forced to abandon their villages and flee in disarray. Mackenzie’s forces seized more than 1,100 horses, a vital resource for the tribes, which were subsequently slaughtered to prevent their recapture. While the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon resulted in relatively few casualties on either side, its strategic significance was immense.
The unrelenting pursuit by the troopers, coupled with the onset of cold weather and dwindling resources, ultimately broke the back of Indian resistance. Without horses, supplies, and the ability to effectively hunt, the warriors gradually began to return to their reservations, accepting the inevitable. The last holdouts, led by the formidable Quanah Parker and his remaining warriors, finally surrendered at Fort Sill, Indian Territory, on June 2, 1875, marking the official end of the Red River War. The Red River War concluded a tragic chapter.