Editing Apache Wars (section)

===Jicarilla War===
{{Main|Jicarilla War}}
At the start of the Mexican–American War in 1846, many Apache tribal chieftains promised American soldiers safe passage through their land, though other tribes fought in defense of Mexico and against the influx of new settlers to New Mexico. When the United States claimed the [[frontier]] territories of Mexico in 1848, [[Mangas Coloradas]] signed a peace treaty, respecting the Americans as the conquerors of the Mexicans' land.

However, as Tiller relates regarding the treaty signed at Santa Fe on April 2, 1851, "The Jicarillas were expected to comply with the terms of the treaty immediately, yet as far as the new Mexicans were concerned, their part of the bargain would go into effect only after Congress had ratified it."<ref>Tiller, p. 37</ref> The [[United States Congress]] never did ratify the treaty. An uneasy peace between the Apache and the Americans persisted until an influx of gold miners into the [[Santa Rita Mountains]] of present-day Arizona led to conflict.

The Jicarilla War began in 1849 when a group of settlers were [[White massacre|attacked and killed]] by a force of Jicarillas and [[Ute people|Utes]] in northeastern New Mexico. A second massacre occurred in 1850, in which several mail carriers were killed. The U.S. Army became involved in 1853. The Army went on to fight at the [[Battle of Cieneguilla]], a significant Apache victory, and later the [[Battle of Ojo Caliente Canyon]], an American victory.