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Comanche Wars
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{{Short description|Conflicts over Comanche lands, 1706 to 1870s}} {{Infobox military conflict | conflict = Comanche Wars | partof = the [[Texas–Indian wars]] | image = Comancheria.jpg | image_size = 280px | caption = A map showing the Comanche lands ([[Comancheria]]) during the 1800s | date = 1706 – 1875 | place = South-central [[United States]] ([[Texas]], [[Oklahoma]], [[New Mexico]], [[Kansas]], [[Colorado]]) and northern [[Mexico]] | result = * Comanche victory over Spain and Mexico * Final Texan and United States victory | combatant1 = {{flag|Spain|1785}} (until 1821)<br />{{Flag|Mexico|1823}}<br />{{Flag|Republic of Texas}} (from 1836 to 1846)<br />{{flag|United States|1822}}<br />{{flag|Confederate States}} (from 1861–1865) | combatant2 = [[Comanche]] | commander1 = | commander2 = | strength1 = | strength2 = | casualties1 = | casualties2 = | notes = <br>'''[[Texas–Indian wars|Texas Comanche wars 1836 – 1875]]''' }} The '''Comanche Wars''' were a series of armed conflicts fought between [[Comanche]] peoples and [[Kingdom of Spain|Spanish]], [[Mexico|Mexican]], and [[United States|American]] militaries and civilians in the United States and Mexico from as early as 1706 until at least the mid-1870s. The Comanche were the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] inhabitants of a large area known as [[Comancheria]], which stretched across much of the southern [[Great Plains]] from [[Colorado]] and [[Kansas]] in the north through [[Oklahoma]], [[Texas]], and eastern [[New Mexico]] and into the Mexican state of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] in the south. For more than 150 years, the Comanche were the dominant native tribe in the region, known as “the Lords of the [[Southern Plains]]”, though they also shared parts of Comancheria with the [[Wichita people|Wichita]], [[Kiowa people|Kiowa]], and [[Plains Apache|Kiowa Apache]] and, after 1840, the southern [[Cheyenne]] and [[Arapaho]].<ref>Meedm D.V & Smith, J. Comanche 1800-74 Oxford (2003), Osprey, Oxford, pp 5</ref> The value of the Comanche traditional homeland was recognized by European-American colonists seeking to settle the [[American frontier]] and quickly brought the two sides into conflict. The Comanche Wars began in 1706 with raids by Comanche warriors on the [[Spanish colonies]] of [[New Spain]] and continued until the last bands of Comanche surrendered to the [[United States Army]] in 1875, although a few Comanche continued to fight in later conflicts such as the [[Buffalo Hunters' War]] in 1876 and 1877. The Comanche were noted as fierce combatants who practiced an emphatic resistance to European-American influence and [[wikt:encroachment|encroachment]] upon their lands. Comanche power peaked in the 1840s when they conducted [[Comanche–Mexico Wars|large-scale raids]] hundreds of miles into Mexico proper, while also [[Texas–Indian wars|warring]] against the Anglo-Americans and [[Tejanos]] who had settled in [[Republic of Texas|independent Texas]]. Their power declined as epidemics of [[cholera]] and [[smallpox]] caused thousands of Comanche deaths and as continuous pressure from the expanding population of the United States forced them to cede most of their tribal lands. ==Influential people== ===Iron Jacket=== {{Main|Iron Jacket}} [[Iron Jacket]] was a [[Comanche]] chief and medicine man. The name “Iron Jacket” came from his tendency to wear a coat of mail into battle. Iron Jacket took part in the Antelope Hills Expedition of 1858, where he was ultimately killed at the [[Battle of Little Robe Creek]]. His son, [[Peta Nocona]], became a chief himself. ===Peta Nocona=== {{Main|Peta Nocona}} [[Peta Nocona]] was the father of the last Comanche Chief [[Quanah Parker]], as well as a [[Comanche]] Chief who played a crucial part in the Indian Wars. [[Peta Nocona]] led the full attack on [[Fort Parker]] where [[Cynthia Ann Parker]] was taken captive and later became his wife. [[Peta Nocona]]'s place and date of death is still in dispute. ===Quanah Parker=== {{Main|Quanah Parker}} [[File:Chief Quanah Parker of the Kwahadi Comanche.jpg|thumbnail|Chief [[Quanah Parker]], son of Cynthia Parker and last chief of the Comanche]] [[Quanah Parker]] was the last Comanche Chief and part of the Quahadi sect of the Comanche, who were highly respected by the other tribes. Quanah was never an official chief since the United States government appointed him to the position. Before he was a [[Comanche]] chief, [[Quanah Parker]] witnessed the peace negotiations of 1867 but refused to sign the accords. ===Buffalo Hump=== {{Main|Buffalo Hump}} [[Buffalo Hump]] was a [[Comanche]] War Chief who led the [[Great Raid of 1840]] after Texan officials killed [[Comanche]] delegates during the events that unfolded during the [[Council House Fight]]. ===Mirabeau B. Lamar=== {{Main|Mirabeau B. Lamar}} [[Mirabeau Lamar]] was the second President of the Republic of Texas from 1838 to 1841, preceded by [[Sam Houston]]. [[Mirabeau Lamar]] had a harsher policy towards Native Americans in Texas and signed two bills which escalated tensions in the region. The first bill was signed on December 21, 1838, which formed an 840-man regiment to protect the Northern and Western Frontiers of Texas. An additional bill was passed on December 29, 1838, which added an additional 8 companies of mounted volunteers to serve 6 month deployments.<ref>Brice, Donaly E. The Great Comanche Raid: Boldest Indian Attack of the Texas Republic. Austin, TX: Eakin, 1987. Print. </ref> ===Santa Anna (Comanche war chief)=== {{Main|Santa Anna (Comanche war chief)}} Santa Anna was a Comanche war chief who advocated for armed resistance against the Texas settlers, and became influential after the [[Council House Fight]] of 1840 in San Antonio. Santa Anna joined forces with [[Buffalo Hump]] and most likely took part in the [[Battle of Plum Creek]] and the [[Great Raid of 1840]]. Santa Anna was the first of his tribe to travel to Washington, D.C., and agreed to sign a treaty in May 1846, despite the continued hostilities. Santa Anna died from a cholera outbreak in 1849.<ref>Jodye Lynn Dickson Schilz, "SANTA ANNA," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsa30), accessed April 07, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.</ref> ==Battles and campaigns in the United States== ===Fort Parker massacre (May 1836)=== {{Main|Fort Parker massacre}} The [[Fort Parker massacre]] was a raid conducted by a coalition of tribes including the Comanches, Kiowas, Caddos and Wichitas. They attacked the fort killing five of the inhabitants and capturing Cynthia Ann Parker a nine-year old who later married the Comanche chief [[Peta Nocona]], [[John Richard Parker]] the brother of Cynthia Ann Parker,<ref>Friend, Llerena B. (2012). "Parker, John". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 30, 2012.</ref> [[Rachel Plummer]] a seventeen-year-old wife along with her son James Pratt Plummer, and lastly Elizabeth Duty Kellog who was later reunited with her sister Martha in 1836. ===Council House Fight (March 1840)=== {{Main|Council House Fight}} The [[Council House Fight]] was a Peace delegation turned conflict between the [[Comanche]] delegates and the Texas officials on March 19, 1840. The conflict started over negotiations regarding Texan and Mexican captives that the Comanches were holding in order to gain back sections of [[Comancheria]] that Texas had claimed. The Council house fight ended with twelve of the Comanche Leaders killed inside the Council house as well as 23 others shot in [[San Antonio]].<ref>Hämäläinen, Pekka (2008), The Comanche Empire, Yale University Press, p. 216, {{ISBN|978-0-300-12654-9}} Online at Google Books</ref> ===Battle of Plum Creek (August 1840)=== {{Main|Battle of Plum Creek}} The Battle of Plum Creek was a conflict in [[Lockhart, Texas]] that took place on August 12, 1840. It was an attack led by Chief Buffalo Hump who led a large force of 1,000 Comanche warriors against 200 Texas Rangers in response to the [[Council House Fight]]. The Battle Began as a raid where the Comanche party stole livestock and firearms which gradually turned into a gun fight. The results of the battle are still being debated since the Rangers reported 80 Comanches were killed but only 12 bodies were found <ref>Brice, Donaly E. The Great Comanche Raid: Boldest Indian Attack on the Texas Republic McGowan Book Co. 1987</ref> The Comanches claimed to have killed 11 Texas Rangers. ===Antelope Hills expedition (January–May 1858)=== {{Main|Antelope Hills expedition}} The [[Antelope Hills expedition]] was a campaign led by the federal 2nd Cavalry against the [[Comanche]] and [[Kiowa]] tribes in [[Comancheria]]. It started in January 1858 and ended in May of the same year. The cause for the expedition was due to Comanche raids into Texan territories. [[Peta Nocona]] and [[Iron Jacket]] led Comanche troops against the combined 220 forces of the 2nd cavalry, [[Tonkawa]], [[Nadaco]] and [[Shawnee]]. Their expedition's purpose was to move the 2nd Cavalry from Oklahoma to Texas in order to better handle the raiding [[Comanches]]. For this reason the United States gained the aid of the Comanches' enemy tribes [[Tonkawa]], [[Nadaco]] and [[Shawnee]]. The resulting battle concluded with 50 killed on the United States side and 76 killed and 16 captured on the [[Comanche]] side. The [[Antelope Hills Expedition]] further expanded into the [[Battle of Little Robe Creek]]. ====Battle of Little Robe Creek==== {{Main|Battle of Little Robe Creek}} The 1858 [[Battle of Little Robe Creek]] (Also known as the Battle of Antelope Hills) was a battle fought between the Comanches' allies of the Kiowa and the Apache against the [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Rangers]] with their allies the [[Tonkawa people|Tonkawa]], [[Caddo]], [[Anadarko people|Anadarko]], [[Waco people|Waco]], [[Shawnee]], [[Lenape|Delaware]], and [[Tawakoni|Tahaucano]]. The Battle was the first in which the Texas Rangers successfully advanced into [[Comancheria]]. The United States rallied a force of 100 Texas Rangers and 113 allies where the Comanches rallied a force between the range of 200-600.<ref>Fehrenbach, T.R. “Comanches, The Destruction of a People"</ref> The "battle" itself was actually three decisive engagements between the Comanches and the Texas Rangers; the first began in the morning of May 12 <ref>Fehrenbach, T.R. “Comanches, The Destruction of a People".</ref> when the Rangers, led by General Ford launched a surprise attack on a Comanche camp. The Comanches were caught completely off guard and a massacre occurred. The second battle began when the Texas Rangers attempted to do the same to another nearby Comanche encampment. As they encroached on the camp, the Rangers were spotted by Comanche scouts. Though able to mount a concerted defense this time, the Comanche still suffered heavy casualties. It was not until the third and final battle of Little Robe creek that Comanche warriors were able to take an offensive stance against the Texas Rangers who then withdrew back into Texas proper. However, the campaign was costly for the Comanche forces: with 76 killed and over 60 warriors captured by the Texas Rangers, who by comparison lost only two killed and five wounded. ===Battle of Pease River (December 1860)=== {{Main|Battle of Pease River}} The [[Battle of Pease River]] took place on December 18, 1860, in [[Foard County, Texas]]. This battle has become highly debated due to unreliable sources and exaggerated facts surrounding the event, but the event started in November 1860, most likely when a band of Comanche warriors, "struck farms, ranches, and outlying settlements in Parker, Young, Jack, and Palo Pinto counties west of Fort Worth."<ref>Carson, Paul H., Dr., and Tom Crum. "The "Battle" at Pease River and the Question of Reliable Sources." Southwestern Historical Quarterly CXIII.1 (2009): 33-52. Texas Tech University Libraries. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <{{cite web |url=http://library.ttu.edu/about/facility/face/entries/Carlson_TheBattleAtPease.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-04-15 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415215022/http://library.ttu.edu/about/facility/face/entries/Carlson_TheBattleAtPease.pdf |archivedate=2014-04-15 }}></ref> In these Comanche raids property was stolen and at least six people were killed. The citizens responded by pursuing the Comanches to a village on the Pease River, but because there were too many [[Comanches]], the citizens had to wait for a larger force to arrive. Three units arrived, led by [[Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross]], Captain J.J. Cureton, and First Sergeant John W. Spangler. On December 19, 1860, Sul Ross led the attack on the Comanche village and according to Ross's report, "killed twelve of the Comanches and captured three: a woman who turned out to be [[Cynthia Ann Parker]], her daughter Topsannah (Prairie Flower), and a young boy whom Ross brought to Waco and named Pease Ross...The whole incident lasted twenty minutes-thirty at the most."<ref>"From the Frontier." Dallas Herald 2 Jan. 1861:</ref> ===First Battle of Adobe Walls (November 1864)=== {{Main|First Battle of Adobe Walls}} The [[First Battle of Adobe Walls]] was a battle fought against the United States Army and the Comanche Allies of [[Kiowa]], and the Plains [[Apaches]]. The battle began when [[Kit Carson]] attacked a [[Kiowa]] town <ref>The Comanches: Lords of the Southern Plains. University of Oklahoma Press. 1952.</ref> In response the Kiowa and Comanches launched a counterattack of over 1,000 men. The battle was long and drawn out almost to the point of the United States army running out of ammunition. === Red River War (June- September 1874) === In 1874 what came to be known as the [[Red River War]] (or Buffalo War) began. With the total population of the [[Comanche]] tribe reduced to only around 3,000 in total, divisions began to appear within the tribe. About two-thirds of the remaining Comanche now resided on the reservation, often labeled the “tamed Comanche” or “broken Comanche”. About 1,000 Comanche however continuing to roam the plains. Most of these Comanche would be considered civilians with only about 300 being actual warriors. The unsettled Comanche joined forces with warriors from likeminded factions of Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, and [[Southern Cheyenne]] and gathered together in the North Texas panhandle near the four major forks of Red River. The federal government responded by sending forty-six companies of soldiers, the largest force ever deployed against Native Americans by the U.S., under the command of General Mackenzie. The majority of the Red River War was conducted in guerrilla warfare and search-and-destroy tactics. The conflict ended with the [[Battle of Palo Duro Canyon]], when General Mackenzie was able to conduct a surprise attack on the Comanche settlement. This led to the destruction of most of the Comanche’s resources and the seizure of 1,424 horses.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gwynne |first=S.C. |title=Empire of the summer moon Quanah Parker and the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian Tribe in American history. |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc. |date=May 2010 |isbn=978-1-4165-9105-4 |location=New York, NY |language=English}}</ref> ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *[[Comanche]] *[[Comanche campaign]] *[[Comanche–Mexico Wars]] *[[Battle of Plum Creek]] *[[Buffalo Hump]] *[[Council House Fight]] *[[Red River War]] *[[Battle of Blanco Canyon]] *[[Medicine Lodge Treaty]] *[[Texas-Indian Wars]] {{div col end}} ==External links== * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakota_sioux_and_comanche_indians/7456079542/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Map of Comanches battles and skirmishes in 1850-1861] * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakota_sioux_and_comanche_indians/7456055758/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Map of Comanches battles and skirmishes in 1861-1865] * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakota_sioux_and_comanche_indians/7456074710/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Map of Comanches battles and skirmishes in 1866-1876] * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakota_sioux_and_comanche_indians/11627582825/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Map of Red River War 1874-1875: Comanches and Kiowas vs the US Army] * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/lakota_sioux_and_comanche_indians/11471671063/sizes/o/in/photostream/ Map of Comanche raids in Texas 1839-1869] ==References== <references/> [[Category:Wars involving the Indigenous peoples of North America]] [[Category:Indian wars of the American Old West]] [[Category:Wars between the United States and Native Americans]] [[Category:Native American history of Texas]] [[Category:Wars fought in Texas]] [[Category:Texas–Indian Wars]] [[Category:Military history of Texas]] [[Category:1820s conflicts]] [[Category:1830s conflicts]] [[Category:1840s conflicts]] [[Category:1850s conflicts]] [[Category:1860s conflicts]] [[Category:1870s conflicts]] [[Category:Comanche history]]
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