Battles of Texas Panhandle 1874
More Scenes of the Red River War
Quanah Parker was a major Comanche chief during the Red River War. What an astonishing life Quanah lived. Quanah’s life a powerful demonstration of the forces of fate. Quanah was born to a respected Comanche Chief father named Peta Nocona and a daughter of a powerful family from the new landed gentry of East Texas - Cynthia Ann Parker. As unlikely as it must have seemed given the circumstances, Quanah lived both lives - he became a great Comanche War chief and a Texas Rancher land-baron that hosted dinner parties with presidents and dignitaries in his star ranch-house estate. Quanah’s range was astonishing.
By all accounts Cynthia Parker and Peta Nocona were in love. A too good to be true love-story amidst two warring cultures. It’s been a source of speculation how Cynthia had no interest in returning to her people or family after Peta’s death. There was disbelief that Cynthia would want to live with the Comanche rather than return to Texas. To me it’s not at all a stretch or hard to imagine a range of explanations. Considering that living on a rough, remote Texas frontier fort with a bunch of uncles and few women may have been cause for deeply un-pleasantly experiences for a young girl. Peta’s last action is incredible - the man was shot three times - one in the elbow, ruining his ability to fight - and with nothing left to do sings a song as he bleeds out. What can you do?
Introduction
RECAP - What’s Happening in RRW
In 1874 five columns of U.S. military under the command of legendary Civil War commander General Mackenzie march into the Comanche homeland of the Texas Panhandle. Their mission is to break the Comanche, Kiowa and Cheyenne resistance. Their task is to ruin the horse herds and villages - to defeat the Comanche by breaking their way of life.
These columns are
(1) Price comes east from New Mexico
(2) Miles comes north from Kansas,
(3) Davidson comes west from Oklahoma and
(4) Buell and (5) Mackenzie go north from South-northeast Texas (Dallas).
This activity was known as the Red River War. These are some fights that took place during this time.
Adobe Walls II
The first battle of Adobe Walls 10 years earlier left the place an abandoned ruin. 10 years later buffalo hunters and others attracted to buffalo hunter business settled a new Adobe Walls. Located on the north bank of the Canadian River, the second Adobe Walls town contained saloon, hotel, a store, a blacksmith, well, corral, residences and other buildings.
The American and European market for buffalo hides kicked up at this time, driving the massive slaughter of buffalo. This accompanied the army’s tactical awareness that killing buffalo en masse, like their horses or burning their villages, would be a viable means of defeating the natives at war.
[0] Ishatai the Comanche has a vision of defeat for the buffalo hunters. Quanah Parker suggests they attack the frontier barter-town Adobe Walls. Ishatai agrees. Cheyenne, Kiowa and Comanche warriors, frustrated by the slaughtered buffalo, sign up for the raid. Among them are Chiefs Satanta and Little Wolf.
Scout Amos Chapman tips off the saloon keeper Hanrahan of an impending attack.
[1] Hanrahan shoots a gun in the middle of the night, waking the sleeping tenants. Hanrahan tells them the ridge pole of the sod house has cracked, then offers them free drinks to keep everyone awake at 4AM.
[2] At dawn the Comanche force attacks. Ike and Shorty Sadler are caught out and killed. Hanrahan’s ruse works - the residents of Adobe Walls are awake to receive the attack. (Hanrahan did not tell people outright of the attack because they would have left - he wanted them to stay and defend.)
[3] Billy Tyler is killed in the fighting.
Armed with powerful buffalo sharp guns and stocked with thousands of rounds of ammunition, the remaining 25 hunters, merchants and others within Adobe Walls barricade in the saloon and other structures. They successfully repulse every Comanche charge.
[4] Quanah Parker tries to break down the door of a barricaded structure with his horse. Quanah takes a bullet in the shoulder.
[5] Ishatai’s horse is shot from under him, breaking the warriors’ spell.
[6] After several days of the listless siege, with the Native forces neither leaving nor charging, Billy Dixon kills a Comanche from a distance of over 1 mile using a buffalo gun. This ends the siege as the dispirited natives withdraw.
[7] William Olds is killed by an accidental discharge of his weapon when climbing a ladder.
Battle of Buffalo Wallow
[0] 6 soldiers depart from Col. Nelson Miles camp on McClellan Creek on September 10th.
[1] The soldiers run into a fight on September 12th. All six are wounded, Private George W. Smith mortally.
[2-3] When Private Smith falls, the horses panic and run away. Without mounts, the wounded men take cover in a buffalo water hole, fighting a battle for several hours against the wheeling, charging Comanche and Kiowa’s under Chief Satanta.
“They circled round us or dashed past, yelling and cutting all kinds of capers.” - H&HS pg. 136
[4] A cold north wind and rainstorm kicks up - breaking the action.
“Without water - their canteens had been on the saddles of the runaway horses - the men became painfully thirsty. At about 3:00 O’clock rain fell, filling the wallow with water. Though it was muddy and red with the blood of the wounded; the men drank like it was spring water.” - H&HS pg. 136
[5] Major Price wanders the canyons as his initial forces get strung out, he fights a force of mounted Comanche on September 12th. A running three-hour 7-mile fight takes place in a canyon with no casualties, but the Comanche charging up and down from the canyon walls almost capture the howitzer. On September 17 Major Price’s forces are reassigned under Colonel Miles command.
The Comanche disappear the night after the cold rainstorm. Billy Dixon comes across Price after the battle while looking for relief. The men are given medical attention for their wounds. Amos Chapman loses a knee. The government awards, then rescinds, medals of honor for scouts Chapman and Dixon.
A sod house is a structure made of Sod. Sod is cut into strips and stacked to construct thick, earthen walls. Many structures west of the 98th - especially where there was no readily available timber - were constructed of sod.
References
White, Lonnie J. Hostiles and Horse Soldiers. 1972.
Everett, Dick. Conquering the Great American Desert. 1 June 1975.