Battle of Bear Valley

Last updated
Battle of Bear Valley
Part of the Yaqui Wars, American Indian Wars
Yaqui prisoners.jpg
10th Cavalry soldiers holding Yaqui prisoners at their camp in Bear Valley, January 9, 1918.
DateJanuary 9, 1918
Location
Result United States victory, successful Yaqui delaying action.
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Flag of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona.svg Yaqui
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg Frederick H.L. Ryder unknown
Strength
~30 light cavalry ~30 warriors
Casualties and losses
none 1 killed
9 captured

The Battle of Bear Valley was a small engagement fought in 1918 between a band of Yaquis and a detachment of United States Army soldiers. On January 9, 1918, elements of the American 10th Cavalry Regiment detected about thirty armed Yaquis in Bear Valley, west of Nogales, Arizona, a large area that was commonly used as a passage across the international border with Mexico. A short firefight ensued, which resulted in the death of the Yaqui commander and the capture of nine others. Though the conflict was merely a skirmish, it was the last time the United States Army and Native Americans engaged in combat and thus has been seen as the final official battle of the American Indian Wars. [1] [2]

Contents

Background

By 1918 the Yaqui people had been at war with Mexico for several years, the former hoping to establish an independent state in Sonora, centered on the Río Yaqui and its confluence with the Gulf of California. Many Yaquis were driven north by the war and some crossed the Arizona border to work in Tucson's citrus groves. After receiving payment, the Yaquis would spend their money on weapons and ammunition and then return to Mexico to continue fighting. The fact that Yaquis were buying arms in Arizona and smuggling them across the border became so well known that the military governor of Sonora, General Plutarco Elías Calles, informally requested help from the United States government in dealing with the problem. Furthermore, Arizona ranchers began reporting in larger numbers their encounters with armed Yaquis on their ranch land or the finding of butchered livestock on the range. Since the United States Border Patrol did not yet exist, the task of protecting the border was that of the army, which operated out of Fort Huachuca. The Nogales, Arizona subdistrict commander, Colonel J.C. Friers, 35th Infantry, responded to the reports by issuing orders to increase patrolling in the area. American forces in the area included the 35th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Camp Stephen D. Little in Nogales, and the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, who were spread out to protect the various towns near the international border. A squadron size force from the 10th Cavalry was encamped about a half mile from the 35th Infantry at Nogales and a second squadron split up to occupy Lochiel and Campini. Smaller posts were also established at Arivaca and Oro Blanco and, finally, a troop of about thirty men maintained a camp at Atascosa Canyon, a "strategic natural crossing" within Bear Valley. [1] [2]

According to Colonel Harold B. Wharfield, who interviewed some of the participants in the Bear Valley fight and published his story in the book Tenth Cavalry and Border Fights, wrote that the camp was located in a dangerous "uninhabited region" where "unconfirmed mysterious disappearances" often occurred and people were advised to travel in groups. The camp was built next to an old homestead and a high ridge to the east, which provided an excellent view of the surrounding flatlands. After the January 1918 New Year's Day celebration, Captain Frederick H.L. "Blondy" Ryder and his Troop E, 10th Cavalry, were ordered to occupy the Bear Valley camp for border patrol duty. A signalman was posted on top of the ridge who could communicate via hand signals with one of the sentries placed around the camp's perimeter. The rest of the soldiers patrolled the trails leading in and out of the valley, watching for people wandering through the desert. [1]

Battle

On January 8, a local cattleman and owner of the Ruby Mercantile, Philip C. Clarke, rode into camp and told Captain Ryder that his neighbor found the body of a cow in the mountains to the north and that a piece of its hide had been removed for making sandals. It was assumed that Yaquis killed the cow so Ryder strengthened the observation post on top of the ridge by sending up First Lieutenant William Scott and a detail of men equipped with field glasses to watch the trails from a distance. According to Colonel Wharfield's book; "About the middle of the afternoon Lieutenant Scott signaled 'attention.' Upon acknowledgement from the camp sentry, he gave the message 'enemy in sight,' and pointed toward a low ridge west of camp a quarter of a mile or more distant. The sentry hollered to First Sgt. Samuel H. Alexander, who was sitting under nearby mesquite with several other noncommissioned officers. The shout brought everyone to their feet. On the skyline of the ridge could be seen a long column of Indians [Yaquis] crossing to the other side. The horses had been under saddle with loose cinches all day tied up in the corral; so within a few minutes the troop was mounted." By the time the soldiers left camp the Yaquis were no longer in sight but Lieutenant Scott kept pointing so the troop kept moving due south, towards the border fence. When the Americans were finally in position, they dismounted in a "shallow brushy draw," left a guard to watch the horses, and then continued advancing on foot in a skirmish line. Moving forward, the soldiers were nearing the top of a canyon side when Captain Ryder decided to return to the horses, using a different path. On the way down, the soldiers came across "hastily abandoned packs" which suggested that the Yaquis were very close and knew they were being pursued. Ryder then continued up the canyon, in a southeastern direction, when suddenly the Yaquis opened fire from concealed positions. [1]

The United States returned fire and a typical Indian war skirmish began. Wharfield wrote that "the fighting developed into an old kind of Indian engagement with both sides using all the natural cover of boulders and brush to full advantage. The Yaquis kept falling back, dodging from boulder to boulder and firing rapidly. They offered only a fleeting target, seemingly just a disappearing shadow. The officer saw one of them running for another cover, then stumble and thereby expose himself. A corporal alongside the captain had a good chance for an open shot. At the report of the Springfield, a flash of fire enveloped the Indian's body for an instant, but he kept on to the rock." [1]

Captain Ryder wrote Colonel Wharfield the following for his book:

The Cavalry line maintained its forward movement, checked at times by the hostile fire, but constantly keeping contact with the Indians. Within thirty minutes or so the return shooting lessened. Then the troop concentrated heavy fire on a confined area containing a small group, which had developed into a rear guard for the others. The fire effect soon stopped most of the enemy action. Suddenly a Yaqui stood up waving his arms in surrender. Captain Ryder immediately blew long blasts on his whistle for the order to 'cease fire,' and after some scattered shooting the fight was over. Then upon command the troopers moved forward cautiously and surrounded them. This was a bunch of ten Yaquis, who had slowed the Cavalry advance to enable most of their band to escape. It was a courageous stand by a brave group of Indians; and the Cavalrymen treated them with the respect due to fighting men. Especially astonishing was the discovery that one of the Yaquis was an eleven-year-old boy. The youngster had fought bravely alongside his elders, firing a rifle that was almost as long as he was tall. ...Though time has perhaps dimmed some details, the fact that this was my first experience under fire—and it was a hot one even though they were poor marksmen—most of the action was indelibly imprinted on my mind. After the Yaquis were captured we lined them up with their hands above their heads and searched them. One kept his hands around his middle. Fearing that he might have a knife to use on some trooper, I grabbed his hands and yanked them up. His stomach practically fell out. This was the man who had been hit by my corporal's shot. He was wearing two belts of ammunition around his waist and more over each shoulder. The bullet had hit one of the cartridges in his belt, causing it to be exploded, making the flash of fire I saw. Then the bullet entered one side and came out the other, laying his stomach open. He was the chief of the group. We patched him up with first aid kits, mounted him on a horse, and took him to camp. He was a tough Indian, made hardly a groan and hung onto the saddle. If there were more hit we could not find them. Indians do not leave any wounded behind if they can possibly carry them along. One of my men spoke a mixture of Spanish, and secured the information from a prisoner that about twenty others got away. I immediately sent Lieutenant Scott, who had joined the fight, to take a strong detail and search the country for a few miles. However they did not find anything of the remainder of the band. It was dark when we returned to camp. I sent some soldiers to try and get an automobile or any transportation at the mining camps [Arivaca, Ruby, Oro Blanco] for the wounded Yaqui, but none could be located until morning. He was sent to the Army hospital at Nogales and died that day. We collected all the packs and arms of the Indians. There were a dozen or more rifles, some .30-30 Winchester carbines and German Mausers, lots of ammunition, powder and lead, and bullet molds. The next day when you [Colonel Wharfield] and Capt. Pink Armstrong with Troop H came in from the squadron camp to relieve us, we pulled out for Nogales. The Yaquis were mounted on some extra animals, and not being horse-Indians were a sorry sight when we arrived in town. Some were actually stuck to the saddles from bloody chafing and raw blisters they had stoically endured during the trip. Those Yaquis were just as good fighting men as any Apache [1] ....

Aftermath

About a week after the engagement, Captain Ryder was ordered to proceed to Arivaca, where the Yaqui prisoners would be held until the army figured out what to do with them. According to Wharfield, the Yaquis proved to be reliable workers and adjusted well to life in the army. Even though they were prisoners, each one received three meals a day, a straw mattress for a bed and a G.I. blanket. Wharfield wrote that the Yaquis:

Kept the campsite immaculately clean. At the corral nearly any droppings were allowed to hit the ground. During the day the Indians would stand around watching the horses. Whenever a tail was lifted, out they rushed with their scoop shovels and caught it before the manure could contaminate the ground. It certainly helped in the decline of the fly population. [1]

It was sometime during the stay at Arivaca when one of the Yaquis revealed that they had only opened fire because they thought the Buffalo Soldiers coming at them were Mexicans. All ten of the Yaquis, including the boy, volunteered to enlist in the Army but the government had other plans and the prisoners were later sent to Tucson for trial in federal court. Charged with "wrongfully, unlawfully, and feloniously exporting to Mexico certain arms and ammunition, to wit: 300 rifle cartridges and about 9 rifles without first procuring an export license issued by the War Trade Board of the United States," the Yaquis pleaded guilty and were sentenced by Judge William Henry Sawtelle to a mere thirty days in jail, excluding the boy whose charges were dismissed. Colonel Wharfield wrote that "the sentence was preferable to the Yaquis who otherwise would be deported to Mexico and face possible execution as rebels." [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffalo Soldier</span> African-American regiments of the US Army created in 1866; the first black regulars in peacetime

Buffalo Soldiers were United States Army regiments formed during the 19th century to serve on the American frontier that primarily comprised African Americans. On September 21, 1866, the 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The nickname "Buffalo Soldiers" was purportedly given to the regiment by Native Americans who fought against them in the American Indian Wars, and the term eventually became synonymous with all of the African American U.S. Army regiments established in 1866, including the 9th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Regiment and 38th Infantry Regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Cavalry Regiment</span> United States Army cavalry regiment

The 7th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment formed in 1866. Its official nickname is "Garryowen", after the Irish air "Garryowen" that was adopted as its march tune. The regiment participated in some of the largest battles of the Indian Wars, including its famous defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn, where its commander Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer was killed. The regiment also committed the Wounded Knee Massacre, where more than 250 men, women and children of the Lakota were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 2nd Dragoons, is an active Stryker infantry and cavalry regiment of the United States Army. The Second Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army Europe and Africa, with its garrison at the Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany. It can trace its lineage back to the early part of the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pancho Villa Expedition</span> 1916 U.S. military operation against revolutionary forces in northern Mexico

The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from March 14, 1916, to February 7, 1917, during the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Rosebud</span> 1876 battle between the US and Native American tribes

The Battle of the Rosebud took place on June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and its Crow and Shoshoni allies against a force consisting mostly of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians during the Great Sioux War of 1876. The Cheyenne called it the Battle Where the Girl Saved Her Brother because of an incident during the fight involving Buffalo Calf Road Woman. General George Crook's offensive was stymied by the Indians, led by Crazy Horse, and he awaited reinforcements before resuming the campaign in August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux Wars</span> Conflicts between the United States and indigenous Sioux tribes from 1854 to 1891

The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, when Sioux warriors killed 31 American soldiers in the Grattan Fight, and the final came in 1890 during the Ghost Dance War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bear Paw</span> United States historic place

The Battle of Bear Paw was the final engagement of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Following a 1,200-mile (1,900 km) running fight from north central Idaho Territory over the previous four months, the U.S. Army managed to corner most of the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph in early October 1877 in northern Montana Territory, just 42 miles (68 km) south of the border with Canada, where the Nez Perce intended to seek refuge from persecution by the U.S. government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons". While they were the First Regiment of Dragoons another unit designated the 1st Cavalry Regiment was formed in 1855 and in 1861 was re-designated as the 4th Cavalry Regiment. The First Dragoons became the 1st Cavalry Regiment since they were the oldest mounted regiment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arivaca, Arizona</span> Unincorporated community in Pima County

Arivaca is an unincorporated community in Pima County, Arizona, United States. It is located 11 miles (18 km) north of the Mexican border and 35 miles (56 km) northwest of the port of entry at Nogales. The European-American history of the area dates back at least to 1695, although the community was not founded until 1878. Arivaca has the ZIP code 85601. The 85601 ZIP Code Tabulation Area had a population of 909 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th Cavalry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during the Indian Wars in the western United States, the Spanish–American War in Cuba, Philippine–American War and Mexican Revolution. The regiment was trained as a combat unit but later relegated to non-combat duty and served in that capacity in World War II until its deactivation in 1944.

Camp Lockett was a United States Army military post located in Campo, California, east of San Diego, and north of the Mexican border. Camp Lockett has historical connections to the Buffalo Soldiers due to the 10th and 28th Cavalry Regiments having been garrisoned there during World War II. It was named in honor of Colonel James R. Lockett who fought in the Spanish–American War, Philippine Insurrection, and the Punitive Expedition. There was an active preservation effort underway with long-term plans of creating the 'Camp Locket Historic District' in the National Register of Historic Places, which ended due to private property concerns. In 2009 it was designated as a California Historical Landmark, and there are plans to create a county park out of the majority of its former area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ambos Nogales</span> 1918 battle of the Mexican Border War

The Battle of Ambos Nogales, or as it is known in Mexico La batalla del 27 de agosto, was an engagement fought on 27 August 1918 between Mexican military and civilian militia forces and elements of U.S. Army troops of the 35th Infantry Regiment, who were reinforced by the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, and commanded by Lt. Col. Frederick J. Herman. The American soldiers and militia forces were stationed in Nogales, Arizona, and the Mexican soldiers and armed Mexican militia were in Nogales, Sonora. This battle was notable for being a significant confrontation between U.S. and Mexican forces during the Border War, which took place in the context of the Mexican Revolution and the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Border War (1910–1919)</span> Mexican-American military engagements

The Mexican Border War, or the Border Campaign, refers to the military engagements which took place in the Mexican–American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. The period of the war encompassed World War I, and the German Empire attempted to have Mexico attack the United States, as well as engaging in hostilities against American forces there itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hembrillo Basin</span>

The Battle of Hembrillo Basin was fought April 5–8, 1880 between the United States Army against a combined band of Chiricahua and Mescalero Apaches led by Chief Victorio. Hembrillo Basin was the largest battle of Victorio's War, although casualties were light on both sides. Victorio held off an attack by superior numbers of army soldiers and Indian scouts, evacuated his women and children from the battlefield, and withdrew successfully. Hembrillo Basin is located on the White Sands Missile Range and access by the public is strictly regulated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaqui Wars</span> Conflicts involving Yaqui Indians in New Spain and Mexican Republic

The Yaqui Wars, were a series of armed conflicts between New Spain, and its successor state, the Mexican Republic, against the Yaqui Natives. The period began in 1533 and lasted until 1929. The Yaqui Wars, along with the Caste War against the Maya, were the last conflicts of the centuries long Mexican Indian Wars. Over the course of nearly 400 years, the Spanish and the Mexicans repeatedly launched military campaigns into Yaqui territory which resulted in several serious battles and massacres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yaqui Uprising</span> Armed conflict in Sonora and Arizona

The Yaqui Uprising, also called the Nogales Uprising, was an armed conflict that took place in the Mexican state of Sonora and the American state of Arizona over several days in August 1896. In February, the Mexican revolutionary Lauro Aguirre drafted a plan to overthrow the government of President Porfirio Díaz. Aguirre's cause appealed to the local Native Americans, such as the Yaqui, who organized an expedition to capture the customs house in the border town of Nogales on August 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Bear Valley</span> 1886 event during Geronimos War

The raid on Bear Valley was an armed conflict that occurred in 1886 during Geronimo's War. In late April, a band of Chiricahua Apaches attacked settlements in Santa Cruz County, Arizona over the course of two days. The Apaches raided four cattle ranches in or around Bear Valley, leaving four settlers dead, including a woman and her baby. They also captured a young girl, who was found dead several days after the event, and stole or destroyed a large amount of private property. When the United States Army learned of the attack, an expedition was launched to pursue the hostiles. In May, two small skirmishes were fought just across the international border in Sonora, Mexico but both times the Apaches were able to escape capture.

The Battle of Devil's Creek was a military engagement during Geronimo's War, fought on May 22, 1885 near Alma, New Mexico. Though it was a minor skirmish, it was the first battle of the Geronimo campaign and ended after the Apaches were routed from their positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Nogales (1915)</span> Armed engagement along the US-Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution

The Second Battle of Nogales was a three-sided military engagement of the Mexican Revolution, fought in November 1915 at the border towns of Nogales, Sonora, and Nogales, Arizona. On the morning of November 26, rebel forces of Pancho Villa, who occupied Nogales, Sonora, began firing on United States Army soldiers in Nogales, Arizona. The Americans responded with counter fire for over two hours before a force of Carrancistas arrived to attack the Villistas. Later that day, the Constitutionalistas accidentally opened fire on American soldiers and another short skirmish was fought. The battle resulted in the deaths of several Mexicans and was the first significant engagement fought between Villistas and the United States military.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Huachuca Illustrated, volume 2, 1996: The Yaqui Fight in Bear Valley". net.lib.byu.edu. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
  2. 1 2 Martínez, Oscar J (1996). U.S.–Mexico borderlands : historical and contemporary perspectives. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources. pp. 130–131. ISBN   0842024468.