Modoc County is a county located in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least-populous county. The county seat and only incorporated city is Alturas. Previous county seats include Lake City and Centerville. The county borders Nevada and Oregon.
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano, which is the largest volcano by area in the Cascade Range.
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. He served as a military governor after the war.
Canby's Cross is located in Lava Beds National Monument, about 3 miles south of Tule Lake, and 5 miles south-southwest of the town of Tulelake, California. It was erected to commemorate General Canby's death at a peace gathering. General Canby was shot in the face by Captain Jack of the Modoc tribe, who was later hanged for the killing. The cross is registered as a California Historical Landmark.
Kintpuash, also known as Kientpaush, Kientpoos, and Captain Jack, was a chief of the Modoc tribe of California and Oregon. Kintpuash's name in the Modoc language meant 'Strikes the water brashly.'
The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign, was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard Muybridge photographed the early part of the US Army's campaign.
The First Battle of the Stronghold was the second battle in the Modoc War of 1872–1873. The battle was fought between the United States Army under Lieutenant Colonel Frank Wheaton and a band of the Native American Modoc tribe from Oregon and California, led by Captain Jack.
The Modoc are an Indigenous American people who historically lived in the area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon. Currently, they include two federally recognized tribes, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, now known as the Modoc Nation.
The Battle of Lost River in November 1872 was the first battle in the Modoc War in the northwestern United States. The skirmish, which was fought near the Lost River along the California–Oregon border, was the result of an attempt by the U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army to force a band of the Modoc tribe to relocate back to the Klamath Reservation, which they had left in objection of its conditions.
Toby "Winema" Riddle was a Modoc woman who served as an interpreter in negotiations between the Native American Modoc tribe and the United States Army during the Modoc War. She warned the peace commission of a possible Modoc attack, and she saved the life of the chairman Alfred B. Meacham when the 1873 attack took place.
The Second Battle of the Stronghold was a battle during the Modoc War between a band of the Native American Modoc tribe and the Army of the United States, in northeastern California. The battle began on April 15, 1873, and ended on April 17, 1873. The Army succeeded in forcing the Modoc to abandon their fortified position at Captain Jack's Stronghold in the Lava Beds, but failed to capture the band.
The Battle of Dry Lake, also known as Sorass Lake, was the first decisive victory of the United States over the Modoc Indians in northern California in 1873. The battle led to the splintering of the Modoc bands, and was the last major battle of the Modoc War.
John Green was a United States cavalry officer who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery and leadership at the First Battle of the Stronghold during the Modoc War.
Curley Headed Doctor was the spiritual leader for the Modoc tribe, notably during the Modoc War.
Hooker Jim, or Hooka Jim, was a Modoc warrior who played a pivotal role in the Modoc War. Hooker Jim was the son-in-law of tribal medicine man Curley Headed Doctor. After white settlers massacred Modoc women and children contemporaneously with the Battle of Lost River, Hooker Jim led a group of Modocs overland to Captain Jack's Stronghold. During their march, Hooker Jim and his warriors killed several white settlers in revenge.
The Modoc Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Modoc people, located in Ottawa County in the northeast corner of Oklahoma and Modoc and Siskiyou counties in northeast California. The smallest tribe in the state, they are descendants of Captain Jack's band of Modoc people, removed in 1873 after the Modoc Wars from their traditional territory in northern California and southern Oregon. They were exiled to the Quapaw Agency in Indian Territory, where they were colocated with the Shawnee people from east of the Mississippi River.
Drum Beat is a 1954 American CinemaScope Western film in WarnerColor written and directed by Delmer Daves and co-produced by Daves and Alan Ladd in his first film for his Jaguar Productions company. Ladd stars along with Audrey Dalton, Charles Bronson as Captain Jack, and Hayden Rorke as President Ulysses S. Grant.
The Battle of Sand Butte between the Modoc Indians and the United States Army was a part of the Modoc War in California. On April 26, 1873, a force of ~70 Army soldiers and ~12 Warm Springs Indians scouts went looking for a group of Modoc who had escaped a previous assault attempt by the Army. Mid-day, the Army and Warm Springs Indians were ambushed at the base of Sand Butte, and nearly wiped out by 20 Modoc warriors. The Modoc victory lead to further public calls for their extermination.
President Ulysses S. Grant sympathized with the plight of Native Americans and believed that the original occupants of the land were worthy of study. Grant's Inauguration Address set the tone for the Grant administration Native American Peace policy. The Board of Indian Commissioners was created to make reforms in Native policy and to ensure Native tribes received federal help. Grant lobbied the United States Congress to ensure that Native peoples would receive adequate funding. The hallmark of Grant's Peace policy was the incorporation of religious groups that served on Native agencies, which were dispersed throughout the United States.
Guillem's Graveyard was a United States Army Graveyard built in 1872 for the US troop that were killed in the Modoc War. The Modoc War was fought from 1872 to 1873. Guillem's Graveyard is in Siskiyou County, California. The Guillem's Graveyard is a California Historical Landmark No. 13 listed on June 1, 1932, one of the first California Historical Landmarks. The Guillem's Graveyard was the Military Graveyard of Camp Guillem. Camp Guillem was the U.S. Army command post for the Modoc War around the camp. A small group of Modoc defended their land for almost two years. Knowing the land, they held off troops ten times their size. After six months of sporadic battles and surprise attacks the US Army won, but with about 100 Troops killed and buried at Guillem's Graveyard. At its peak, in spring of 1873, Gillems Camp had 600 troops stationed at the outpost. Many of the Troops were new immigrants. The remote out post was often low on food and medical supplies.
