Crawford affair

Last updated
Crawford affair
Part of Geronimo's War, Apache Wars
Crawford Affair 1886.png
DateJanuary 11, 1886
Location
Result American victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1877-1890).svg  United States Flag of Mexico (1823-1864, 1867-1893).svg Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Flag of the United States (1877-1890).svg Emmet Crawford   Flag of Mexico (1823-1864, 1867-1893).svg Mauricio Corredor  
Strength
~100 ~150
Casualties and losses
1 killed
4 wounded
4 killed
5 wounded

The Crawford affair was a battle fought between Mexico and the United States in January 1886 during the Geronimo Campaign. Captain Emmet Crawford was commanding a company of Apache scouts, sixty miles southeast of Nacori Chico in Sonora, when his camp was attacked by Mexican Army militiamen. In the action, Crawford was shot and later died; his death nearly started a war between the United States and Mexico. [1]

Contents

Background

Following Geronimo's escape from the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona, the United States Army began the Geronimo Campaign to capture the Apache leader who had fled into Mexico. It was during this operation that Captain Crawford, of the 3rd Cavalry, was ordered to proceed south from Fort Apache to pursue the natives. He took with him, just under 100 Apache scouts with Lieutenants Marion P. Maus, William Shipp and Samuel L. Faison. Among the party was the Apache Kid and three armed civilians, including the famous scout Tom Horn, a doctor named T. B. Davis, and Concepción, a translator who spoke Apache. [1]

Crawford and the company left the fort and crossed the border at Agua Prieta on December 11, 1885. There Crawford informed the Mexicans that he was pursuing hostile natives into the Sierra Madre Occidental. He also established a truce with the Mexicans so as to ensure his command's safety from the Mexican Army. On January 8, marching through the mountains, strewn with canyons, the Apache scouts discovered signs of a hostile Apache village in the distance. So for the next forty-eight hours, Crawford pushed his scouts forward in an attempt to attack the village before the enemy could detect them and retreat. All through the night of January 9 and the early morning of January 10, the Apache scouts led a stealthy advance through the canyons. Many of the scouts hurt themselves by falling in the darkness but they continued on for eighteen hours until they reached the village. [1]

An attack was made at daybreak on January 10 without incident, a few of Geronimo's Apaches and some horses were captured while the majority fled. Crawford decided to rest his men at the camp, as they were exhausted from their trek across the desert. [1]

Affair

Apache Scouts at Fort Wingate in New Mexico Territory during the 1880s. Apache Scouts.jpg
Apache Scouts at Fort Wingate in New Mexico Territory during the 1880s.

In the afternoon of January 10, the Americans and their Apache scouts were making camp when a native American woman approached to tell Captain Crawford that Geronimo was a few miles away and wanted to speak with him. The two agreed that on the following day, a council would be held to negotiate an end to the Geronimo campaign. Peace was expected, so Crawford and his company waited joyfully until the next morning at daybreak when the captain was awoken by one of his sentries who warned that Mexican troops were approaching. Believing the Mexicans to be another force of Apache scouts under the command of Captain Wirt Davis, some of Crawford's Apaches began shouting calls in their native language. In response, the Mexican force, which included Tarahumara detribalized natives, opened up with a volley of rifle fire. [1]

Immediately Crawford grabbed a white flag and rushed to a large rock and climbed to the top where he was in full view of the Mexicans. Crawford, with his blue coat on, waved the flag as he shouted "Soldados Americanos" along with Tom Horn. In Marion P. Maus' report of the battle he said that the Mexicans knew well of who they were firing at. An investigation launched by the Mexican government also came to the same conclusion. After the first volley a small group of the Mexicans advanced and Lieutenant Maus went to speak with them. Maus told the group that they were American soldiers and would not return fire. He then turned back for camp, when Captain Crawford ordered him to speak with the Mexicans again, to ensure a cease fire. [1]

Maus turned back into the direction of the Mexicans, but they opened fire. One of the bullets, reportedly fired by the Mexican commander, General Mauricio Corredor, hit Captain Crawford in the head. The Apache scouts were furious after seeing their commander gunned down and returned fire on the Mexicans. For an hour the two sides skirmished until the Mexicans waved a white flag. The Americans had lost Captain Crawford, who died on January 18, and four men wounded including Tom Horn, who was shot in the arm. The Mexicans lost four men killed and five wounded, among them General Corredor who six years earlier had killed Victorio, an important Apache war chief. [1]

Aftermath

Emmet Crawford in 1876. Emmet Crawford.jpg
Emmet Crawford in 1876.

When the Mexicans raised the white flag a ceasefire began, and Lieutenant Maus approached the Mexican line with Tom Horn. The two talked with the Mexicans for a while and concluded that the Mexicans were after scalps for the high bounty established by the Mexican government. One scalp of an Apache warrior was worth 200 silver pesos while a woman or a child's scalp was worth 100. Eventually Tom Horn went back to his side of the lines, leaving Lieutenant Maus alone with the Mexicans. As the lieutenant attempted to leave, the Mexicans demanded that they be given some mules to transport their wounded. Maus agreed, so six mules were given to the Mexicans. However, the Mexicans made a gesture as though they would not let Maus go, so the scouts let out a loud war cry, which frightened the Mexicans into freeing the lieutenant. [1] [2]

The United States Army later issued a statement which claimed that if Crawford had survived he would have met with Geronimo and ended the war sooner. Crawford's death was felt most in Nebraska where his funeral was one of the largest in the state's history. The body of the well liked and respected captain was later moved in 1908 to Arlington National Cemetery where a large marble obelisk was erected over his grave. The death of Crawford nearly sparked another war between the United States and Mexico, but after the Americans ended their own investigation, the matter was not pursued. Crawford, Nebraska, next to Fort Robinson, was named for the captain and Lieutenant Maus received a Medal of Honor. [1] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Geronimo Leader of the Bedonkohe Apache (1829–1909)

Geronimo was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Chiricahua Apache bands—the Tchihende, the Tsokanende and the Nednhi—to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona.

Cochise Apache tribe chief (c. 1805–1874)

Cochise was leader of the Chihuicahui local group of the Chokonen and principal nantan of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache. A key war leader during the Apache Wars, he led an uprising that began in 1861 and persisted until a peace treaty was negotiated in 1872. Cochise County is named after him.

Tom Horn American outlaw

Thomas Horn, Jr., was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committed 17 killings as a hired gunman throughout the West, Horn was convicted in 1902 of the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell near Iron Mountain, Wyoming. Willie was the son of sheep rancher Kels Nickell, who had been involved in a range feud with neighbor and cattle rancher Jim Miller. On the day before his 43rd birthday, Horn was executed by hanging in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Apache Wars Conflicts between the U.S. Army and native Apache tribe (1849–1924)

The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache nations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The United States inherited conflicts between American settlers and Apache groups when Mexico ceded territory after the Mexican–American War in 1846. These conflicts were continued as new United States citizens came into traditional Apache lands to raise livestock, crops and to mine minerals.

Emmet Crawford

Emmet Crawford was an American soldier who rose through the ranks to become an officer. He was most noted for his time spent in the Arizona Territory under General George Crook in the United States Cavalry. He was killed in pursuit of the Apache leader Geronimo in January 1886 in Mexico.

Tom Jeffords American Indian agent (1832–1914)

Thomas Jefferson Jeffords was a United States Army scout, Indian agent, prospector, and superintendent of overland mail in the Arizona Territory. His friendship with Apache leader Cochise was instrumental in ending the Indian wars in that region. He first met Cochise when he rode alone into Cochise's camp in 1871 to request that the chief come to Canada Alamosa for peace talks. Cochise declined at least in part because he was afraid to travel with his family after the recent Camp Grant Massacre. Three months later he made the trip and stayed for over six months during which time their friendship grew while the negotiations failed. Cochise was unwilling to accept the Tularosa Valley as his reservation and home. In October 1872, Jeffords led General Oliver O. Howard to Cochise's Stronghold, believed to be China Meadow, in the Dragoon Mountains. Cochise demanded and got the Dragoon and Chiricahua Mountains as his reservation and Tom Jeffords as his agent. From 1872 to 1876, there was peace in southern Arizona. Then renegade Apaches killed Nicholas Rogers who had sold them whiskey and the cry went out to abolish the reservation and remove Jeffords as agent. Tom Jeffords embarked on a series of ventures as sutler and postmaster at Fort Huachuca, head of the first Tucson water company trying to bring artesian water to that city, and as prospector and mine owner and developer. He died at Owl Head Buttes in the Tortolita Mountains 35 miles north of Tucson.

Apache Scouts Military unit

The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts. Most of their service was during the Apache Wars, between 1849 and 1886, though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various Apache bands and the Americans. Apache scouts also served in the Navajo War, the Yavapai War, the Mexican Border War and they saw stateside duty during World War II. There has been a great deal written about Apache scouts, both as part of United States Army reports from the field and more colorful accounts written after the events by non-Apaches in newspapers and books. Men such as Al Sieber and Tom Horn were sometimes the commanding officers of small groups of Apache Scouts. As was the custom in the United States military, scouts were generally enlisted with Anglo nicknames or single names. Many Apache Scouts received citations for bravery.

Al Sieber American Old West soldier and prospector

Al Sieber was a German-American who fought in the U.S Civil War and in the American Old West against Indians. He became a prospector and later served as a Chief of Scouts during the Apache Wars.

<i>Mr. Horn</i> 1979 TV film

Mr. Horn is a 1979 American Western television film chronicling the life of Tom Horn. It was directed by Jack Starrett from a screenplay by William Goldman. This version came out just prior to the 1980 feature film Tom Horn, which starred Steve McQueen.

Sahuaripa is a town in the Mexican state of Sonora, municipality of Sahuaripa. The area is 5,694.4 km². with a population of 5,792 in 2005. The town and municipal seat had a population of 3,807 in 2000.

Matthias W. Day

Matthias W. Day was a career American army officer who received the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for his actions during the American Indian Wars in the latter half of the 19th century. Day was a longtime officer with the African-American 9th Cavalry Regiment, seeing action during the Apache Wars against the Apache leaders Victorio and Geronimo.

Marion Perry Maus

Marion Perry Maus was a United States Army Brigadier General who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action on January 11, 1886 in the Sierra Madre Mountains, Mexico. An 1874 graduate of West Point, he served in three wars and in multiple commands in the Army during his long career, retiring in 1913.

Battle of Big Dry Wash 1882 battle between the United States Army and White Mountain Apache

The Battle of Big Dry Wash was fought on July 17, 1882, between troops of the United States Army's 3rd Cavalry Regiment and 6th Cavalry Regiment and members of the White Mountain Apache tribe.The location of the battle was called "Big Dry Wash" in Major Evans' official report, but later maps called the location "Big Dry Fork", which is how it is cited in the four Medal of Honor citations that resulted from the battle.

Charles B. Gatewood American army officer (1853–1896)

First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the American Southwest, Gatewood led platoons of Apache and Navajo scouts against renegades during the Apache Wars. In 1886, he played a key role in ending the Geronimo Campaign by persuading Geronimo to surrender to the army. Beset with health problems due to exposure in the Southwest and Dakotas, Gatewood was critically injured in the Johnson County War and retired from the Army in 1895, dying a year later from stomach cancer. Before his retirement he was nominated for the Medal of Honor, but was denied the award. He was portrayed by Jason Patric in the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.

White massacre

The White massacre was an engagement between American settlers and a band of Utes and Jicarilla Apaches that occurred in northeastern New Mexico on October 28, 1849. It became notable for the Indians' kidnapping of Mrs. Ann White, who was subsequently killed during an Army rescue attempt a few weeks later.

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.

Apache Campaign (1896) Part of the Apache Wars

The Apache Campaign of 1896 was the final United States Army operation against Apaches who were raiding and not living in a reservation. It began in April after some Apaches killed three American settlers in Arizona. The Apaches were pursued by the army, which caught up with them in the Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua. There were only two important encounters during the campaign and, because both of them occurred in the remote Four Corners region, it is unknown if they took place on American or Mexican soil.

Tso-ay Apache warrior (c. 1853–1933)

Tso-ay, also known as Panayotishn or Pe-nel-tishn, today widely known by his nickname as "Peaches", was a Chiricahua, Western Apache warrior, who also served as a scout for General George Crook during the Apache wars. Tso-ay was wounded while fighting alongside Geronimo and Chihuahua against Mexican troops, who had ambushed them after the Apache had crossed the border while being pursued by American troops.

First Lieutenant Britton Davis was an American soldier born in Brownsville, Texas. He served in the United States Army in the 3rd Cavalry after graduating from West Point in 1881. After serving at Fort D.A. Russell, Davis was transferred to the Southwest to serve at San Carlos in 1882 during the Apache Wars where he commanded two companies of Apache Scouts alongside Captain Emmet Crawford. In 1886, he played a key role in ending the Geronimo Campaign.

Historic properties in Fort Huachuca National Historic District US Army base

This is a list with images of some of the historic structures and places in the Fort Huachuca National Historic District in Arizona. The district, also known as Old Fort Huachuca, is located within Fort Huachuca an active United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. The fort sits at the base of the Huachuca Mountains four miles west of the town of Sierra Vista, on AZ 90 in Cochise County, Arizona.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Emmet Crawford, Captain, United States Army". Arlington National Cemetery. Archived from the original on 2003-05-05. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  2. 1 2 "Crawford, Emmet". Nebraska State Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2010-12-18. Retrieved 2010-11-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)