Geronimo Campaign | ||||||||
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Part of Apache Wars | ||||||||
Naiche and his band at Geronimo's camp on March 27, 1886, shortly before their surrender to General George Crook. Geronimo and his followers did not stay in army custody for long and they later escaped, leading to a final surrender at Skeleton Canyon in September 1886. Photograph taken by C. S. Fly. | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
United States | Apache | Mexico | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
George Crook Nelson Miles | Geronimo Naiche Ulzana | Unknown | ||||||
Strength | ||||||||
3,000, 193 Apache scouts (1885) [1] 5,000 (July 1886) [1] | ~40 warriors and 100 non-combatants (1885) [2] 20 warriors and 18 non-combatants (September 1886) [1] | 3,000 [2] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||||
55 civilians killed [2] | 20 women and children captured in August 1885 [2] 1 warrior killed (Ulzana's Raid) [2] 20 warriors and 60 non combatants surrendered in March 1886 [2] 18 warriors, 12 women and 6 children surrendered in September 1886 [2] 400 peaceful Apache from San Carlos Reservation deported to Florida [2] | Unknown |
Geronimo Campaign, between May 1885 and September 1886, was the last large-scale military operation of the Apache wars. It took more than 5,000 U.S. Army Cavalry soldiers, led by the two experienced Army generals, in order to subdue no more than 70 (only 38 by the end of the campaign in northern Mexico) Chiricahua Apache who fled the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and raided parts of the surrounding Arizona Territory and adjacent Sonora state in Mexico for more than a year. [1] [3] [2]
Geronimo (original name Goyahkla, meaning One Who Yawns) was a Chiricahua Apache: he was never a chief, but only a warrior. In the summer of 1858, he lost his entire family (mother, wife and three children) when some Mexican troops attacked the Apache camp near the town of Janos, while warriors were in town, bartering with the Mexicans. Geronimo made a name for himself shortly after, when he burned the Mexican town of Arispe in retribution, with the support of the great Apache chief Mangas Coloradas. [1]
In the following years, Geronimo led regular raids into Mexico, and he was present at the Bascom Incident (1861) and the Battle of Apache Pass (1862), which were the beginning of the Apache wars with the US. After Mangas Coloradas was captured and executed by the US Army in 1863, Geronimo took part in his son-in-law Cochise's war of vengeance against the American settlers and miners in Arizona and New Mexico (1863-1872). [1]
When Cochise surrendered to the US authorities in 1872 in return for a large reservation in southeastern Arizona, Geronimo settled on the reservation, occasionally raiding in Mexico, but keeping peace on the US side of the border. [1]
However, in 1875, all the Apache tribes were resettled in a much smaller single reservation, San Carlos, nicknamed "Hell's Forty Acres", on unproductive land in the rocky desert. Although Apaches were expected to support themselves by farming, the land given to them was too unproductive for that purpose. The life on the overpopulated reservation was troubled by starvation, disease (like smallpox and malaria) and inter-tribal dispute, made worse by the corruption of the local US traders who charged exorbitant prices to Indians, and Indian agents who routinely mishandled the government funds allotted to help Indians settle in a new, farming way of life. [1]
In 1876, Geronimo and some of his followers escaped the reservation for the first time and fled to Mexico, but were captured in March 1877 when they returned with a herd of stolen horses and forcibly returned to San Carlos. Geronimo stayed in the reservation till 1881, taking no part in the Victorio's War (1879-1880). [1]
However, after the US army started arresting prominent Apache warriors after Cibecue Creek Incident (September 1881), Geronimo fled for Siera Madre mountains in Mexico with some 70 warriors. In Mexico, Geronimo joined Nana's band, and for two years with about 80 warriors raided farms and ranches on both sides of the border. In 1883, Apaches raided a mining camp in Arizona and killed a judge in New Mexico. [1]
When the Apache raids in the US resumed, the US government appointed general George Crook as military commander in Arizona. General Crook tried an original approach – improving living conditions on the San Carlos Reservation, hiring Apache scouts on the reservation to fight renegade Apache raiders and collaborating with Mexican authorities on the other side of the border. These measures gave immediate results – Crook's army comprising only 42 US cavalrymen and 193 Apache scouts crossed into Mexico in May 1883 and successfully found Geronimo's band in the Siera Madre mountains. Attacked in his lair, although he lost only a few warriors, Geronimo agreed to meet Crook and surrender. The raiders arrived at San Carlos in March 1884 and lived peaceably for a time. [1]
One night in May 1885, Geronimo got drunk with several other chiefs; however, consumption of alcohol by reservation Indians was illegal. Fearing reprisals, Geronimo again fled into Mexico with about 130 followers. General Crook set off his forces in pursuit, comprising some 3,000 men, including 200 Apache scouts, but Apaches were an elusive enemy, fleeing from the army units and attacking ranches and farms. During the winter of 1885-1886, US forces doggedly hunted Geronimo through the Sierra Madre with little success. In March 1886, Geronimo surrendered to General Crook, but before the US forces could escort him across the border, Geronimo broke his word and fled with 20 warriors and 18 camp followers. Crook was severely criticised in Washington DC for his failure to capture Geronimo, as well as for his strategy of negotiations with Indians and using Apache scouts to fight Apache. On April 1, 1886, Crook was relieved of his command and replaced with general Nelson Miles, who defeated the Indians in the Nez Perce War (1877). [1]
Miles' first action was to relocate all the Apaches (including Crook military scouts) to Florida, in order to deprive Geronimo from his source of manpower and support in Arizona. Second, he ordered heliographs built along the border, in order to quickly get information about the Apache raids and spread about 5,000 troops in small detachments in order to promptly respond to any Apache attack. However, all this effort gave no results, as Apache raiders successfully applied hit-and-run tactics over the vast territories – they attacked a ranch in Arizona, then the town of Nogales a few days later, without any loses on their side. With nothing to show for the enormous resources he spent, in August 1886, General Miles was forced to negotiate. Geronimo met his envoy, Lieutenant Gatewood, and learned that his family and his entire people were exiled to Florida because of his defiance. That news broke Geronimo's will to fight, and he surrendered for the final time to General Miles in September 1886. [1]
Geronimo's band killed 17 American civilians on the run to Mexican border in May 1885.[ citation needed ]
In Ulzana's Raid from November 23 to the end of 1885, the 12 Apache raiders led by Ulzana covered 1,200 miles (1,931 km), killed 38 people, and captured 250 head of livestock with just a single casualty.[ citation needed ]
During Crook's Campaign, 20 women and children were captured in August 1885, a single warrior was killed in Ulzana's Raid in December 1885, and 20 warriors and 60 non combatants surrendered in March 1886.[ citation needed ]
During Miles' Campaign, 18 warriors, 12 women and 6 children surrendered in September 1886, and 400 peaceful Apache from San Carlos Reservation, including Apache Scouts, were deported to Florida.[ citation needed ]
Geronimo spent two years in prison in Fort Pickens (on Santa Rosa Island, off Florida) with his warriors, while their families were moved to Fort Marion, 300 miles away. In all, he spent 23 years in captivity, first in Florida, later in Southern Oklahoma, but he never returned to his homeland in Arizona. He died in 1909 of pneumonia, aged about 80. He was the last of the Indian rebels to surrender. [1]
Chiricahua is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Gerónimo was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central 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.
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexican–American War in 1846, the United States annexed conflicted territory from Mexico which was the home of both settlers and Apache tribes. Conflicts continued as American settlers came into traditional Apache lands to raise livestock and crops and to mine minerals.
Massai was a member of the Mimbres/Mimbreños local group of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apache. He was a warrior who was captured but escaped from a train that was sending the scouts and renegades to Florida to be held with Geronimo and Chihuahua.
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.
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 was a German-American immigrant who fought in the American Civil War (1861-1865), and in the American Old West frontier against the Native Americans. (Indians) in the later American Indian Wars of the mid to late 19th century. He became a prospector and later served as a decorated Chief of Scouts for the United States Army dring the subsequent Apache Wars of 1849 - 1886 in the southwestern United States.
Kas-tziden or Haškɛnadɨltla, more widely known by his Mexican-Spanish appellation Nana, was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apache. A trusted lieutenant to Cuchillo Negro and Mangas Coloradas, in the 1850s and 1860s he was one of the best known leaders of the Chihenne (Tchiende), along with Tudeevia, Ponce and Loco. He was a nephew of Delgadito, and married a sister of Geronimo.
Alchesay, also known as William Alchesay, Alchisay and Alchise, was a chief of the White Mountain Apache tribe and an Indian Scout. He received the United States military's highest decoration for bravery, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the Indian Wars.
Camillus "Buck" Sydney Fly was an Old West photographer who is regarded by some as an early photojournalist and who captured the only known images of Native Americans while they were still at war with the United States. He took many other pictures of life in the silver-mining boom town of Tombstone, Arizona, and the surrounding region. He recognized the value of his photographs to illustrate periodicals of the day and took his camera to the scenes of important events where he recorded them and resold pictures to editors nationwide.
First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He was raised in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where his father ran a press. 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.
The Yavapai Wars, or the Tonto Wars, were a series of armed conflicts between the Yavapai and Tonto tribes against the United States in the Arizona Territory. The period began no later than 1861, with the arrival of American settlers on Yavapai and Tonto land. At the time, the Yavapai were considered a band of the Western Apache people due to their close relationship with tribes such as the Tonto and Pinal. The war culminated with the Yavapai's removal from the Camp Verde Reservation to San Carlos on February 27, 1875, an event now known as Exodus Day.
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 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 Apache raiders killed three white American settlers in the Arizona Territory. 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.
Chato was a Chiricahua Apache subchief who carried out several raids on settlers in Arizona in the 1870s. His Apache name was Bidayajislnl or Pedes-klinje. He was a protege of Cochise, and he surrendered with Cochise in 1872 going to live on the San Carlos Reservation in southern Arizona, where he became an Apache Scout. Following his service as a scout he was taken prisoner after being coerced to travel to Washington, D.C. Chato was imprisoned in St. Augustine, Florida along with almost 500 other Apache at Fort Marion.
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.
Ulzana, was a Tsokanende Apache war chief, brother of Chihuahua.
First Lieutenant Britton Davis was an American soldier born in Brownsville, Texas. He served in the United States Army in the 6th 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.
Chihuahua or Chewawa,, was chief of the Chokonen local group of the Tsokanende Band of Chiricahua Apache who carried out several raids on settlers in Arizona in the 1870s and 1880s. His elder brother Ulzana, who would later become known as leader of a very famous raid through New Mexico and Arizona in 1885, was his war chief (segundo). Chihuahua's name in the Mescalero-Chiricahua language was Kla-esh or Tłá'í'ez.
The Geronimo Surrender Site is situated above Skeleton Canyon in southeastern Arizona, on a small bluff. Overlooking the canyon, the San Bernardino Valley and San Simon Valley can be seen to the east and west. The actual site is marked by a cairn of rocks, which was erected by Lieutenant Henry W. Lawton, on the spot where Geronimo surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles in 1886.