Natives versus Army: The Battle of Plum Creek, August 12, 1840
The Comanche were one of the more ruthless tribes in the west, ranking with the Apaches and the Sioux in what they were prepared to do to captives if and when their territory was violated. Seen from their vantage point, the tactics they employed, including scorched earth and torture, seemed the only way to stop the inevitable. They had no doubt heard for decades how European advancement in America had brought nothin but disease and displacement to many tribes, often to the point of extinction, and were determined that they wouldn't be the next on the list. And, it wasn't just Whites who got on their bad side. Other Native tribes also took the Comanche seriously and most were willing to steer clear of Comancheria, the hunting range of the Comanche in what is now Texas and New Mexico.
American settlers weren't so easily dissuaded, pushing deeper onto the staked plains which formed the heart of Comancheria, and meeting any attacks by Comanche war parties with the same brutal methods. Neither side was willing to relent. Comanche raids took several White women and children captive, including Cynthia Ann Parker, mother to Quanah, who later became a Comanche leader in his own right. Finally, in 1840, Texas leaders called for a peace parley to meet with the Comanche in the Council House at San Antonio, demanding that they bring with them all White captives. This was unacceptable. Most of the captives had been taken into the Comanche tribe and were considered relatives. Giving them up wasn't going to happen. The Comanche leaders showed up at the Council House with two captives, a White girl who'd suffered some mutilation and a Mexican boy. In the ensuing argument and scuffle, someone fired a weapon and the entire Comanche delegation was killed.
Buffalo Hump of the Penateka Comanche rapidly began recruiting warriors, both within his own band and within other Comanche bands. His force totaled about 1,000 men, along with women, children. Beginning at the Edwards Plateau in West Texas, Buffalo Hump led his men in a series of daring scorched earth raids which reached Victoria and Linnville on the Texas Coast. The town of Linnville, at the time one of Texas' busiest seaports, was almost wiped out, its remaining settlers moving to Port Lavaca. In addition to captives, some of which were tortured while others taken into the various bands of Comanche, the warriors rounded up cattle and horses, as well as firearms and trading goods such as liquor and cloth. Texas authorities quickly mobilized the Rangers and groups of local militia to deal with this threat, including Tonkawa scouts. The militia and Rangers caught up with the Comanche near present-day Lockhart.
A running gunfight ensued, with the smaller force of Rangers and militia, about 200 men, chasing after the Comanche. The Comanche were weighed down with their prisoners, non-combatants, livestock and other spoils. As militia units joined the fight, the Comanche were forced into a fight on the banks of Plum Creek. Texas history claims a victory because the Texans remained in possession of the ground. The Comanche also claimed a victory, since they got away with most of their horses and other spoils of war. Casualties included 30 civilians and combatants killed at Victoria and Linnville and 11 combatants at Plum Creek. The Texans claimed 80 Comanche killed, though only 12 bodies were recovered. The Comanche made it a practice to remove their dead for later ritual cremation.
Buffalo Hump continued to raid settlements in Texas until 1856. He would later move to the Brazos Reservation.
American settlers weren't so easily dissuaded, pushing deeper onto the staked plains which formed the heart of Comancheria, and meeting any attacks by Comanche war parties with the same brutal methods. Neither side was willing to relent. Comanche raids took several White women and children captive, including Cynthia Ann Parker, mother to Quanah, who later became a Comanche leader in his own right. Finally, in 1840, Texas leaders called for a peace parley to meet with the Comanche in the Council House at San Antonio, demanding that they bring with them all White captives. This was unacceptable. Most of the captives had been taken into the Comanche tribe and were considered relatives. Giving them up wasn't going to happen. The Comanche leaders showed up at the Council House with two captives, a White girl who'd suffered some mutilation and a Mexican boy. In the ensuing argument and scuffle, someone fired a weapon and the entire Comanche delegation was killed.
Buffalo Hump of the Penateka Comanche rapidly began recruiting warriors, both within his own band and within other Comanche bands. His force totaled about 1,000 men, along with women, children. Beginning at the Edwards Plateau in West Texas, Buffalo Hump led his men in a series of daring scorched earth raids which reached Victoria and Linnville on the Texas Coast. The town of Linnville, at the time one of Texas' busiest seaports, was almost wiped out, its remaining settlers moving to Port Lavaca. In addition to captives, some of which were tortured while others taken into the various bands of Comanche, the warriors rounded up cattle and horses, as well as firearms and trading goods such as liquor and cloth. Texas authorities quickly mobilized the Rangers and groups of local militia to deal with this threat, including Tonkawa scouts. The militia and Rangers caught up with the Comanche near present-day Lockhart.
A running gunfight ensued, with the smaller force of Rangers and militia, about 200 men, chasing after the Comanche. The Comanche were weighed down with their prisoners, non-combatants, livestock and other spoils. As militia units joined the fight, the Comanche were forced into a fight on the banks of Plum Creek. Texas history claims a victory because the Texans remained in possession of the ground. The Comanche also claimed a victory, since they got away with most of their horses and other spoils of war. Casualties included 30 civilians and combatants killed at Victoria and Linnville and 11 combatants at Plum Creek. The Texans claimed 80 Comanche killed, though only 12 bodies were recovered. The Comanche made it a practice to remove their dead for later ritual cremation.
Buffalo Hump continued to raid settlements in Texas until 1856. He would later move to the Brazos Reservation.
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