Places: Washita Battlefield Site, Cheyenne, Oklahoma
To look at some battle sites today, it's hard to believe that scenes of unspeakable tragedy once took place there. The site of the Battle of the Washita, near Cheyenne, Oklahoma, is now a grassland, with a museum, but on November 27, 1868, it was hell on earth where over 100 Cheyenne men, women and children perished in the dead of winter.
In 1867, the Cheyenne and other major Plains tribes had agreed to a series of treaties known as the Medicine Lodge Treaties, which severely restricted their home and hunting ranges. Hunting range was the most important, as all Natives knew that the rations supplied on reservations were never enough, and that disease and death followed starvation. For this reason, many Cheyenne bands disavowed the treaties and continued to use their hunting ranges. In 1868, the Army resolved on punitive strikes at winter encampments to force the Natives to go to the reservations. On November 27, 1868, almost four years to the day after his people endured the Sand Creek Massacre, Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry swept down on Black Kettle's village. At least, this time, there were more warriors in camp, about 150, who tried to make a defense. They were no match for the surprise attack of about 574 cavalrymen. Black Kettle and his wife, both elderly, would die trying to cross the river. Many other Cheyenne were killed doing the same.
Today, the battlefield is a National Historic Landmark and on the Register of Historic Places.
In 1867, the Cheyenne and other major Plains tribes had agreed to a series of treaties known as the Medicine Lodge Treaties, which severely restricted their home and hunting ranges. Hunting range was the most important, as all Natives knew that the rations supplied on reservations were never enough, and that disease and death followed starvation. For this reason, many Cheyenne bands disavowed the treaties and continued to use their hunting ranges. In 1868, the Army resolved on punitive strikes at winter encampments to force the Natives to go to the reservations. On November 27, 1868, almost four years to the day after his people endured the Sand Creek Massacre, Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry swept down on Black Kettle's village. At least, this time, there were more warriors in camp, about 150, who tried to make a defense. They were no match for the surprise attack of about 574 cavalrymen. Black Kettle and his wife, both elderly, would die trying to cross the river. Many other Cheyenne were killed doing the same.
Today, the battlefield is a National Historic Landmark and on the Register of Historic Places.
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