View of the Washita Battlefield and The Battle of Washita historical marker, Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

On November 27, 1868, the 7th United States Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer carried out a surprise dawn attack on Cheyenne Peace Chief Black Kettle’s village. Known as the Battle of the Washita (and often referred to as the Massacre on the Washita), the soldiers killed or captured all the villagers in less than thirty minutes. In the years prior, significant events occurred between the Native tribes and the United States government that culminated in the battle.

Conflict between American Indian tribes and European settlers had been occurring since the 1600s. As the United States frontier expanded westward, violence continued to erupt between tribes already living on the lands and settlers moving in. Lasting until the end of the 19th century, the various conflicts became known as the American Indian Wars.

Over the years, hundreds of treaties were negotiated between the federal government and Native tribes to establish land boundaries, provide provisions, and maintain peace. Unfortunately, these treaties were frequently broken. Between 1851 and 1867, four treaties were negotiated with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.

The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, also known as the Horse Creek Treaty, established land boundaries in Indian Territory for eight tribes and sought to maintain lasting peace among them. The Native Americans guaranteed safe passage for settlers on the Oregon Trail and allowed roads and forts to be built in the territories in exchange for annuities of $50,000 for 50 years.

The treaty was broken almost immediately when the Sioux and the Cheyenne attacked the Crow and invading their lands. In 1858, during the Colorado Gold Rush, settlers took over treaty-protected territories in order to mine them. Furthermore, only one of the promised annuity payments was ever made.

The 1861 Treaty of Fort Wise was signed between the United States and ten chiefs (six Cheyenne and four Arapaho), including Peace Chief Black Kettle. The agreement involved the tribes relinquishing over 90 percent of the land previously designated to them by the Fort Laramie Treaty, leaving them with a reservation in eastern Colorado less than one-thirteenth the size of their previous land. Since this significantly restricted access to their traditional hunting grounds, the United States also agreed to provide goods and provisions to assist the tribes with agriculture, farming, and livestock. In addition, annuity payments of $30,000 for 15 years were promised.

Unlike the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, when over 10,000 Native Americans attended the negotiations, only a minority of the chiefs negotiated and signed the Treaty of Fort Wise. A majority of the Cheyenne opposed the treaty and became angry because it was signed without the consent or approval of the rest of the tribe.

Just like before, the Treaty of Fort Wise was broken multiple times. Some bands of Cheyenne, including the Dog Soldiers (a militaristic band of Cheyenne warriors that resisted westward expansion), refused to acknowledge the new land restrictions. At the same time, the Civil War had just begun, which disrupted the government’s delivery of promised goods and provisions. Severe droughts in the early to mid-1860s made matters worse. Failed crops and reduced game for hunting promoted tribes to steal food and livestock from white settlements.

Colorado Territory Governor John Evans grew increasingly fed up with the Cheyenne. In April 1864, he called for Colonel John Chivington to “kill Cheyenne wherever and whenever found,” regardless of whether or not they were guilty of anything. This led to retaliatory raids on white settlers.

In response, Evans issued a proclamation ordering all “friendly Indians of the Plains” to report to military posts or be considered hostile. Chief Black Kettle accepted the offer and began negotiations with Evans. A peace settlement was reached. The Cheyenne were assigned to the Sand Creek reservation and required to report to Fort Lyon (formerly Fort Wise). Black Kettle believed the agreement would ensure the safety of his people, but it did not.

While at Sand Creek, Black Kettle flew an American flag and a white flag over his tipi. The white flag had been given to him during negotiations at Fort Lyon so he could show soldiers who came across the camp that the tribe was peaceful. Unfortunately, that didn’t work, and on November 29, 1864, almost 700 soldiers under the command of Colonel Chivington attacked and destroyed the village at Sand Creek. The massacre resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Cheyenne and Arapaho people.

Black Kettle and his wife (who suffered nine wounds) managed to escape the Sand Creek massacre. They decided to move south, where he continued to negotiate with the United States government, believing that military resistance was doomed to fail.

On October 14, 1865, several members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, including Chief Black Kettle, signed the Little Arkansas Treaty. Meant to bring peace after the Sand Creek massacre, the treaty designated new reservation lands and promised $40 annuities for 40 years to every survivor, widow, and orphan for reparations. However, none of its provisions were ever implemented, and the reservations promised were never created. To this day, descendants of the Sand Creek massacre victims are still fighting to receive reparations.

In 1867, Chief Black Kettle, along with 21 other Cheyenne and Arapaho, negotiated and signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty. The agreement assigned the tribes to a new reservation in Indian Territory, which was less than half the size of the 1865 Little Arkansas Treaty territory. The government pledged to establish schools on the reservation and provide American farmers to teach them how to farm the land. They were also provided access to their traditional hunting grounds. However, this stipulation was dropped during ratification, forcing them to give up their hunting territory again.

Many of the Natives, including the Dog Soldiers, remained angry about the terms of all the treaties. They refused to keep the peace and continued to wage war against military forces and settlers. In response, General Philip Sheridan, head of the Department of the Missouri at the time, devised a plan to attack the Cheyenne camps during winter since it was the only time of year the nomadic tribes were immobile.

In early November 1868, Chief Black Kettle’s camp joined other tribal bands at the Washita River. The series of winter camps included roughly 6,000 Natives from Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes and ran almost 15 miles along the river. Black Kettle’s village was the westernmost camp and was several miles away from the rest.

That same month, a group led by Cheyenne chiefs Black Kettle and Little Robe and Arapaho chiefs Big Mouth and Spotted Wolf embarked on a 6-day, 100-mile journey to Fort Cobb. They met with Colonel William B. Hazen to discuss peace. Black Kettle wanted to move his people closer to Fort Cobb, but the Colonel knew that General Sheridan considered the Cheyenne and Arapaho to be hostile and was planning an attack. Not wanting to jeopardize the peace of the Kiowa and Comanche already camped there, Colonel Hazen recommended against them coming to the fort. Despite not reaching a peace agreement, the chiefs departed Fort Cobb with food supplied by the post trader.

On November 25th, the night before they returned, a war party of almost 150 young warriors from the Washita encampments, led by the Dog Soldiers, raided nearby white settlements. The next day, Major Joel Elliott of the 7th Cavalry discovered the raiders’ trail, which drew Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his forces to the Washita.

The day Black Kettle returned from Fort Cobb, he received multiple warnings about possible soldiers in the area. A party of Kiowas passing through on the way to their own village told the Cheyenne they had seen a large trail leading to the Washita camps. The warning was not taken seriously because Black Kettle did not believe soldiers would operate so far south during winter. One of the warriors from the war party, who went back for an exhausted horse he left along the trail to rest, saw figures moving in the north that looked like soldiers. However, he did not tell Black Kettle, fearing he would be chastised for being part of the raid.

On the evening of November 26th, Black Kettle held a council in his lodge to relay what was discussed at Fort Cobb and about General Sheridan’s plans. The council decided that after the foot-deep snow cleared, they would send out runners to try to find the soldiers and make it clear that the Cheyenne people wanted peace. They also decided to move their camp downriver the next day to be closer to the others. Unfortunately, that would be too late.

After discovering the trail of the Dog Soldiers’ war party, Custer and his men followed it overnight to Black Kettle’s village. Thinking it was a camp of hostile warriors, Custer made a plan of attack. He divided his forces into four parts to surround the camp and attack simultaneously at first daylight. The cavalry musicians famously played “Garryowen” (a lively Irish drinking song adopted by Custer as the official marching tune for the 7th Cavalry) as the signal to launch the attack.

A Cheyenne named Double Wolf was one of the first to be awoken by the commotion. He fired his gun to alert the sleeping village and soon became one of the first to die. The others quickly left their lodges, barefoot and half-clothed, to take refuge behind trees and in the ravines along the riverbank. Black Kettle and his wife were shot in the back and killed while fleeing across the Washita River on horseback. Within minutes, the soldiers had captured the village. Those who had fled for cover unsuccessfully tried to fight off pursuing soldiers. In total, roughly 100 Cheyenne were killed, and 53 women and children were captured.

As the fighting began to subside, Custer noticed large groups of mounted Indians gathering on nearby hilltops. He quickly realized that Black Kettle’s village was only one of many camps along the river. Fearing an attack, he ordered some of his men to take defensive positions while the others seized everything they could from the village, including over 800 horses and ponies. The soldiers destroyed what they couldn’t carry or didn’t want before setting fire to the village. They spared 200 of the horses and slaughtered the rest to prevent the other tribes from using them.

The other tribes that had gathered on the hilltops watched in horror. Not wanting to put their own villages in danger, they turned around and left without attacking. Custer and his troops were running low on ammunition, so instead of pursuing the other camps downriver, they retreated back to Camp Supply.

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