Qualla: Battle of the Washita River

Battle of the Washita River: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hugh L. Scott (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument), Public domain. Black Kettle's wife Medicine Woman stood outside their lodge in the bitter cold of November 26, 1868, angry that the camp was not moving. "I don't like this delay," she said. "We could have moved long ago. The Agent sent word for us to leave at once. It seems we are crazy and deaf, and cannot hear." Hours earlier, Black Kettle had returned from Fort Cobb, where he had pleaded for peace. A warrior named Crow Neck had spotted what looked like soldiers to the north but told no one, fearing he would be laughed at. White Shield had a vision of a wounded wolf mourning its scattered young. By dawn on November 27, Custer's 7th Cavalry was in position. The musicians played "Garryowen." Black Kettle and Medicine Woman were shot in the back while fleeing on a pony.

Image: Hugh L. Scott (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument) | Public domain

Battle of the Washita River: A Peace Chief in the Cross Fire

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit unattributed, Public domain. Black Kettle had survived the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, where Colorado militia killed more than 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho in a camp flying a U.S. flag. Four years later, he was still seeking peace. His village of roughly 180 lodges on the Washita River was the westernmost in a ...

Image: unattributed | Public domain

Battle of the Washita River: Sheridan's Winter Calculus

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument), Public domain. General Philip Sheridan chose winter deliberately. It was the only season when Plains tribes were immobilized. If their shelter, food, and horses could be destroyed or captured, the warriors and their families would be at the mercy of both the army and the elements. He ordered th...

Image: Unknown authorUnknown author (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument) | Public domain

Battle of the Washita River: 675 Horses Slaughtered

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hugh L. Scott (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument), Public domain. Custer took the village quickly, but as fighting subsided, he saw mounted warriors gathering on the surrounding hilltops -- thousands of Indians from the downstream camps were converging. Fifty-three women and children had been captured, and Custer used them as human shields, pla...

Image: Hugh L. Scott (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument) | Public domain

Battle of the Washita River: Counting the Dead

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit William S. Soule (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument), Public domain. Custer initially reported 103 warriors killed. Captain Benteen later wrote that Custer had assembled his officers and asked each how many dead Indians they had seen, then added the numbers together: "They had all seen the same dead Indians." Scout Ben Clark reported 75 warriors a...

Image: William S. Soule (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument) | Public domain

Battle of the Washita River: Battle or Massacre?

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Ser Amantio di Nicolao, CC BY-SA 4.0. The question has never been settled. Custer himself said his forces could not avoid killing some women in a hard fight and that some women took up weapons. Historian Jerome Greene concluded that "soldiers evidently took measures to protect the women and children." But scout Ben C...

Image: Ser Amantio di Nicolao | CC BY-SA 4.0