Apache scouts
Encyclopedia
The Apache Scouts were part of the United States
Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars
up to 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 Tonto 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 in charge of small groups of Apaches. As was the custom in the United States military, scouts were enlisted with Anglo
nicknames or single names. Many Apache scouts received citations for bravery.
band did not have many ties to an Eastern Apache
band and might be very distrustful. Apache scouts were usually grouped in operational units by band.
Tonto Apache
scouts were recruited to assist General Crook find Chief Delshay's band who fled the Fort Verde
reservation. Crook's Chief of Scouts, Albert Sieber always seemed to have his Tonto scouts with him through the Apache Wars.
White Mountain scouts served with Company B under Lieutenant
Charles B. Gatewood
from Fort Apache
in 1885 to 1886. General George Crook
had high praise for this group which is composed of several bands. "Chiricahuas were the most subordinate, energetic, untiring and, by odds, the most efficient of their command." These scouts were sent to Florida by General Miles, along with those who they tracked for sixteen months in 1885 and 1886, as if these Apache scouts were hostiles to be punished. They were kept captive under nominal arrest as prisoners of war, along with the rest of Geronimo
's band whom they'd helped the army track down, for twenty-six years before finally being released.
Warm Springs Apache scouts served in Company B under Lieutenant Britton Davis and were in the field tracking Geronimo and Nana. In 1885 Mescalero scouts were with Major Vanm Horn cavalry which was trying to prevent Geronimo, Nana and others from crossing the Rio Grande
near Fort Stanton
.
of the war involving the scouts occurred along the Pecos River
of New Mexico Territory
on January 4, 1864. After a band of about 100 Navajo
warriors raided the reservation
at Bosque Redondo, the local Indian agent
led sixty Mescalero's south in the pursuit of the raiders and eventually caught up with them at the Pecos. When the fighting started, the Navajo realized they couldn't escape with their herd of stolen livestock
so they took up defensive positions to try and fight off their pursuers. Initially the Navajo were successful in keeping their enemies back but eventually United States Army reinforcements began to arrive, about twenty-five men from the 2nd California Cavalry
and the 5th Infantry
. The weather was extremely cold throughout the engagment so the Apaches downed their rifles and took up the bow because it was easier to aim. After a long battle the Navajo were forced to retreat without the livestock, leaving an estimated forty dead on the field. Another twenty-five Navajos were estimated to have been wounded and a group the same size escaped. There were no casualties among the Americans or the Apache scouts and they recovered fifty horses and mules. Less than two weeks later Colonel
Kit Carson
would lead an expedition into Canyon de Chelly, the heart of Navajo territory, capturing most of the inhabitants and ending the war.
of scouts. However, at that time, few Apaches were willing to join Crook so he was forced to recruit native American
s from various tribes across the Southwest. The majority of Crook's scouts were Apache, divided into two companies, but at first there were also Navajos, Pima
s, Yaquis, Opatas, Papagos
, Walapais, Yavapai
s, and Paiute
s, as well as some Mexicans
and Americans. General Crook allowed any captured Apache male to join his scouts, believing that "the wilder the Apache was, the more he was likely to know the wiles and statagems of those still out in the mountains. (sic)" While Crook was recruiting natives to fight for him, he was also fighting against the Western Apaches and the closely associated Yavapai tribe in central Arizona Territory
. During the Tonto Basin Campaign in 1872, Crook deployed his scouts at the Battle of Salt River Canyon
on December 28. Over 100 Yavapai and Tonto men, women and children were held up inside a cave overlooking the Salt River
. With some 130 cavalrymen, and about thirty scouts, Crook attacked the cave, killing seventy-six people, including non combatants, and capturing the remaining thirty-four. The general followed up the victory with another at Turret Peak
, on March 27, 1873, in which another fifty-seven Yavapais and Tonto Apaches were killed. Only one man was killed on the Americans' side during both engagements and soon after the Yavapai and the Tontos begans flocking to Camp Verde to surrender.
The war was not over yet though, small bands of Yavapai and Apache raiders continued to harass the army and the settlers in and around Tonto Basin for two years more. The fighting was mostly skirmishing but it was enough to keep the scouts busy. One of these skirmishes occurred on November 1, 1874 after Tonto Apaches stole some livestock from a rancher in Tonto Basin
. Some forty Apache scouts and cavalrymen were then dispatched from Camp Verde to pusrue the hostiles and they caught up with them at Sunset Pass
, near the Little Colorado River
. A fight ensued that left the furture general Lieutenant Charles King
badly wounded in the arm and temporarily stranded. King was rescued by his men who engaged the hostiles for some time but eventually the order to retreat was given. King later wrote a book, titled "Sunset Pass", about his experiences serving with the Apache scouts in Arizona Territory. After the war ended, General Crook departed Arizona for Dakota Territory
in 1876, Colonel Augustus P. Kautz took over the command of the scouts and he formed a third company in early 1877 and a fourth in 1878. Upon taking command of the scouts, Kautz wrote; "These scouts supported by a small force of cavalry, are exceedingly efficient, and have succeeded, with one or two exceptions, in finding every party of Indians they have gone in pursuit of. They are a great terror to the runaways from the Reservations, and for such work are more efficient than double the number of soldiers. (sic)"
's attack
on Columbus
, New Mexico, in March of 1916, General John J. Pershing
was ordered to command a punitive expedition
into Mexico
to capture or kill Villa, in which Apache scouts would be useful. Accordingly, Pershing authorized the enlistment of seventeen new Apache scouts, raising their strength to thirty-nine men. Pancho Villa and his rebels were operating in Chihuahua when Pershing led his army across the international border; the terrain was rugged desert, littered with canyons and other concealed positions, making the pursuit of Villa difficult for the army but not for the Apaches. The scouts were divided into two groups, though they engaged in only two small skirmishes, they had plenty of opportunities to use their tracking abilities against the Villistas and army deserters. The first group headed into Mexico from Fort Huachuca
, Arizona
, to join up with the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, while the second group departed from Fort Apache, to join the 11th Cavalry. By the time the scouts arrived in Chihuahua, Mexico, the hunt for Villa was already suspended by Pershing, due to the defeat in the Battle of Carrizal, in which the Americans engaged Mexican government troops, known as Carrancistas. The hunt was never continued and after that Pershing began a slow withdrawal back to the United States, under President Wilson's orders. The withdrawal continued for months and ended in February of 1917.
The first battle involving the scouts was fought at Ojo Azules Ranch. On May 5 a small group of scouts joined up with a troop from the 11th Cavalry to attack about 150 Villistas. During the half hour battle that followed the Apaches played a significant role, in all sixty-one Mexicans were killed and another seventy were captured, all without sustaining any casualties. In April of 1917, Captain James A. Shannon, 11th Cavalry, wrote an article titled "With the Apache Scouts in Mexico", which described the tactics employed by the scouts and his experiences with them. Shannon wrote the following; "The Indian cannot be beaten at his own game. But in order to get results, he must be allowed to play that game in his own way. You tell a troop of white soldiers there is an enemy a thousand yards in your front and they will go straight at him without questions. The Indian under the same circumstance wants to look it all over first. He wants to go to one side and take a look. Then to the other side and take a look. He is like a wild animal stalking its prey. Before he advances he wants to know just what is in his front. This extreme caution, which we dont like to see in the white man, is one of the qualities that makes him a perfect scout. It would be almost impossible to surprise an outfit that had a detachment of Apache scouts in its front. They do not lack courage by any means. They have taken part in some little affairs in Mexico that required plenty of courage, but they must be allowed to do things in their own way. (sic)" The second skirmish occurred at Las Varas Pass on June 1, 1916 after some Villistas stole a pair of United States Army horses from the 5th Cavalry. Shannon wrote; "They started off on the trail and after going a short distance came to a rocky stretch where the trail was hard to follow. They circled out like a pack of hounds and soon one of them gave a grunt and all the rest went over where he was and started off again. After a while the trail seemed to divide, so the detachment split up into two parties following the two trails. After about an hour or so, one of these parties overtook the villistas in a very narrow ravine. They shot two of them, and on account of the narrowness of the pass, unfortunately shot two of the horses, one of which proved to be the private horse of Lieutenant Ely of the Fifth Cavalry. They recovered one government horse and got some Mexican saddles, rifles, etc. (sic)"
After the expedition ended in February of 1917, the Apache scouts were once again without a real purpose for existence so the army disbanded about half of the force, leaving twenty-two scouts for duty. Their war time service was not completely over though, conflict between the United States Army and Mexicans continued until 1919 and Mexican raids across the border were a frequent occurrence into the 1920s.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
up to 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
Navajo Wars
The Navajo Wars were a series of battles and other conflicts, often separated with treaties that involved raids by different Navajo bands on the rancheras along the Rio Grande and the counter campaigns by the Spanish, Mexican, and United States governments, and sometimes their civilian elements....
, the Tonto War
Yavapai War
The Yavapai War, also known as the Tonto War, or the Apache War, was an armed conflict in the United States from 1871 to 1875 against renegade Yavapai and Western Apache bands of Arizona. It began in the aftermath of the Camp Grant Massacre, on April 28, 1871, in which nearly 150 Pinal and Aravaipa...
, the Mexican Border War and they saw stateside duty during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. There has been a great deal written about Apache scouts, both as part of United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
reports from the field and more colorful accounts written after the events by non-Apaches in newspapers and books. Men such as Al Sieber
Albert Sieber
Albert Sieber was a German-American military figure, prospector, and Chief of Scouts during the Apache Wars.-Biography:...
and Tom Horn
Tom Horn
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the murder of Willie Nickell.-Early life:Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr...
were sometimes in charge of small groups of Apaches. As was the custom in the United States military, scouts were enlisted with Anglo
Anglo
Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...
nicknames or single names. Many Apache scouts received citations for bravery.
Apache Scouts by band
It is important to note that Apaches were lumped together as a group by outsiders. However, while they may have shared many similar customs and language, they defined themselves by loose bands which tended to be associated with a geographical area. A band was semi nomadic and had clan and kinship ties with neighboring groups. Thus, a Western ApacheWestern Apache
Western Apache refers to the Apache peoples living today primarily in east central Arizona. Most live within reservations. The White Mountain Apache of the Fort Apache, San Carlos, Yavapai-Apache, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian reservations are home to the majority of...
band did not have many ties to an Eastern Apache
Mescalero
Mescalero is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation in southcentral New Mexico...
band and might be very distrustful. Apache scouts were usually grouped in operational units by band.
Tonto Apache
Tonto Apache
The Tonto Apache is one of the groups of Western Apache people. The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language...
scouts were recruited to assist General Crook find Chief Delshay's band who fled the Fort Verde
Fort Verde State Historic Park
Fort Verde State Historic Park in the town of Camp Verde, Arizona is a small park that attempts to preserve parts of the Apache Wars-era fort as it appeared in the 1880s...
reservation. Crook's Chief of Scouts, Albert Sieber always seemed to have his Tonto scouts with him through the Apache Wars.
White Mountain scouts served with Company B under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Charles B. Gatewood
Charles B. Gatewood
First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. 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...
from Fort Apache
Fort Apache
-Places:* Fort Apache, Arizona* Fort Apache Indian Reservation, the White Mountain Apache tribe's reservation and former US Army cavalry post near Whiteriver, Arizona* Fuerte Apache, a housing project outside Buenos Aires, Argentina.-Military:...
in 1885 to 1886. General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
had high praise for this group which is composed of several bands. "Chiricahuas were the most subordinate, energetic, untiring and, by odds, the most efficient of their command." These scouts were sent to Florida by General Miles, along with those who they tracked for sixteen months in 1885 and 1886, as if these Apache scouts were hostiles to be punished. They were kept captive under nominal arrest as prisoners of war, along with the rest of Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
's band whom they'd helped the army track down, for twenty-six years before finally being released.
Warm Springs Apache scouts served in Company B under Lieutenant Britton Davis and were in the field tracking Geronimo and Nana. In 1885 Mescalero scouts were with Major Vanm Horn cavalry which was trying to prevent Geronimo, Nana and others from crossing the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
near Fort Stanton
Fort Stanton
Fort Stanton was a U.S. military fort built in New Mexico in the United States. It was established to protect settlements along the Rio Bonito in the Apache Wars...
.
Navajo War
Mescalero Apache scouts served with the army during the Navajo War in 1863 and 1864. One of the last battlesBattle of Pecos River
The Battle of Pecos River was fought in 1864 during the Navajo Wars. United States Army troops and Apache Scouts defeated a force of Navajo warriors next to the Pecos River in New Mexico...
of the war involving the scouts occurred along the Pecos River
Pecos River
The headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
of New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
on January 4, 1864. After a band of about 100 Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
warriors raided the reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
at Bosque Redondo, the local Indian agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
led sixty Mescalero's south in the pursuit of the raiders and eventually caught up with them at the Pecos. When the fighting started, the Navajo realized they couldn't escape with their herd of stolen livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
so they took up defensive positions to try and fight off their pursuers. Initially the Navajo were successful in keeping their enemies back but eventually United States Army reinforcements began to arrive, about twenty-five men from the 2nd California Cavalry
2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry
The 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States, with most of its companies dispersed to various posts.-History:...
and the 5th Infantry
5th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 5th Infantry Regiment is the third-oldest infantry regiment of the United States Army, tracing its origins to 1808...
. The weather was extremely cold throughout the engagment so the Apaches downed their rifles and took up the bow because it was easier to aim. After a long battle the Navajo were forced to retreat without the livestock, leaving an estimated forty dead on the field. Another twenty-five Navajos were estimated to have been wounded and a group the same size escaped. There were no casualties among the Americans or the Apache scouts and they recovered fifty horses and mules. Less than two weeks later Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
would lead an expedition into Canyon de Chelly, the heart of Navajo territory, capturing most of the inhabitants and ending the war.
Yavapai War
Apache scouts were employed by the United States Army throughout most of the Apache Wars but it wasn't until about 1870 when General George Crook introduced the idea of enlisting entire companiesCompany
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
of scouts. However, at that time, few Apaches were willing to join Crook so he was forced to recruit native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s from various tribes across the Southwest. The majority of Crook's scouts were Apache, divided into two companies, but at first there were also Navajos, Pima
Pima
The Pima are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people". They are closely related to the Tohono O'odham and the Hia C-ed O'odham...
s, Yaquis, Opatas, Papagos
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
, Walapais, Yavapai
Yavapai people
Yavapai are an indigenous people in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai were divided into four geographical bands that considered themselves separate peoples: the Tolkapaya, or Western Yavapai, the Yavapé, or Northwestern Yavapai, the Kwevkapaya, or Southeastern Yavapai, and Wipukpa, or Northeastern...
s, and Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
s, as well as some Mexicans
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Americans. General Crook allowed any captured Apache male to join his scouts, believing that "the wilder the Apache was, the more he was likely to know the wiles and statagems of those still out in the mountains. (sic)" While Crook was recruiting natives to fight for him, he was also fighting against the Western Apaches and the closely associated Yavapai tribe in central Arizona Territory
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
. During the Tonto Basin Campaign in 1872, Crook deployed his scouts at the Battle of Salt River Canyon
Battle of Salt River Canyon
The Battle of Salt River Canyon, or the Battle of Skeleton Cave, was the first principal engagement during the 1872 Tonto Basin Campaign under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Crook. It was part of the Yavapai War from 1871 to 1875.-Battle:...
on December 28. Over 100 Yavapai and Tonto men, women and children were held up inside a cave overlooking the Salt River
Salt River (Arizona)
The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...
. With some 130 cavalrymen, and about thirty scouts, Crook attacked the cave, killing seventy-six people, including non combatants, and capturing the remaining thirty-four. The general followed up the victory with another at Turret Peak
Battle of Turret Peak
The Battle of Turret Peak occurred March 27, 1873 in the Arizona Territory between the United States Army and a group of Yavapai and Tonto Apaches as part of Lieutenant Colonel George Crook's campaign to return the natives to reservations.- Background :...
, on March 27, 1873, in which another fifty-seven Yavapais and Tonto Apaches were killed. Only one man was killed on the Americans' side during both engagements and soon after the Yavapai and the Tontos begans flocking to Camp Verde to surrender.
The war was not over yet though, small bands of Yavapai and Apache raiders continued to harass the army and the settlers in and around Tonto Basin for two years more. The fighting was mostly skirmishing but it was enough to keep the scouts busy. One of these skirmishes occurred on November 1, 1874 after Tonto Apaches stole some livestock from a rancher in Tonto Basin
Tonto Basin
The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation transition zone across central and eastern Arizona....
. Some forty Apache scouts and cavalrymen were then dispatched from Camp Verde to pusrue the hostiles and they caught up with them at Sunset Pass
Battle of Sunset Pass
The Battle of Sunset Pass was fought in November 1874 during the Yavapai War. Following the theft of livestock by a band of Tonto Apaches, a troop of United States Army soldiers was dispatched to track the natives and recover the stolen property...
, near the Little Colorado River
Little Colorado River
The Little Colorado River is a river in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico...
. A fight ensued that left the furture general Lieutenant Charles King
Charles King (general)
Charles King was a United States soldier and a distinguished writer.-Biography:...
badly wounded in the arm and temporarily stranded. King was rescued by his men who engaged the hostiles for some time but eventually the order to retreat was given. King later wrote a book, titled "Sunset Pass", about his experiences serving with the Apache scouts in Arizona Territory. After the war ended, General Crook departed Arizona for Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
in 1876, Colonel Augustus P. Kautz took over the command of the scouts and he formed a third company in early 1877 and a fourth in 1878. Upon taking command of the scouts, Kautz wrote; "These scouts supported by a small force of cavalry, are exceedingly efficient, and have succeeded, with one or two exceptions, in finding every party of Indians they have gone in pursuit of. They are a great terror to the runaways from the Reservations, and for such work are more efficient than double the number of soldiers. (sic)"
Border War
Following Geronimo's surrender in 1886, there was little need for Apache scouts so their ranks were thinned down to just fifty men by 1891. In 1915 there were only twenty-four left. However, after Pancho VillaPancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
's attack
Battle of Columbus (1916)
The Battle of Columbus, the Burning of Columbus or the Columbus Raid began as a raid conducted by Pancho Villa's Division of the North on the small United States border town of Columbus, New Mexico in March 1916. The raid escalated into a full scale battle between Villistas and the United States Army...
on Columbus
Columbus, New Mexico
Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census. The town is named after 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus.-History:...
, New Mexico, in March of 1916, General John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing, GCB , was a general officer in the United States Army who led the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I...
was ordered to command a punitive expedition
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to capture or kill Villa, in which Apache scouts would be useful. Accordingly, Pershing authorized the enlistment of seventeen new Apache scouts, raising their strength to thirty-nine men. Pancho Villa and his rebels were operating in Chihuahua when Pershing led his army across the international border; the terrain was rugged desert, littered with canyons and other concealed positions, making the pursuit of Villa difficult for the army but not for the Apaches. The scouts were divided into two groups, though they engaged in only two small skirmishes, they had plenty of opportunities to use their tracking abilities against the Villistas and army deserters. The first group headed into Mexico from Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, to join up with the 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers, while the second group departed from Fort Apache, to join the 11th Cavalry. By the time the scouts arrived in Chihuahua, Mexico, the hunt for Villa was already suspended by Pershing, due to the defeat in the Battle of Carrizal, in which the Americans engaged Mexican government troops, known as Carrancistas. The hunt was never continued and after that Pershing began a slow withdrawal back to the United States, under President Wilson's orders. The withdrawal continued for months and ended in February of 1917.
The first battle involving the scouts was fought at Ojo Azules Ranch. On May 5 a small group of scouts joined up with a troop from the 11th Cavalry to attack about 150 Villistas. During the half hour battle that followed the Apaches played a significant role, in all sixty-one Mexicans were killed and another seventy were captured, all without sustaining any casualties. In April of 1917, Captain James A. Shannon, 11th Cavalry, wrote an article titled "With the Apache Scouts in Mexico", which described the tactics employed by the scouts and his experiences with them. Shannon wrote the following; "The Indian cannot be beaten at his own game. But in order to get results, he must be allowed to play that game in his own way. You tell a troop of white soldiers there is an enemy a thousand yards in your front and they will go straight at him without questions. The Indian under the same circumstance wants to look it all over first. He wants to go to one side and take a look. Then to the other side and take a look. He is like a wild animal stalking its prey. Before he advances he wants to know just what is in his front. This extreme caution, which we dont like to see in the white man, is one of the qualities that makes him a perfect scout. It would be almost impossible to surprise an outfit that had a detachment of Apache scouts in its front. They do not lack courage by any means. They have taken part in some little affairs in Mexico that required plenty of courage, but they must be allowed to do things in their own way. (sic)" The second skirmish occurred at Las Varas Pass on June 1, 1916 after some Villistas stole a pair of United States Army horses from the 5th Cavalry. Shannon wrote; "They started off on the trail and after going a short distance came to a rocky stretch where the trail was hard to follow. They circled out like a pack of hounds and soon one of them gave a grunt and all the rest went over where he was and started off again. After a while the trail seemed to divide, so the detachment split up into two parties following the two trails. After about an hour or so, one of these parties overtook the villistas in a very narrow ravine. They shot two of them, and on account of the narrowness of the pass, unfortunately shot two of the horses, one of which proved to be the private horse of Lieutenant Ely of the Fifth Cavalry. They recovered one government horse and got some Mexican saddles, rifles, etc. (sic)"
After the expedition ended in February of 1917, the Apache scouts were once again without a real purpose for existence so the army disbanded about half of the force, leaving twenty-two scouts for duty. Their war time service was not completely over though, conflict between the United States Army and Mexicans continued until 1919 and Mexican raids across the border were a frequent occurrence into the 1920s.
See Also
- Traditional Apache scoutTraditional Apache scoutThe phrase traditional Apache scout refers to members of the Apache tribe who engaged in scouting, either for game or during time of war. Only Lipan, Chiricahua and Mescaleros had scout societies. The scouts' original purpose was to protect the clanspeople from enemies, and to locate game and new...
- Navajo ScoutsNavajo ScoutsThe Navajo Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts between 1873 and 1895. Generally, the scouts were signed up at Fort Wingate for six month enlistments. In the period 1873 to 1885, there were usually ten to twenty-five scouts attached to units...
- Pawnee ScoutsPawnee ScoutsPawnee Scouts were part of the United States Army in the latter half of the 19th century. Like other groups of Indian scouts, Pawnee warriors were recruited in large numbers to fight on the Northern Plains in various conflicts against hostile native Americans...
- Crow ScoutsCrow ScoutsCrow Scouts were first used by the United States Army in 1876 during the Great Sioux War. Because the Crow tribe was generally peaceful with the Americans, the army was able to enlist Crow warriors to help track hostile native Americans. A small group of Crow scouts witnessed General George A...
- Black Seminole ScoutsBlack Seminole ScoutsBlack Seminole Scouts, also known as the Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts, or Seminole Scouts, were employed by the United States Army between 1870 and 1914 as United States Army Indian Scouts. Despite the name, the unit included both Black Seminoles and some native Seminoles...
- Chatto (Apache)Chatto (Apache)Chatto was a Chiricahua Apache subchief who later became an Apache Scout. Following his service as a scout he was taken prisoner after being coerced to travel to Washington, D.C. Chatto was imprisoned in St...
- Crawford AffairCrawford AffairThe Crawford Affair was a battle fought between Mexico and the United States in January of 1886 during the Geronimo Campaign. Captain Emmet Crawford was commanding a company of Apache scouts, sixty miles southeast of Nacori Chico in Sonora, when his camp was attacked by Mexican Army militiamen...