Gila Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Gila Expedition or Morehead War was an 1850 California militia attack on the Quechan
Indians in retaliation for the Glanton Massacre
near the confluence of the Gila River
and Colorado River
in Arizona
. It was the beginning of the 1850 to 1853 Yuma War
.
Downriver from a ferry by A.L. Lincoln, the Quechan set up a ferry business to transport people, animals and goods across the Gila River
on their way to the California Gold Rush
. John Joel Glanton
and his members of a scalp hunting gang destroyed the Indian boat and beat the local Quechan chief. For a while they took over the ferry operation, killing Mexican and American passengers for their goods and money. In revenge the Quechan attacked, killed and scalped Glanton and most of the gang in 1850.
Later that year, the California state government recruited men for $6 a day to attack the Quechan. On April 16, 1850, 142 men commenced the expedition against the Quechan. However, the military operation went badly and the expedition members were besieged until September 16.
Because of the inflated costs of goods and wages in the California Gold Rush
, the cost of the operation reached $113,000, nearly bankrupting the state of California as the first of its military operations against American Indians.
Quechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
Indians in retaliation for the Glanton Massacre
John Joel Glanton
John Joel Glanton was an American member of the U.S. Army during the mid-19th century, a soldier of fortune and mercenary, and later led the Glanton Gang of scalp hunters in the Southwest.-Early life and education:...
near the confluence of the Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
and Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
in 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...
. It was the beginning of the 1850 to 1853 Yuma War
Yuma War
The Yuma War was the name given to a series of United States military operations conducted in southern California and what is today southwestern Arizona from 1850 to 1853. The Yumans were the primary opponent of the United States Army, though engagements were fought between the Americans and other...
.
Downriver from a ferry by A.L. Lincoln, the Quechan set up a ferry business to transport people, animals and goods across the Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
on their way to the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. John Joel Glanton
John Joel Glanton
John Joel Glanton was an American member of the U.S. Army during the mid-19th century, a soldier of fortune and mercenary, and later led the Glanton Gang of scalp hunters in the Southwest.-Early life and education:...
and his members of a scalp hunting gang destroyed the Indian boat and beat the local Quechan chief. For a while they took over the ferry operation, killing Mexican and American passengers for their goods and money. In revenge the Quechan attacked, killed and scalped Glanton and most of the gang in 1850.
Later that year, the California state government recruited men for $6 a day to attack the Quechan. On April 16, 1850, 142 men commenced the expedition against the Quechan. However, the military operation went badly and the expedition members were besieged until September 16.
Because of the inflated costs of goods and wages in the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, the cost of the operation reached $113,000, nearly bankrupting the state of California as the first of its military operations against American Indians.