Great Raid of 1840
Encyclopedia
The Great Raid of 1840 was the largest raid ever mounted by Native Americans on white cities in what is now the United States. It followed the Council House Fight
, in which Republic of Texas
officials attempted to capture and take prisoner 33 Comanche
chiefs who had come to negotiate a peace treaty, killing them together with two dozen of their family and followers. The Texas Officials were determined to force the Comanche to release all white captives among them. To avenge what the Comanche viewed as a bitter betrayal by the Texans, the Comanche
war chief Buffalo Hump
raised a huge war party of many of the bands of the Comanche, and raided deep into white-settled areas of Southeast Texas.
The Council House Fight took place on March 13, 1840, after 33 Comanche chiefs from some of the southern Comanche bands and their followers and families had come into San Antonio under promises they would be safe while they sat down with Republic of Texas officials to negotiate a peace treaty. The Republic of Texas officials, however, had decided that if the Comanche chiefs did not bring in all captives in the hands of the Comanche people that they would be taken captive themselves; their plan was to take the Comanche peace chiefs prisoner, and then barter for their release.
The chiefs arrived with hopes of negotiating lasting recognition of the Comancheria
(the Comanche homeland), and a formal end to hostilities along the border, but recognition of the Comancheria was unacceptable to the Texan officials, as it would limit settlement there. While the Comanche concentrated on presents, which were normally given to them at such talks, the Republic of Texas focused on promises to release captives among the Comanche. This dichotomy of purpose set the stage for a tragedy. On January 30, 1840, Albert Sidney Johnston
, Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas, notified Lieutenant Colonel William S. Fisher, commanding the 1st Regiment of Infantry, that:
The Texan officials began the treaty talks with demands that the Comanche considered impossible, demanding the Comanche return all white prisoners, including people such as Cynthia Ann Parker
who were with bands of the Comanche not represented at the talks. The Texans were unaware that many of the captives were in the hands of bands not represented at the talks, and therefore the chiefs present would not have had the power to return them.
The Comanche chiefs at the meeting had brought in one white captive to show good faith, and had others available for return. However, the condition of this single captive, Matilda Lockhart, who had been beaten, tortured with fire (her nose had been burned off) and sexually assaulted, enraged the Texans, who demanded prompt return of all captives. When the chiefs would not, or could not, return all captives immediately, the Texas officials said that chiefs would be held hostage until the white captives were released. As the Comanche attempted to escape, the militia in hiding threw open the doors, and began firing in at the astonished Comanches. Fighting back with only their knives, the Comanches were killed or taken prisoner.
Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump
was determined to do more than merely complain about what the Comanches viewed as a bitter betrayal. Spreading word to the other bands of Comanches that he was raiding the white settlements in revenge, Buffalo Hump led the Great Raid of 1840. Buffalo Hump gathered a huge raiding party, at least 400 warriors, with wives and young boys along to provide comfort and do the work. Altogether as many as a thousand Comanche may have set out from West Texas on the Great Raid. On this raid the Comanches went all the way from the plains of west Texas to the cities of Victoria
and Linnville on the Texas coast. In what may have been the largest organized raid by the Comanches to that point, they raided and burned these towns and plundered at will.
, was located 3.5 miles northeast of present day Port Lavaca
. The Comanches reportedly killed three whites, including customs officer Hugh Oran Watts, who had delayed his escape to retrieve a gold watch at his home (reportedly a family heirloom). After killing Watts, the Comanche captured his wife of only three weeks, the former Juliet Constance, and a black woman and child.
Realizing that the plains Indians would have no experience on water, the townspeople fled prudently from the Comanche raiders to the safety of the water. They were saved by remaining aboard small boats and a schooner captained by William G. Marshall, which was at anchor in the bay. While safe in the water, the refugees witnessed the destruction and looting of their town, unable to do a thing except curse impotently.
For that entire day the Comanches plundered and burned buildings, draping themselves grandly in top hats and stolen linens. They tied feather beds and bolts of cloth to their horses, and dragged them. They herded large numbers of cattle into pens and slaughtered them. One outraged citizen, Judge John Hays, grabbed a gun and waded ashore through the shallow water, and roared at the bemused warriors, but the Indians chose to spare him, believing him mad. He later found that he had waded ashore to face nearly a thousand Indians with an unloaded pistol, as if that one weapon could have made a difference.
At the time of the Great Raid, many trade goods were en route from overseas to New Orleans, Louisiana
to San Antonio, Texas
and Austin, Texas
; a total inventory valued at over $300,000 was reported to be at Linnville at that moment, including an undisclosed amount of silver bullion. Linn noted that in addition to the cloth and other trade goods usually present in his warehouse at that time were several cases of hats and umbrellas belonging to James Robinson, a San Antonio merchant. "These the Indians made free with, and went dashing about the blazing village, amid their screeching squaws and `little Injuns,' like demons in a drunken saturnalia, with Robinson's hats on their heads and Robinson's umbrellas bobbing about on every side like tipsy young balloons." After loading loot onto pack mules, the raiders, grandly attired in their booty, finally began their retreat on the afternoon on August 8, 1840.
The Rangers had been trailing the war party for some time, unable to engage them because of their sheer numbers. But the three days of looting at Linnville gave the militia and Ranger companies a chance to gather. Volunteers from Gonzales, Texas under Mathew Caldwell
and from Bastrop under Ed Burleson
, with all the ranger companies of east and central Texas, moved to intercept the Indians. They made contact at Plum Creek, near the city of Lockhart, Texas, on August 12, 1840. The Comanches, who normally fared about as a fast and deadly light cavalry, were detained considerably by the captive, slower pack mules. The normal Comanche tactic was to ride as fast as possible away from the scene of a victory, but on this occasion they slowed to a gentler pace acceptable to the heavily laden pack mules. Thus, the militia and rangers caught the raiders, which normally they found impossible. The battle of Plum Creek was really a running gun battle, where the Texans attempted to kill the raiders and recover loot, and the Indians simply attempted to get away. Although only a dozen bodies were recovered, the Texans reported killing 80 Comanches, and the war party losses were probably higher than normal. But greed saved the Comanches in turn; when the militia discovered the stolen bullion, they abandoned the fight, divided their loot, and went home.
Council House Fight
The Council House Fight was a conflict between Republic of Texas officials and a Comanche peace delegation which took place in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 1840. The meeting took place under a truce with the purpose of negotiating peace after two years of war. The Comanches sought to obtain...
, in which Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
officials attempted to capture and take prisoner 33 Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
chiefs who had come to negotiate a peace treaty, killing them together with two dozen of their family and followers. The Texas Officials were determined to force the Comanche to release all white captives among them. To avenge what the Comanche viewed as a bitter betrayal by the Texans, the Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
war chief Buffalo Hump
Buffalo hump
Buffalo Hump was a Native American War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians...
raised a huge war party of many of the bands of the Comanche, and raided deep into white-settled areas of Southeast Texas.
The Council House Fight
- Main article Council House FightCouncil House FightThe Council House Fight was a conflict between Republic of Texas officials and a Comanche peace delegation which took place in San Antonio, Texas, on March 19, 1840. The meeting took place under a truce with the purpose of negotiating peace after two years of war. The Comanches sought to obtain...
.
The Council House Fight took place on March 13, 1840, after 33 Comanche chiefs from some of the southern Comanche bands and their followers and families had come into San Antonio under promises they would be safe while they sat down with Republic of Texas officials to negotiate a peace treaty. The Republic of Texas officials, however, had decided that if the Comanche chiefs did not bring in all captives in the hands of the Comanche people that they would be taken captive themselves; their plan was to take the Comanche peace chiefs prisoner, and then barter for their release.
The chiefs arrived with hopes of negotiating lasting recognition of the Comancheria
Comancheria
The Comancheria is the name commonly given to the region of New Mexico, west Texas and nearby areas occupied by the Comanche before the 1860s.-Geography:...
(the Comanche homeland), and a formal end to hostilities along the border, but recognition of the Comancheria was unacceptable to the Texan officials, as it would limit settlement there. While the Comanche concentrated on presents, which were normally given to them at such talks, the Republic of Texas focused on promises to release captives among the Comanche. This dichotomy of purpose set the stage for a tragedy. On January 30, 1840, Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
, Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas, notified Lieutenant Colonel William S. Fisher, commanding the 1st Regiment of Infantry, that:
-
- "Should the Comanche come in without bringing with them the Prisoners, as it is understood they have agreed to do, you will detain them. Some of their number will be dispatched as messengers to the tribe to inform them that those detained, will be held as hostages until the Prisoners are delivered up, when the hostages will be released."
The Texan officials began the treaty talks with demands that the Comanche considered impossible, demanding the Comanche return all white prisoners, including people such as Cynthia Ann Parker
Cynthia Ann Parker
Cynthia Ann Parker, or Naduah , was an American woman of old colonial stock of Scots-Irish descent who was captured and kidnapped at the age of nine by a American Indian band which massacred her family and...
who were with bands of the Comanche not represented at the talks. The Texans were unaware that many of the captives were in the hands of bands not represented at the talks, and therefore the chiefs present would not have had the power to return them.
The Comanche chiefs at the meeting had brought in one white captive to show good faith, and had others available for return. However, the condition of this single captive, Matilda Lockhart, who had been beaten, tortured with fire (her nose had been burned off) and sexually assaulted, enraged the Texans, who demanded prompt return of all captives. When the chiefs would not, or could not, return all captives immediately, the Texas officials said that chiefs would be held hostage until the white captives were released. As the Comanche attempted to escape, the militia in hiding threw open the doors, and began firing in at the astonished Comanches. Fighting back with only their knives, the Comanches were killed or taken prisoner.
Buffalo Hump gathers the tribes
- Main article Buffalo HumpBuffalo humpBuffalo Hump was a Native American War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians...
.
Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump
Buffalo hump
Buffalo Hump was a Native American War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians...
was determined to do more than merely complain about what the Comanches viewed as a bitter betrayal. Spreading word to the other bands of Comanches that he was raiding the white settlements in revenge, Buffalo Hump led the Great Raid of 1840. Buffalo Hump gathered a huge raiding party, at least 400 warriors, with wives and young boys along to provide comfort and do the work. Altogether as many as a thousand Comanche may have set out from West Texas on the Great Raid. On this raid the Comanches went all the way from the plains of west Texas to the cities of Victoria
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...
and Linnville on the Texas coast. In what may have been the largest organized raid by the Comanches to that point, they raided and burned these towns and plundered at will.
Victoria is the first town attacked
The huge war party crossed into central Texas and first attacked the town of Victoria. Although rangers had found the tracks of a gigantic war party coming out of West Texas, and were shadowing the onrushing Comanches, part of the war party broke off and attacked Victoria before the citizens could be warned. One resident wrote, "We of Victoria were startled by the apparitions presented by the sudden appearance of six hundred mounted Comanches in the immediate outskirts of the village." The citizens of Victoria hid in the buildings, and the Comanches, after killing a dozen or so townspeople and riding up and down, departed Victoria when rifle fire from the buildings began to make the riding dangerous. The war party intended to gather horses and loot the coastal towns, which were not as prepared for the Comanches as the central Texas cities.The Sack of Linnville
On August 7, 1840, the Indians surrounded the small port of Linnville, Texas, which was the second largest port in the Republic of Texas at the time, and began pillaging the stores and houses. Linnville, which is now a ghost townGhost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, was located 3.5 miles northeast of present day Port Lavaca
Port Lavaca, Texas
Port Lavaca is a city in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census. The County had a 3.6% growth which brought the county population to 21,381. The city itself is bringing in more business into the area. It is the county seat of Calhoun County...
. The Comanches reportedly killed three whites, including customs officer Hugh Oran Watts, who had delayed his escape to retrieve a gold watch at his home (reportedly a family heirloom). After killing Watts, the Comanche captured his wife of only three weeks, the former Juliet Constance, and a black woman and child.
Realizing that the plains Indians would have no experience on water, the townspeople fled prudently from the Comanche raiders to the safety of the water. They were saved by remaining aboard small boats and a schooner captained by William G. Marshall, which was at anchor in the bay. While safe in the water, the refugees witnessed the destruction and looting of their town, unable to do a thing except curse impotently.
For that entire day the Comanches plundered and burned buildings, draping themselves grandly in top hats and stolen linens. They tied feather beds and bolts of cloth to their horses, and dragged them. They herded large numbers of cattle into pens and slaughtered them. One outraged citizen, Judge John Hays, grabbed a gun and waded ashore through the shallow water, and roared at the bemused warriors, but the Indians chose to spare him, believing him mad. He later found that he had waded ashore to face nearly a thousand Indians with an unloaded pistol, as if that one weapon could have made a difference.
At the time of the Great Raid, many trade goods were en route from overseas to New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
to San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
and Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
; a total inventory valued at over $300,000 was reported to be at Linnville at that moment, including an undisclosed amount of silver bullion. Linn noted that in addition to the cloth and other trade goods usually present in his warehouse at that time were several cases of hats and umbrellas belonging to James Robinson, a San Antonio merchant. "These the Indians made free with, and went dashing about the blazing village, amid their screeching squaws and `little Injuns,' like demons in a drunken saturnalia, with Robinson's hats on their heads and Robinson's umbrellas bobbing about on every side like tipsy young balloons." After loading loot onto pack mules, the raiders, grandly attired in their booty, finally began their retreat on the afternoon on August 8, 1840.
The Battle of Plum Creek
- Main article Battle of Plum CreekBattle of Plum CreekThe Battle of Plum Creek was a clash between militia and Rangers of the Republic of Texas and a huge Comanche war party under Chief Buffalo Hump, which took place near Lockhart, Texas, on August 12, 1840, following the Great Raid of 1840 as the Comanche war party returned to West...
The Rangers had been trailing the war party for some time, unable to engage them because of their sheer numbers. But the three days of looting at Linnville gave the militia and Ranger companies a chance to gather. Volunteers from Gonzales, Texas under Mathew Caldwell
Mathew Caldwell
Mathew Caldwell, , also spelled Matthew Caldwell was a 19th century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales - Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
and from Bastrop under Ed Burleson
Edward Burleson
Edward Burleson was a soldier, general, and statesman in the state of Missouri, the Republic of Texas, and later the U.S. state of Texas....
, with all the ranger companies of east and central Texas, moved to intercept the Indians. They made contact at Plum Creek, near the city of Lockhart, Texas, on August 12, 1840. The Comanches, who normally fared about as a fast and deadly light cavalry, were detained considerably by the captive, slower pack mules. The normal Comanche tactic was to ride as fast as possible away from the scene of a victory, but on this occasion they slowed to a gentler pace acceptable to the heavily laden pack mules. Thus, the militia and rangers caught the raiders, which normally they found impossible. The battle of Plum Creek was really a running gun battle, where the Texans attempted to kill the raiders and recover loot, and the Indians simply attempted to get away. Although only a dozen bodies were recovered, the Texans reported killing 80 Comanches, and the war party losses were probably higher than normal. But greed saved the Comanches in turn; when the militia discovered the stolen bullion, they abandoned the fight, divided their loot, and went home.
Conclusion
The Great Raid of 1840 was the largest Indian raid on white cities in the history of what is now the United States—though technically when it occurred it was in the Republic of Texas and not in the United States. The war party literally burned one city to the ground. They took over 3,000 horses and mules, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of other plunder, ranging from silver to cloth and mirrors. Unfortunately for the war party, the sheer volume of loot slowed them down, and made them vulnerable to attack from a militia that otherwise would never have caught them. Equally, the militia missed an opportunity to destroy the bulk of the raiding party when they concentrated on recovering and dividing the recovered bullion and other plunder.Online sources
- Texas Handbook Online.
- Dawn Donalson, Buffalo Hump.