1868 battle between the 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked Black Kettle’s Southern Cheyenne
A U.S. Cavalry attack on a peaceful Cheyenne camp, killing women and children, it became a defining example of violent U.S. Indian policy on the Plains.
Key Facts
- Date
- November 27, 1868
- Attacking force
- 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer
- Target
- Black Kettle's Southern Cheyenne winter camp
- Location
- Washita River, present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma
- Casualties
- Disputed; included women and children
- Captives taken
- Many, used as hostages and human shields
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
U.S. Army scouts tracked the trail of an Indian raiding party to Black Kettle's Southern Cheyenne camp on the Washita River. Despite Black Kettle's band being at peace and actively seeking peaceful relations with the United States, Custer's forces designated the camp a target based on this trail association with raids on white settlers.
On November 27, 1868, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry in a dawn assault on Black Kettle's Southern Cheyenne village. The camp was the most isolated band of a large multi-tribal winter encampment. Soldiers killed warriors, women, and children alike, and took numerous captives to serve as hostages and human shields. Black Kettle himself was killed in the attack.
The disputed death toll and killing of noncombatants made the engagement deeply controversial, earning it the alternative designation 'Washita Massacre.' The attack intensified debates over U.S. military conduct toward Native Americans and is now commemorated at the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site near Cheyenne, Oklahoma.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer.
Side B
1 belligerent
Black Kettle.