The Jicarilla War began in 1849 and was fought between the

Jicarilla Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athaba ...

Apaches and the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in the New Mexico Territory. Ute warriors also played a significant role in the conflict as they were allied with the Jicarillas. The war started when the Apaches and Utes began raiding against settlers on the Santa Fe Trail. Eventually, in 1853, the U.S. Army retaliated which resulted in a series of battles and campaigns that ended in 1854 when a large military expedition managed to quell most of the violence. However, some minor skirmishing continued into 1855.

War

Dolores Gunnerson argues that "the Jicarillas would have transferred their allegiance to the Americans and served them as faithfully as they had served the Spaniards if the Anglos had been willing to accept them as "friends" and allies." She further states that "the Jicarilla were at war with the United States for only a year and a half and spent nearly all that period eluding the troops rather than fighting." The war began in 1849 when a wagon of settlers was killed by a band of Jicarillas and Utes. The event, sometimes referred to as the White massacre, received considerable publicity at the time and did much to prejudice the Anglo population against the tribe. A year later a group of mail carriers were killed in what is called the Wagon Mound massacre. Various incidents in the next half decade continued to raise tensions between the Americans and the Jicarillas, leading both sides to increasingly mistrust the other until the winter of 1853 to 1854 when the Army began operations. In February 1854 a government beef contractor employed by the government of New Mexico reported to the Army that several of his cattle had been stolen by the Jicarillas so in response, a troop of dragoons from the 2nd Dragoons were sent to retrieve the stolen property. On March 5, Lieutenant Bell encountered a group of warriors under Chief Lobo Blanco on the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Fort Union, killing two herdsmen in the process. After that the U.S. Army

1st Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgama ...

launched an expedition into

Apacheria Apachería was the term used to designate the region inhabited by the Apache people. The earliest written records have it as a region extending from north of the Arkansas River into what are now the northern states of Mexico and from Central Tex ...

. The first engagement was fought on March 30 when First Lieutenant John Davidson's launched an unauthorized attack on a Jicarilla village near the present day

Pilar, New Mexico Pilar (formerly Cieneguilla) is an unincorporated community in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. It is located on the Rio Grande. Etymology The original name of Cieneguilla is derived from the Spanish word "ciénaga", which means "marsh" ...

. In the subsequent Battle of Cieneguilla, sixty American cavalrymen fought an estimated 250 Apaches and Ute warriors under the war chief Flechas Rayadas. Fighting began at around 8:00 am and lasted for over three hours, by the end of which, 22 soldiers were killed and another 36 were wounded. Davidson's command was forced to retreat having inflicted about 20 deaths on the Native force. A week later on April 8, a large force of about 200 American cavalrymen, 100 men of the 3rd Infantry, and 32

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

, found the Jicarillas of Chief Chacon in Ojo Caliente Canyon. During the battle that followed, commander Philip St. George Cooke defeated about 150 warriors, killing five of them and wounding six others without sustaining any casualties to his own command. The Jicarillas where dispersed at that point, and without a camp many of them died in the extreme cold weather. The battle was also notable for having involved

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman. He was a fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. He became a frontier legend in his own lifetime by biographies and ...

, who guided the U.S. Army during the expedition, and First Lieutenant

George Sykes George Sykes (October 9, 1822 – February 8, 1880) was a career United States Army officer and a Union General during the American Civil War. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1842, and served in numerous conflicts, ...

, who later commanded the V Corps,

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

, in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. After the Ojo Caliente battle, the war was mostly over with the exception of a few smaller raids and skirmishes over the next several months.Carter, pg.134-139

Notes

References

* * * * {{Armed conflicts involving the United States Armed Forces

1849 in New Mexico Territory 1850 in New Mexico Territory 1853 in New Mexico Territory 1854 in New Mexico Territory 1855 in New Mexico Territory

Conflicts in 1849 Conflicts in 1850 Conflicts in 1853

Jicarilla Apache