The Second Battle of Fort Defiance was a military engagement fought during the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

period of the Navajo Wars. On April 29, 1860, about 1,000

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

s assaulted the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

of Fort Defiance in

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

,''The Book of the Navajo''
Raymond Friday Locke, Mankind Publishing Company, Los Angeles, 1992, page 333. Retrieved February 6, 2022."The Regular Army Before the Civil War 1845 - 1860"
by Clayton R. Newell, Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 201, page 31. Retrieved February 6, 2022. now within present day

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The Navajo achieved a surprise attack but was ultimately repulsed by 150 American defenders of the 3rd Infantry under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Oliver L. Shepherd. The Americans formed in the center of the buildings and withstood the Navajo attack. The natives retreated with a loss of around seven dead and several wounded while the Americans suffered four men killed in action and three wounded. The second Navajo assault on Fort Defiance was the only instance of hostile natives attacking a heavily garrisoned fort subsequent to occupation during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

.''The Leading Facts of New Mexican History, Volume 2''
Ralph Emerson Twitchell, Torch Press, 1912, page 316. Retrieved February 6, 2022. It was one of the largest battles fought within the borders of Arizona. It was also one of the reasons why the

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

commander Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Antonio Chaves ordered an unauthorized campaign into Navajo territory in 1860 and 1861.

References

* McNitt, Frank. ''Navajo Wars''. Univ. New Mexico, 1972. * Lavender, David. ''The Rockies'', Revised Edition. New York: Harper & Row, 1975. * Limerick, Patricia Nelson. ''The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West''. New York: W.W. Norton, 1987. * Locke, Raymond Friday. ''The Book of the Navajo''. Los Angeles: Mankind Publishing Company, 1992. {{DEFAULTSORT:Defiance, Fort II Battles involving the Navajo Battles involving the United States Conflicts in 1860 Pre-statehood history of Arizona History of United States expansionism 19th-century military history of the United States 1860 in New Mexico Territory August 1860 Attacks on military installations in the United States Attacks on buildings and structures in Arizona

See also

References