Battle of Cooke's Canyon
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cooke's Canyon was an engagement of the Apache Wars
fought in August of 1861, between settler
s from Confederate Arizona, and Chiricahua
Apache
s. It occurred about forty miles northwest of Mesilla
, in Cooke's Canyon. The exact date of the battle is unknown.
area, abandoned their village due to the withdrawal of U.S. troops
from Fort Buchanan
and the Siege of Tubac
which left their homes burned. The bunch was known as the Ake Party, their destination was the Rio Grande River near Mesilla.
The wagon train
consisted of six double wagons, two buggies
, and one single wagon
when it reached Tucson from the surrounding region. At Tucson, several other people joined the procession, which including Moses Carson, the half-brother of the famous scout and soldier, Kit Carson
.
The party, now composed of twenty-four men, sixteen women, seven children, along with 400 head of cattle
and 900 head of sheep, as well as horse
s and goat
s. The settlers, who were mostly miner
s and ranch
ers, left Tucson on or about August 15, 1861.
The large number of livestock would present an irresistible temptation to the Chiricahua Apache warrior
s under Cochise and Mangas Coloradas. The journey was uneventful until the party crossed the Mimbres River
and made for the springs
at Cooke's Canyon within Traditional Arizona
and the present day New Mexico
.
and Mangas Coloradas
were leading the Apache army. Most likely they were, being that they were the commanders of the combined Apache force which operated primarily in the present day southwestern New Mexico where Cooke's Canyon is. When the last wagon had entered the canyon
, the Apaches, estimated to number about 100, sprang their ambush
by attacking and scattering the large group of livestock
.
They then charged the wagons, and were stopped from getting into the wagons after a series of mounted counter charges by several men of the party. The wagons were maneauvered into a circle, and the settlers withstood a siege
that lasted the remainder of the day. Eventually the Apaches took to the surrounding slopes, firing both arrows and bullets at long range.
The settlers responded as best they could from their wagon positions, killing several of the attackers which came in towards them on horseback and on foot. Finally, toward the end of the day the Apaches reatreated, taking their plunder of 400 cattle and 900 sheep with them. The settlers withdrew to the Mimbres. They had suffered a loss of four men killed and eight wounded.
The last wagon in the party, carrying most of the women and children, had turned about after the first shots were fired and fled back toward the Mimbres River
. Unmolested by the Apaches, this wagon reached the settlement on the Mimbres safely and sent a plea for help to Pinos Altos
, where the Arizona Guards were stationed. The Confederate troops responded to the report which led to the Battle of the Florida Mountains
, two days later.
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...
fought in August of 1861, between settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s from Confederate Arizona, and Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
s. It occurred about forty miles northwest of Mesilla
Mesilla, New Mexico
Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...
, in Cooke's Canyon. The exact date of the battle is unknown.
Background
In early August, a group of Arizonan refugees, from the TubacTubac, Arizona
Tubac is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 949 at the 2000 census. The place name Tubac is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name, which translates into English as "rotten". The original O'odham name is written...
area, abandoned their village due to the withdrawal of U.S. troops
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from Fort Buchanan
Fort Buchanan
Fort Buchanan is the name of two United States Army forts:* Fort Buchanan, Arizona, is a former United States Army base in Arizona to control land purchased in the Gadsden Purchase* Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico is the only active U.S...
and the Siege of Tubac
Siege of Tubac
The Siege of Tubac was a siege of the Apache Wars, between settlers and militia of Confederate Arizona and Chiricahua Apaches. The battle took place at Tubac in the present day southern Arizona...
which left their homes burned. The bunch was known as the Ake Party, their destination was the Rio Grande River near Mesilla.
The wagon train
Wagon train
A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...
consisted of six double wagons, two buggies
Horse and buggy
A horse and buggy or horse and carriage refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two horses...
, and one single wagon
Wagon
A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....
when it reached Tucson from the surrounding region. At Tucson, several other people joined the procession, which including Moses Carson, the half-brother of the famous scout and soldier, Kit Carson
Kit Carson
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
.
The party, now composed of twenty-four men, sixteen women, seven children, along with 400 head of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and 900 head of sheep, as well as horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s. The settlers, who were mostly miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s and ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
ers, left Tucson on or about August 15, 1861.
The large number of livestock would present an irresistible temptation to the Chiricahua Apache warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s under Cochise and Mangas Coloradas. The journey was uneventful until the party crossed the Mimbres River
Mimbres River
The Mimbres River is a river in southwestern New Mexico. It forms from snow pack and runoff on the south-western slopes of the Black Range and flows into a small endorheic basin east of Deming, New Mexico. The uplands watershed are administered by the US Forest Service, while the land in the...
and made for the springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
at Cooke's Canyon within Traditional Arizona
Traditional Arizona
Prior to the adoption of its name for a U.S. state, Arizona was traditionally defined as the region south of the Gila River to the present day Mexican border, and east of the Colorado River on the California border to the Rio Grande river, east of the present day Mesilla, New Mexico...
and the present day New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Battle
It is not known for sure whether or not CochiseCochise
Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...
and Mangas Coloradas
Mangas Coloradas
Mangas Coloradas, or Dasoda-hae , was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico...
were leading the Apache army. Most likely they were, being that they were the commanders of the combined Apache force which operated primarily in the present day southwestern New Mexico where Cooke's Canyon is. When the last wagon had entered the canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
, the Apaches, estimated to number about 100, sprang their ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
by attacking and scattering the large group of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.
They then charged the wagons, and were stopped from getting into the wagons after a series of mounted counter charges by several men of the party. The wagons were maneauvered into a circle, and the settlers withstood a siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
that lasted the remainder of the day. Eventually the Apaches took to the surrounding slopes, firing both arrows and bullets at long range.
The settlers responded as best they could from their wagon positions, killing several of the attackers which came in towards them on horseback and on foot. Finally, toward the end of the day the Apaches reatreated, taking their plunder of 400 cattle and 900 sheep with them. The settlers withdrew to the Mimbres. They had suffered a loss of four men killed and eight wounded.
The last wagon in the party, carrying most of the women and children, had turned about after the first shots were fired and fled back toward the Mimbres River
Mimbres River
The Mimbres River is a river in southwestern New Mexico. It forms from snow pack and runoff on the south-western slopes of the Black Range and flows into a small endorheic basin east of Deming, New Mexico. The uplands watershed are administered by the US Forest Service, while the land in the...
. Unmolested by the Apaches, this wagon reached the settlement on the Mimbres safely and sent a plea for help to Pinos Altos
Pinos Altos, New Mexico
Pinos Altos, in Grant County, New Mexico, was a mining town, formed in 1860 following the discovery of gold in the nearby Pinos Altos Mountains. The town site is located about five to ten miles north of the present day Silver City, New Mexico...
, where the Arizona Guards were stationed. The Confederate troops responded to the report which led to the Battle of the Florida Mountains
Battle of the Florida Mountains
The Battle of the Florida Mountains was an action of the Apache Wars, forces involved were Chiricahua Apache warriors and mounted Confederate States militia. The battle occurred in a pass of the Florida Mountains within Confederate Arizona, now the modern day southwestern New Mexico...
, two days later.
See also
- American Indian Wars
- Cooke's Canyon is located at: 32.45778°N 107.66782°W