Battle of Plum Creek
Encyclopedia
The 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 Texas.
of 1840 a group of Comanches led by the Penateka Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump
, warriors from his own band plus allies from various other Comanche bands, raided from West Texas all the way to the coast and the sea. These Comanches were angered by the events of the Council House, in which Texans had killed Comanche Chiefs when the Texans had raised a white flag of truce. The Texans killed all unarmed chiefs
The Texan officials began the treaty talks with demands that the Comanche considered impossible. Including the Comanche return of all white captives. This included people such as Cynthia Parker. Other white captives were with bands of the Comanche not represented at the talks. As a show of "good faith" the Comanche chiefs brought in one captive, a severely mutilated adolescent girl named Matilda Lockhart. For their entertainment the Comanches had burned off her nose with hot coals. Going against their word, the Comanche chiefs did not return all of the white captives in their control and in fact held back some of their white captives to guarantee their own safety. The Texas militiamen told the chiefs it was they that would indeed be held hostage to guarantee the release of their other white captives. The chiefs quickly realized their gross miscalculation. They panicked and drew their weapons. The militia began firing and the Comanches were killed.
But 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. On this raid the Comanches went all the way from beyond the Edwards Plateau in 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 on Texas settlements, or an attack by Indians on any white city in the continental United States, they raided and burned these towns, plundering at will. Linnville was the second largest port in Texas at that time. On the way back from the sea the Comanches were confronted by Texas rangers and militia in a fight called the Battle of Plum Creek (near the modern town of Lockhart).
with a huge herd of horses and mules they had stolen, a large number of firearms, and other plunder such as mirrors, liquor, and cloth.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html Volunteers from Gonzales under Mathew Caldwell
and from Bastrop under Ed Burleson gathered to intercept the Comanches. Joined by Ranger companies and armed settlers hastily assembled as militia from central and east Texas, they confronted the indians at Good's Crossing on Plum Creek, near the modern town of Lockhart (about 27 miles south of Austin). Texas history says the Texans won this battle, although the Indians got away with most of their plunder and a great many of the stolen horses and mules. The Texans reported killing 80 Comanches (unusually heavy casualties for the Indians) in the fight, yet recovered only 12 Indian bodies.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html
Apparently greed largely determined the battle's outcome. The Comanches would have never been caught had they not been herding an enormous number of captured and heavily laden mules and horses. Similarly, the Texans discovered stolen bullion on some recaptured mules and subsequently most of them went home -- without an organized pursuit of the Comanches. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html Thomas J. Pilgrim
took part in the Battle of Plum Creek.
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...
and a huge 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 party under Chief Buffalo Hump
Buffalo hump
Buffalo Hump was a Native American War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians...
, which took place near Lockhart, Texas
Lockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
, on August 12, 1840, following the Great Raid of 1840
Great Raid of 1840
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...
as 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 party returned to West Texas.
Background
Following the Council House FightCouncil 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...
of 1840 a group of Comanches led by the Penateka Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump
Buffalo hump
Buffalo Hump was a Native American War Chief of the Penateka band of the Comanche Indians...
, warriors from his own band plus allies from various other Comanche bands, raided from West Texas all the way to the coast and the sea. These Comanches were angered by the events of the Council House, in which Texans had killed Comanche Chiefs when the Texans had raised a white flag of truce. The Texans killed all unarmed chiefs
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 Texan officials began the treaty talks with demands that the Comanche considered impossible. Including the Comanche return of all white captives. This included people such as Cynthia Parker. Other white captives were with bands of the Comanche not represented at the talks. As a show of "good faith" the Comanche chiefs brought in one captive, a severely mutilated adolescent girl named Matilda Lockhart. For their entertainment the Comanches had burned off her nose with hot coals. Going against their word, the Comanche chiefs did not return all of the white captives in their control and in fact held back some of their white captives to guarantee their own safety. The Texas militiamen told the chiefs it was they that would indeed be held hostage to guarantee the release of their other white captives. The chiefs quickly realized their gross miscalculation. They panicked and drew their weapons. The militia began firing and the Comanches were killed.
The Great Raid of 1840
- Main article Great Raid of 1840Great Raid of 1840The 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...
.
But 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. On this raid the Comanches went all the way from beyond the Edwards Plateau in 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 on Texas settlements, or an attack by Indians on any white city in the continental United States, they raided and burned these towns, plundering at will. Linnville was the second largest port in Texas at that time. On the way back from the sea the Comanches were confronted by Texas rangers and militia in a fight called the Battle of Plum Creek (near the modern town of Lockhart).
The Battle of Plum Creek
The "battle" was really more of a running gun fight, as the Comanche War Party was trying to get back to the Llano EstacadoLlano Estacado
Llano Estacado , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle...
with a huge herd of horses and mules they had stolen, a large number of firearms, and other plunder such as mirrors, liquor, and cloth.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html Volunteers from Gonzales 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 gathered to intercept the Comanches. Joined by Ranger companies and armed settlers hastily assembled as militia from central and east Texas, they confronted the indians at Good's Crossing on Plum Creek, near the modern town of Lockhart (about 27 miles south of Austin). Texas history says the Texans won this battle, although the Indians got away with most of their plunder and a great many of the stolen horses and mules. The Texans reported killing 80 Comanches (unusually heavy casualties for the Indians) in the fight, yet recovered only 12 Indian bodies.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html
Apparently greed largely determined the battle's outcome. The Comanches would have never been caught had they not been herding an enormous number of captured and heavily laden mules and horses. Similarly, the Texans discovered stolen bullion on some recaptured mules and subsequently most of them went home -- without an organized pursuit of the Comanches. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/LL/btl1.html Thomas J. Pilgrim
Thomas J. Pilgrim
Thomas Jefferson Pilgrim started the first school in Texas. The town of Pilgrim, Texas is named for Thomas J. Pilgrim. Thomas was born to Thomas and Dorcas Pilgrim, in East Haddam, Connecticut. Thomas attended the Hamilton Literary and Theological Institute at Colgate University...
took part in the Battle of Plum Creek.
Aftermath
Buffalo Hump continued to raid white settlements until 1856, when he led his band into the Brazos River Reservation. The town of Linnville never recovered from the Great Raid, most of its residents moving to Port Lavaca, the new settlement established on the bay three and one half miles southwest by displaced Linnville residents.Online sources
- Buffalo Hump http://www.texasindians.com/comhump.htm
- Battle of Plum Creek http://www.lsjunction.com/events/plumcrek.htm