For other conflicts involving the Apache see Apache War (disambiguation).

Victorios War, or the Victorio Campaign, was an armed conflict between the 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...

 followers of Chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

 Victorio

Victorio

Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now the American states of New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua....

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 beginning in September 1879. Following his escape from the San Carlos Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, Victorio led a guerilla war across the Southwest

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

 and northern Mexico. Many engagements were fought until the Mexican Army

Mexican Army

The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...

 killed Victorio and defeated his 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 in October 1880. After Victorio's death, Chief Nana continued the war into 1881. Following the Battle of Cibecue Creek

Battle of Cibecue Creek

The Battle of Cibecue Creek was an engagement of the Apache Wars, fought in August 1881 between the United States and White Mountain Apaches in Arizona, at Cibecue Creek on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. After an army expedition of scouts and soldiers arrested a prominent medicine man, they...

, in August of 1881, Nana and his band joined Geronimo

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...

.

Background

The unhealthy conditions of the San Carlos Reservation was a main factor which led to the war, disease and lack of supplies plagued the United States Army

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...

 stationed at various forts in Apacheria. The same was said of the Indian reservation

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

s that were difficult to maintain for most of the period. Extreme desert conditions also meant that the Apaches willing to become farmers would have a hard time growing their own food. Reservations meant the army had to send a constant flow of supplies to them and their own outposts, something which had always been a problem to military forces since the Spanish controlled the area prior to 1821. The desert offered few natural sources of food and water in most areas. Hunting was also an issue; at one point the San Carlos Apaches were allowed to hunt but after decades of massacres and battles, armed Apaches drew the suspicions of settlers so the army discontinued the policy.

Victorio, before coming in, was promised to be given the land around Camp Ojo Caliente for his reservation but ultimately he and his band were sent to San Carlos where other Apache bands lived. The Apache were not a unified tribe and many fought against each other so living at San Carlos meant living with enemies, something that also gave Victorio the incentive for leaving permanently which took place in late August 1879.

Battle of Ojo Caliente

Victorio and his followers, numbering around 200 men, women and children, headed for Ojo Caliente where on September 4, as they were nearing their destination, a small patrol from Company E of the 9th Cavalry was detected. In the ensuing skirmish, Victorio's warriors killed five Buffalo Soldiers under Captain Ambrose Hooker, before mutilating and staking their bodies to the ground. Other accounts say eight soldiers perished along with three civilians. Five of the soldiers known to have died that day were Sergeant

Sergeant

Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

 Silas Chapman and Private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

s Lafayerre Hoke, William Murphy, Silas Graddon and Alvrew Percival. Forty-six to sixty-eight army horses and mules were also taken by Victorio and the victory caused other Apache bands to leave the reservations and begin fighting. By September 10, nine American settlers had been killed by hostiles and the army had dispatched thousands of soldiers and scout

Apache scouts

The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars up to 1886 though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various...

s to search for Victorio. American militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

s also formed in Arizona and New Mexico.

Battle of Las Animas Canyon

After Ojo Caliente Victorio decided to head south. While traveling down the Animas River

Animas River

Animas River is a river in the western United States, a tributary of the San Juan River, part of the Colorado River System. The Spanish named the river "Rio de las Animas Perdidas", "River of the Lost Souls". It is also the last free-flowing river in Colorado. The river's free-flowing status...

, the band encountered a militia made up of miners in between Kingston and Silver City

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

. Ten of the Americans were killed and about fifty horses captured in another short engagement, Victorio then continued south into Las Animas Canyon, in the Black Range

Black Range

The Black Range is an igneous mountain range running north-south in Sierra and Grant counties in west-central New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. Its central ridge forms the western and eastern borders, respectively, of the two counties through much of their contact...

, where he positioned his warriors cunningly. The first significant battle of the conflict was about to be fought. There are several different accounts of the event but what is known is that on September 18 of 1879 Victorio was encamped at the canyon when two companies of cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

 under Captain Byron Dawson discovered them. About seventy-five men altogether, the Americans were apparently lured into the canyon by either an Apache woman or two warriors who opened fire on them as they headed down Las Animas Creek near the junction with the canyon. Victorio's forces, numbering at least sixty men, were positioned atop of a ridge overlooking Las Animas Canyon and the adjoining Massacre Canyon

Massacre Canyon

The Massacre Canyon Battle took place on August 5, 1873, in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. It was one of the last battles between the Pawnee and the Sioux and the last large-scale battle between Native American tribes in the area of the present-day United States of America...

. When the Americans were inside the Apaches opened fire with their rifles and bows so the soldiers took cover behind boulders and other natural defenses. Two other companies from the 9th cavalry were in the area and proceeded to the battlefield. When the reinforcements entered the canyon, Victorio's warriors ceased firing until the Americans began a flanking maneuver towards the ridge. Victorio's men then opened fire again and repulsed the attack. Long range skirmishing continued for the remainder of the day and that night the Americans retreated. Accounts of casualties differ but at least five soldiers were killed and several wounded. Navajo Scouts

Navajo Scouts

The Navajo Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts between 1873 and 1895. Generally, the scouts were signed up at Fort Wingate for six month enlistments. In the period 1873 to 1885, there were usually ten to twenty-five scouts attached to units...

 also played a role in the battle; two or three are known to have been killed and are buried among the thirty-two graves at the site. Thirty-six army horses were also killed, while Victorio's losses were negligible.

Three American soldiers received the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 for courage under heavy fire: Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Robert Temple Emmet

Robert Temple Emmet

Robert Temple Emmet was a United States Army Colonel who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions while surrounded by a much larger force. An 1877 graduate of West Point, he served in numerous campaigns on the Western Frontier.-Education and army career:Emmet was born in New York City to...

, Lieutenant Mathias Day and Sergeant John Denny. Lieutenant Mathias received the medal for disregarding Captain Dawson's order to retreat so as to save wounded soldiers who would have been left behind. John Denny did the same and carried one man back to friendly lines under accurate fire from the ridgeline. Dawson was later removed of his company by his commander Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Edward Hatch

Edward Hatch

Edward Hatch was a career American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War...

.