The Battle of the Diablo Mountains was an October 1854 engagement between the U.S. Army and the Lipan Apache. A small force of Mounted Rifles attacked a much larger force of Lipan Apaches at the base of the Diablo Mountains in Texas.
| Battle of the Diablo Mountains | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Apache Wars | |||||||
 A Lipan Apache, circa 1857 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States | Apache | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
John G. Walker | unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~40 cavalry | ~200+ warriors | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown, 1 known wounded | Unknown | ||||||
Battle
editSetting out from Fort Inge in South Texas on October 1, 1854, Captain John G. Walker, in command of around 40 men of the Mounted Rifles, headed for the Diablo Mountains region along the Rio Grande border with Mexico.
Their mission was to investigate the reports from local settlers of stolen livestock, taken by Apache warriors. On the third day out, in the morning of October 3, 1854, Captain Walker and his men encountered well over 200 Lipan warriors near a herd of captured farm animals. Immediately Walker ordered an attack which surprised the Apaches significantly. A brief skirmish ensued and the Apaches quickly fled, leaving most of the stolen livestock. Casualties are unknown, except for Second Lieutenant Eugene Asa Carr who was wounded by an arrow and subsequently commended by General Persifor F. Smith for his "gallantry and coolness" and promoted to first lieutenant. This was the future general's first combat action.
See also
editReferences
edit- Lowe, Richard G.,Walker's Texas Division, C.S.A: Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi, Louisiana State University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8071-2933-X.
- Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
- Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7.
- Texas History site for Carr
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
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- Kaywaykla, James (edited Eve Ball) "In the Days of Victorio: Recollections of a Warm Springs Apache" Tucson: University of Arizona Press 1970
- Lavender, David. The Rockies. Revised Edition. N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1975.
- Limerick, Patricia Nelson. The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West. N.Y.: W.W. Norton, 1987.
- Smith, Duane A. Rocky Mountain West: Colorado, Wyoming, & Montana, 1859-1915. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1992.
- Thrapp, Dan L. (1979). The Conquest of Apacheria. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-1286-7.
- Williams, Albert N. Rocky Mountain Country. N.Y.: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1950.