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Red River War
Was a conflict between the U.S. Army and southern plains Indians. Was an uprising of several warrior tribes who were thought to be peaceful in Oklahoma and Texas reservations. The treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867. Southwestern tribes Arapaho, Cheynne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Kataka were involved and persuaded to attack settlers by chief’s Big tree, and Satanta. The war was started by 60 Texans being killed. General Nelson A. Miles fifth infantry was the General for the American troops in the battle -
Black Hills Gold Rush
was the discovery of gold in Dakota Territory. (Now South Dakota). Led to the development of the home stake mine which ran for 125 years and produced 10% of the worlds gold. -
Joseph Glidden
He is a native of New Hampshire. Joseph is an Illinois farmer when he developed a commonplace product that would transform the West: barbed wire. In 1874, Glidden's barbed wire opened the plains to large-scale farming, and closed the open range, bringing the era of the cowboy and the round-up to an end. Glidden formed the Barb Fence Company of De Kalb with Isaac L. Ellwood. He became one of the wealthiest men in the nation. He died in De Kalb in 1906. -
Barbed Wire
Without barbed-wire, livestock grazed freely, competing for water.In 1873-1874, patents were issued for various designs to compete against Michael Kelly’s invention. But, Joseph Glidden was recognized for his design of simple wire barb locked onto a double-strand wire. His design made barbed-wire more effective. He invented a method for locking the barbs in place, and invented the machinery to mass-produce the wire. Joseph Glidden’s U.S. patent was issued November 24, 1874. -
Little Big Horn
The Little Bighorn River, called the Greasy Grass by Native Americans, was the site of the 1876 battle known as “Custer’s Last Stand,” when troops of the Seventh Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer were destroyed while attempting a surprise attack on Lakota chief Sitting Bull’s encampment. -
Gen. Custer
In 1876, Custer was scheduled to lead part of the anti-Lakota expedition. The original United States plan for defeating the Lakota called for the three forces under the command of Crook, Gibbon, and Custer to trap the bulk of the Lakota and Cheyenne population between them and deal with the crushing defeat. Custer advanced more quickly than had been ordered to do, and neared what he thought was the largest Indian Village on the morning of June 25,1876. -
Chief Joseph
Chief is significant because he was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity and an active supporter of the tribe’s longstanding peace with whites. He formally surrendered on October 5, 1877 he was widely referred to in the American Press as “The Red Napoleon.” Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture. -
Nez Perce
Nez Perce is significant because they were excellent horsemen. They also owned the largest horse herd on the continent. Nez Perce Indians lived in scattered villages in the Plains west of the Rocky Mountains. There are about 4,000 Nez Perce Indians. They were without guns or ammunition. -
Apache War
Geronimo was born in Clifton, Arizona 1820. His Apache name was Goyahkla (one who yawns). He later got the Spanish name Geronimo (Jerome) because Mexican soldiers called on St. Jerome for help. The Mexicans killed his wife, children, and mother in 1850. He then carried out countless attacks on settlers and Mexicans moving west until treaties were made. General Nelson A Miles finally made him surrender in September 1866 -
General Phillip Sheriden
General Phillip Sheridan played a decisive role in the army's long campaign against the native peoples of the plains, forcing them onto reservations with the tactics of total war. He gained military experience in the Civil War. In 1868, three columns of troops under his command converged on what is now northwestern Oklahoma to force the Kiowa, Comanche, Arapaho and Cheyenne onto their reservations. Sheridan became commanding general of the United States Army in 1884
