Battle of Washita
George Custer’s Report on the Battle of Washita
22 December 1868
On 22 December 1868 General George Custer sent a dispatch regarding recent fighting and negotiations with various Indigenous communities. The letter begins with an account of the Battle of Washita River, before covering Custer’s actions in its aftermath. The document not only offers an insight into Custer’s thoughts and attitudes, but also offers a picture of wider relations between Indigenous Peoples and White Americans.
The battle occurred on the 29 November 1868, when Custer took a Southern Cheyenne camp by surprise. The attack has been seen by some as a massacre due to the killing of women and children, as well as wounded men. In this letter Custer says these deaths were the result of confusion and self-defence. However, the tactics employed by him and Philip Sheridan during their campaigns on the plains often comprised of attacking camps, supplies and non-combatants in an attempt to drive the Indigenous Peoples into a state of dependency on federal support.
Custer preferred to focus on accusations of atrocities committed by native warriors. A medical report detailing the mutilation of white soldiers was copied into the letter verbatim, along with a description of a captive woman and child murdered by the fleeing Indians.
Custer’s focus on Indigenous brutality supported his statement that the communities he faced were not interested in peace. He dismisses a note from Colonel Hazen that claimed they were not on the warpath and would come to Fort Cobb peacefully. Instead, he says, he had to threaten and cajole Indigenous leaders into a forced march to the fort.
For Custer, Indigenous communities were not separate nations, but rebellious subjects of the United States Government. It is with pride that he reports the total defeat of the rebels at Washita and their acceptance that they could not barter for terms but had to accept what the government told them.
As White Americans moved further west in greater numbers, conflicts with Indigenous Peoples increased. Custer’s attitude matched the ideas of those who saw the land as the rightful property of the new settlers. Hazen’s message indicates that ideas about the tribes and how to treat them differed among those in the army. Indeed, Custer’s letter criticises those like Hazen in the Indian Office for being too willing to encourage rebellion through talk of treaties and peace.
Nine years later Custer again found himself at the heart of questions over Indigenous land and rights. He oversaw – and lost his life at – a devastating defeat for the United States at the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Great Sioux War. This event failed to turn the tide of the conflict, but did harden some White attitudes. The war ended with the Black Hill lands of the Sioux officially annexed to the United States and reservations set up on a permanent basis. The last decade of Custer’s life thus maps on to one of the most significant periods of history for Indigenous Peoples and their relationship with white settlers.
The battle occurred on the 29 November 1868, when Custer took a Southern Cheyenne camp by surprise. The attack has been seen by some as a massacre due to the killing of women and children, as well as wounded men. In this letter Custer says these deaths were the result of confusion and self-defence. However, the tactics employed by him and Philip Sheridan during their campaigns on the plains often comprised of attacking camps, supplies and non-combatants in an attempt to drive the Indigenous Peoples into a state of dependency on federal support.
Custer preferred to focus on accusations of atrocities committed by native warriors. A medical report detailing the mutilation of white soldiers was copied into the letter verbatim, along with a description of a captive woman and child murdered by the fleeing Indians.
Custer’s focus on Indigenous brutality supported his statement that the communities he faced were not interested in peace. He dismisses a note from Colonel Hazen that claimed they were not on the warpath and would come to Fort Cobb peacefully. Instead, he says, he had to threaten and cajole Indigenous leaders into a forced march to the fort.
For Custer, Indigenous communities were not separate nations, but rebellious subjects of the United States Government. It is with pride that he reports the total defeat of the rebels at Washita and their acceptance that they could not barter for terms but had to accept what the government told them.
As White Americans moved further west in greater numbers, conflicts with Indigenous Peoples increased. Custer’s attitude matched the ideas of those who saw the land as the rightful property of the new settlers. Hazen’s message indicates that ideas about the tribes and how to treat them differed among those in the army. Indeed, Custer’s letter criticises those like Hazen in the Indian Office for being too willing to encourage rebellion through talk of treaties and peace.
Nine years later Custer again found himself at the heart of questions over Indigenous land and rights. He oversaw – and lost his life at – a devastating defeat for the United States at the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Great Sioux War. This event failed to turn the tide of the conflict, but did harden some White attitudes. The war ended with the Black Hill lands of the Sioux officially annexed to the United States and reservations set up on a permanent basis. The last decade of Custer’s life thus maps on to one of the most significant periods of history for Indigenous Peoples and their relationship with white settlers.