1879 Ojo Caliente, , September 4, 1879. From the Mescalero reservation, Victorio and his followers headed for their homeland at Ojo Caliente. Victorio needed horses and he stole about a dozen near
Tres Rios. Arriving at Ojo Caliente, 40 of Victorio's men attacked a company of the 9th Cavalry, killing 5 soldiers and 3 civilians and capturing 68 horses and mules.
McEvers Ranch, , September 11, 1879. Victorio ambushed an armed group of civilian volunteers searching for him. The Apaches killed ten armed civilians near McEvers Ranch (Lake Valley) and stole livestock from ranches in the area, also killing a family living nearby at Jaralosa Creek. The survivors of the ambush said the Apache force consisted of 100 men.
Las Animas Canyon, , September 18, 1879. From McEvers Ranch, Victorio headed north to the
Black Range. Four companies (more than 100 men) of the 9th Cavalry found Victorio's trail and were lured into Las Las Animas Canyon. Victorio and 150 men ambushed the soldiers and from the heights above the canyon pinned the soldiers down for the remainder of the day. Late in the afternoon, First Sergeant
John Denny and another soldier, while under fire, carried Private A. Freeland to safety across four hundred yards of open ground.
Lieutenant Day also rescued a soldier while under fire. The cavalry was able to withdraw after dark, leaving much of its camp gear to be captured by Apaches. Lieutenant Day received the Medal of Honor for his actions eleven years later, and First Sergeant John Denny received his Medal of Honor almost sixteen years later. '''Lloyd's Ranch''', , October 10–12, 1879. Victorio raided the ranch, present day
Nutt, New Mexico, and killed four armed civilians in a rescue party; on October 12 he killed five of another rescue party (among its members was gunfighter
Johnny Ringo). The civilians abandoned the goods in a wagon train to the Apaches.
Guzman Mountains, Mexico, (approximate), October 27–28, 1879. Victorio crossed the border into Mexico and was followed by Major Morrow and 81 men of the 9th Cavalry and
Charles B. Gatewood's Apache scouts. Morrow attempted to dislodge Victorio from the mountains, but gave up because of lack of water and exhaustion. The official death toll was one soldier, but Gatewood recalled several soldiers and one Apache scout killed.
Candelaria Mountains, Mexico, , November 9, 1879. An armed force of 18 Mexican civilians searching for Victorio was ambushed and killed. A relief force of 35 men sent out to look for the missing men was also ambushed with fifteen killed. Victorio did not bother to collect the antique arms of the dead Mexicans, indicating that he had sufficient and better arms. This battle stimulated cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico to hunt down Victorio. After these battles, Victorio moved through northern Mexico, raiding and accumulating supplies. Efforts by the government of Mexico to find and defeat him were unsuccessful.
1880 s
Percha Creek, (approximate), January 12, 1880. Victorio evaded U.S. efforts to block him at the border and slipped back into New Mexico in early January. Major Morrow and a strong force of the 9th Cavalry with artillery caught him at Percha Creek on the eastern slopes of the Black Range, west of
Hillsboro, New Mexico. Morrow had one man killed and Nana later said the Apaches had 6 killed. Victorio continued on northward.
San Mateo Mountains, , January 17, 1880. Returning to his old home in Ojo Caliente, Victorio attempted to negotiate terms of surrender that would allow him and his followers to remain at Ojo Caliente. Failing that, he fought the 9th cavalry in the San Mateo Mountains, probably near Vicks Mountain (named after him), killing one American officer and eluding capture or defeat.
Caballo Mountains, , January 30, 1880. Captain Rucker and a 9th cavalry contingent crossed the Rio Grande river and approximately one mile east of the river the Apache lured him into an ambush. The army had several horses killed and one soldier wounded before they were able to withdraw.
Aleman, (approximate), February 3, 1880. Victorio entered the
Jornada del Muerto pursued by Major Morrow with 5 companies of cavalry (~150 men) and Indian scouts. He had a skirmish with the 9th Cavalry which cost the soldiers one dead, and Victorio many of his horses. Morrow reported several Indians killed. The
10th Cavalry of Buffalo Soldiers was called in from
Fort Bliss, Texas to assist in the hunt for Victorio.
San Andres Mountains, , February 9, 1880. The Apache routed a company of the 9th Cavalry in Hospital Canyon, driving them from the mountains, and capturing supplies. Major Morrow and much of the 9th Cavalry retired from the field, exhausted and short of horses after chasing Victorio for the previous month.
Rio Grande Valley, (approximate), March 1880. War parties sent out by Victorio raided with impunity settlements along the
Rio Grande for livestock, supplies, and ammunition, killing at least 20 civilians. The cavalry, having lost many horses, rested and resupplied during the month and prepared to take on an expanded campaign against Victorio.
Hembrillo Basin, (approximate), April 5–8, 1880. In the largest battle of the war in numbers engaged. More than 500 soldiers and Indian scouts attempted to encircle Victorio's camp. Not all the U.S. troops found their way to the battlefield and after skirmishing at long distance Victorio withdrew successfully. The U.S. had two dead and three Apache bodies were reported found on the battlefield.
Mescalero Reservation, , April 16, 1880. In the aftermath of the Battle of Hembrillo Basin, 1,000 U.S. soldiers descended upon the Mescalero reservation. In an effort to cut off Victorio from men and supplies provided him by the Mescaleros, the soldiers imprisoned many of the men and killed 14 who resisted or attempted to flee.
Alma, , April 28, 1880. His forces divided into several war bands, Victorio raged through the rugged
Mogollon Mountains, killing a reported 41 civilians, including the
Alma Massacre.
Fort Tularosa, , May 14, 1880. In the
Battle of Fort Tularosa about 100 Apaches attacked a makeshift fort defended by 25 soldiers of the 9th Cavalry. Local residents of
Aragon, New Mexico also took refuge in the fort. Nobody was hurt among the defenders and they claimed to have inflicted several casualties on Victorio's Apaches.
Palomas Creek, , May 24, 1880. A force of approximately 60 Apache scouts headed by Chief of Scouts Henry K. Parker surrounded and surprised Victorio and a large number of his followers. They killed about 30 men, women, and children before running out of ammunition and withdrawing. Victorio was wounded. This was the first major defeat of Victorio, and it was accomplished by Apache scouts rather than soldiers. After this defeat, Victorio divided his followers into several groups and fled toward Mexico.
Deming, (approximate), June 5, 1880. Tracking Victorio's forces south to Mexico, Parker's Apache scouts found a group of Apaches and killed 10 of them, including Victorio's son Washington, who had a reputation as a fierce warrior.
Northern Mexico, June and early July 1880. Victorio raided ranches and settlements in northern Mexico to gather supplies and livestock, with the apparent intention of driving the livestock to New Mexico, especially the Mescalero Reservation, to trade for arms and ammunition. In July, several Mexican soldiers and Apaches were killed in clashes between Victorio and Mexican military forces.
Tinaja de las Palmas (or
Quitman Canyon), , July 30, 1880. Victorio crossed the Rio Grande into Texas and encountered the
10th Cavalry of Colonel
Benjamin Grierson. Rather than chasing Victorio, Grierson's strategy was to station soldiers at strategic locations, such as the infrequent waterholes in the deserts of
Trans-Pecos Texas. Grierson and three companies of African-American soldiers prevented Victorio and 125 warriors from accessing the Tinaja (waterhole) de las Palmas. One soldier was killed. Grierson claimed to have killed 7 Apaches.
Rattlesnake Springs, , August 6, 1880. Badly in need of water and probably attempting to return to New Mexico, Victorio headed north from Mexico toward Rattlesnake Springs, Texas. After a grueling march, Grierson beat him to Rattlesnake Springs. Victorio made several attempts to reach the water in the springs, but was fended off by the soldiers. Grierson had 3 dead, but estimated that he had killed or wounded 30 Apaches. Victorio turned back to Mexico after the battle, unable to reach territory familiar to him in New Mexico. A mountain and canyon in the area are named for Victorio.
Fort Quitman, (approximate), August 10, 1880. Returning to Mexico, Victorio attacked a
stagecoach and killed the driver and wounded a passenger, James. J. Byrne, a general during the
American Civil War. Byrne died a few days later.
Tres Castillos, , October 14–15, 1880. Victorio took refuge in the desert of northern Mexico, sending out two raiding parties in search of badly needed ammunition and horses. A Mexican force of 250 men encircled his encampment and killed 62 men and boys, including Victorio, and 16 women and children, taking 68 women and children prisoners. Three Mexicans were killed. Nana was leading a raiding party and was not present during the battle. Victorio's sister, Lozen, was one of the few Apaches to escape the battle. Author Dan L. Thrapp called the battle a "massacre" as Victorio had little ammunition to resist the attack.
Ojo Caliente (Texas), (approximate), October 28, 1880. Thirty-five Apaches en route to reinforce Victorio ambushed and killed 5 soldiers of the 10th Cavalry near the Rio Grande and
Fort Quitman, Texas. This would be the single worst day (in terms of deaths) for the 10th Cavalry until June 21, 1916, at
the Battle of Carrizal.
1881 Carrizo Canyon, August 12, 1881. Nineteen soldiers and Captain Parker from K Troop of the 9th Cavalry, from
Fort Wingate chased
Nana's band of about forty to sixty Apaches into the Carrizo Canyon. Five Apaches were killed, two Privates from the 9th Cavalry were killed, and Nana escaped.
Sergeant Thomas Shaw was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Battle of Cuchillo Negro Creek, August 16, 1881. Lieutenant Gustavus Valois and I Troop of the 9th Cavalry, on patrol from
Fort Craig, encountered an exhausted Mexican who informed the cavalry that Nana's Apaches killed his family at his nearby ranch.
Lieutenant George R. Burnett and 15 soldiers from I Troop along with Mexican volunteers (a combined force of about 50 men) searched for Nana's warriors and found the mutilated family. The soldiers followed the Apache trail and found Nana's group of about 40 to 60 warriors disguised as Mexicans near the foothills of the
Black Range at Chuchillo Negro Creek. The Apaches opened fire and a prolonged engagement followed, with the Apaches retreating into the mountains. At one point, the soldiers thought their commanding officer was retreating (his horse ran away) and began to retreat, but were brought back to the fight. At dark, Nana and his warriors dispersed into the mountain. Two of the 9th Cavalry were wounded and six of the cavalry's horses were killed.
Private Augustus Walley,
First Sergeant Moses Williams, and Lieutenant George Burnett all received the Medal of Honor for their actions on this day.
Gavilan Canyon, August 19, 1881. Lieutenant George W. Smith and B Troop of the 9th Cavalry, on patrol from
Fort Cummings were ambushed by Chief Nana and his Apache band in the Gavilan Canyon (a stream bed between the Mimbres Mountains and the Mimbres River, to the south of Carrizo Canyon). Smith and three troopers were immediately killed.
Sergeant Brent Woods took command after a brief period of confusion and led a charge up the canyon wall against the Apaches. Nana and his warriors retreated. Reinforcements arrived to give chase, but Nana and his band escaped back to Mexico. Sergeant Woods received the Medal of Honor for his actions. == Bibliography ==