Black Kettle
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Chief Black Kettle (died November 27, 1868) was a Cheyenne Native American leader.
Black Kettle is depicted as a "peaceful leader" by some and as a "warchief" by others. In fact, he depicted himself as a "peaceful man" but was always hiding warriors who had massacred civilians.
Among those who chose to fight back were young men among the ultra-loyal Dog Soldiers. The Dog Soldiers ceased trusting the parlay process after several treaty failures and unjust attacks. These occurred despite the intentions of the federal peace commission that had been formed as a result of the congressional inquiry following the Sand Creek Massacre. Black Kettle and his band continued to be respected among the Cheyenne, but grew further isolated.
What Black Kettle may have trusted were his own traditions. As a Peace Chief following pipe tradition, he would have been taught the four central tenets of faith, truth, humility and respect. Black Kettle is remembered as much for how he lived as how he died.
200 Cheyennes (and Black Kettle's warriors, according to Little Rock, from Black Kettle's village) murdered 117 men, women and children in Kansas, Texas and Colorado. On August 19 1868, Chief Little Rock, from Black Kettle's band, admitted that after "most of the youngs" had made the crimes, they came back to Black Kettle's village. In retaliation, General "little Phil" Phillip Sheridan, a seasoned "total war" veteran of the Civil War, responded with orders to hunt down the perpetrators of the raids, holding that "punishment must follow crime". The attack against a winter camp was intended to exploit the vulnerability of the Cheyenne, when hypothermia and lack of food made for a stationary and unsuspecting target.
At dawn on the morning of November 27, 1868, Chief Black Kettle, along with other members of his village, were camped on the banks of the Washita River two miles west of present day Cheyenne, Oklahoma. The evening before the attack Black Kettle's wife, Medicine Women Later (her name is a reference to "vision") having been wounded nine times in the butchery at Sand creek, warned the men to move the camp in the dark of night. The men in council considered the cold, dangers from moving in the dark, the potential for chaos among the villagers as well as the harsh winter, and confusion that might occur with troops in the field. The decision was made to wait until dawn.
The seventh Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, attacked just before sunrise. The band signaled the start of the attack by attempting to play "Garryowen" on their frozen instruments.
In the quick of the attack, soldiers fired at figures rushing out of lodges and across the snow. Part of a four-prong attack from each of the cardinal directions, Lieutenant Cook's sharpshooters were positioned north bank of the river to fire on those attempting to cross.
Among the men women and children fleeing, were the elder Chief Black Kettle and his wife, Medicine Woman Later, who with the horse they were mounting fell dead in the creek in a hail of bullets. Although some soldiers took scalps, accounts written in the aftermath credit the Osage scouts with taking Black Kettle’s. According to Red Shin, troopers rode their mounts over the bodies in crossing the river.
According to Washita prisoners, 11 warchiefs were killed during the battle. The number of warriors was counted as 103 by Custer, and later 150. There were probably more than 100 dead warriors, probably 130. 30 civilians were killed.
The camp was secured within twenty minutes of the first shots fired. Eight to nine hundred horses and mules were slaughtered, and food, clothes, blankets and lodges burned to remove any potential for hostile use. This action also made survival by traditional means nearly impossible. Black Kettle's camp had diminished steadily over the years, and would cease to exist even after the captives were freed the following June, with those remaining finding places separately with other bands.
Camped downstream from Black Kettle's camp were 6,000 to 8,000 Arapaho, Kiowa and Cheyenne. Warriors from these camps responded to the gunfire. Upon realizing this, Custer feinted towards the downstream camps as the sun set and escaped North under cover of dark with 53 women and children as hostages. Though successful here and using similar tactics, attempting this feat at Little Bighorn would be fatally less successful. Custer lost 22 soldiers, and his reputation suffered from not learning the fate of Major Joel Elliott and his men before leaving.
Washita has been featured in many films and on television. Despite his bloody historical record, Black Kettle is still an inspiration to many in the "peace movement", and was recently portrayed by actor Wes Studi in the television series Into the West. He was depicted as a peaceful loving man.
Black Kettle lived in western Kansas and eastern Colorado on land guaranteed to the Cheyenne under the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851).
"Fightin' Preacher" John Chivington's attempt to kill Black Kettle in 1864 at Sand Creek Massacre, failed, but resulted in the Battle of Washita River, November 27 , 1868.
Black Kettle signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867.
