Navajo Wars facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Navajo Wars |
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| Part of the American Indian Wars | |||||||
 Manuelito, a Navajo chief. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Crown of Castile(c. 1600–1716)  Spain(1716–1821)  Mexico(1821–1848)  United States(1849–1866) |
Navajo | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Facundo Melgares José Antonio Vizcarra Edwin Sumner Alexander Doniphan Kit Carson |
Narbona Barboncito Manuelito |
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The Navajo Wars were a series of conflicts in the American West. They involved the Navajo fighting against different groups. First, they fought the Spanish from the late 1500s to 1821. Then, they fought the Mexican government from 1821 to 1848. Finally, they fought the United States after the Mexican–American War (1847–48).
These conflicts included small raids and large military attacks. The Navajo often raided other tribes and nearby towns. In return, others raided Navajo lands. This created a cycle of fighting that lasted for many years.
Contents
Fighting the Spanish (1600s-1821)
During the Spanish period, the Navajo often fought against Spanish settlers. The last Spanish governor of New Mexico, Facundo Melgares, tried to stop the Navajo attacks. He led two military trips against them. Both trips were not successful. In October 1821, he asked for peace.
Key Events with the Spanish
- 1582: Spanish explorers found peaceful Navajo people near Acoma Pueblo.
- 1630: A friar named Benevides helped make peace between the Tewa and Navajo.
- 1638: Governor Luis de Rosa encouraged Navajo to raid missions.
- 1641–42: Franciscan friars fought the Navajo, burning their crops and taking prisoners.
- 1644–47: Spanish soldiers fought Navajo living near the San Juan River.
- 1659: Bernardo Lopez sent 40 Spanish soldiers and 800 allies into Navajo land.
- 1661: Lopez allowed the killing and capture of Navajo who came to trade.
- 1669: Spanish forces attacked Navajo near Acoma.
- 1677–78: Navajo actively raided Spanish towns. The Spanish responded with harsh campaigns.
- 1680: The Navajo likely joined the Pueblos in a big revolt against the Spanish.
- 1691: Navajo warned Pueblos and Apaches about approaching Spanish forces.
- 1696: Navajo were said to be encouraging other tribes to revolt.
- 1698–1699: The Great Southwestern Revolt ended.
Fighting the Mexican Government (1821-1848)
After Spain, Mexico took control. Governor José Antonio Vizcarra met with Navajo leaders in February 1823. He wanted the Navajo to live in towns and become Catholic. The Navajo did not agree to these ideas. They rejected the peace treaty and continued fighting.
Navajo warriors killed six Mexicans in Socorro in April. They killed eight more in Sabinal in May. On June 18, 1823, Vizcarra led 1,500 troops on a 74-day trip. They went into western New Mexico, through the Chuska Mountains, and reached Canyon de Chelly. His forces killed 33 Navajo, including eight women, and captured about 30.
In response to Vizcarra's trip, the Navajo raided Socorro again. They also attacked Tome, Albuquerque, and areas near Santa Fe. This period saw many raids and counter-raids. New Mexicans captured Navajo to work as slaves. Navajo raided to get their people back and to get livestock.
Fighting the United States (1849-1866)
The U.S. military took control of the Southwest from Mexico by 1846. However, raids between the Navajo and New Mexican civilians continued.
1846: The Bear Springs Treaty
Narbona, a Navajo leader, and other Navajo met with Colonel Alexander William Doniphan on November 21, 1846. They signed a peace treaty at Bear Springs. But young Navajo raiders did not follow the treaty. They kept stealing livestock from New Mexican villages.
1849: The Washington Expedition
On August 16, 1849, the U.S. Army began a trip into Navajo land. This trip was meant to show the Navajo how powerful the U.S. military was. Colonel John Washington led the trip. His forces included nearly 1,000 soldiers, hundreds of horses, and Pueblo scouts.
On August 29–30, 1849, Washington's group needed water. They started taking corn from Navajo fields. Navajo warriors tried to push them away. Washington believed he could take Navajo crops because the Navajo should pay for the cost of his trip.
Washington still suggested peace if the Navajo chiefs would sign a treaty the next day. Chief Narbona and other leaders came to Canyon de Chelly for talks. The treaty said the Navajo would accept U.S. rule. It also allowed forts and trading posts on Navajo land. The U.S. promised to be fair and helpful.
After the agreement, a fight started. A New Mexican thought he saw his stolen horse with a Navajo man. Washington sided with the New Mexican. When the Navajo owner rode away with the horse, Washington ordered his soldiers to fire. Seven Navajo were killed. This event made warlike Navajo leaders, like Manuelito, more powerful than those who wanted peace.
1851–1860: Growing Tensions
In 1851, Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner led a campaign against the Navajo. He ordered a fort, Fort Defiance, to be built in the middle of Diné bikéyah (Navajo territory). Sumner entered Canyon de Chelly, but Navajo attacks forced him to leave.
In 1855, a new treaty was signed at Laguna Negra. Manuelito and Zarcillos Largos signed for the Navajo. Two years later, a bad drought hit the Navajo. It destroyed their livestock and crops, causing a famine in 1857-1858. This led to social problems. Other tribes started attacking the weakened Navajo.
In 1858, the Navajo demanded that Fort Defiance stop grazing its animals on their land. Soldiers shot 48 cattle and 8 horses belonging to Manuelito. In return, Navajo warriors killed a servant of the fort's commander. The U.S. military demanded the killer be handed over, or they would start a war. The Miles Campaign was sent against them.
1860: Second Battle of Fort Defiance
In 1860, the U.S. military, Mexican-Americans, Zunis, and Utes all raided Navajo land. The Navajo killed four soldiers from Fort Defiance in January. On April 29, Manuelito, Barboncito, and 1,000 Navajo attacked the U.S. army in the Second Battle of Fort Defiance. Other Navajo raided sheep near Santa Fe.
Four hundred New Mexicans formed a militia and raided Navajo land. Other citizens also raided to take captives. In response to the Fort Defiance attack, the Canby's Campaign began in October. Over several months, seven army trips killed 23 Navajo and destroyed their animals and crops.
In 1861, another treaty was signed at Fort Fauntleroy (later Fort Wingate). Fort Defiance was closed on February 24. Raiding continued between citizens and Navajo warriors. In August, a fight broke out at Fort Wingate during a horse race. A New Mexican officer ordered his men to fire into the Navajo crowd. This made the Navajo very angry, and they raided New Mexican settlements.
1862: The Civil War's Impact
In 1862, Confederate forces moved into New Mexico. But Union forces pushed them back into Texas. The Navajo used this distraction to increase their raids. Citizens complained that Navajo and Apaches stole 30,000 sheep in 1862.
1863: Carson's Campaign
In 1863, raids continued between the Navajo and New Mexican militia. General James Henry Carleton, the military governor, told 18 Navajo chiefs to surrender by July 20, 1863. They were told to move to Fort Sumner, at the Bosque Redondo reservation.
In July, General Carleton ordered Colonel Kit Carson to begin a campaign against both the Mescalero Apache and the Navajo. Carson's troops started rounding up Navajo and Apache. They sent them to Bosque Redondo.
Between September 1863 and January 1864, Carson and his men chased the Navajo. They killed some and captured others. They burned crops, took animals, and destroyed hogans (Navajo homes). Carson tried to capture a Navajo stronghold in the Battle of Canyon de Chelly. The army did not destroy the entire Navajo force, but they destroyed much Navajo property.
1864: The Long Walk
Without food or shelter for the winters, and constantly chased by the U.S. Army, groups of Navajo began to surrender.
Starting in January 1864, many Navajo groups and their leaders surrendered or were captured. These leaders included Barboncito, Armijo, and finally Manuelito in 1866. They were forced to make what is known as the "Long Walk" to the Bosque Redondo reservation at Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
One Navajo elder described the Long Walk:
By slow stages we traveled eastward by present Gallup and Shush Bìtó, Bear Spring, which is now called Fort Wingate. You ask how they treated us? If there was room, the soldiers put the women and children on the wagons. Some even let them ride behind them on their horses. I have never been able to understand a people who killed you one day and on the next played with your children ...
See also
