Raid on Bear Valley facts for kids
Naiche and his band at Geronimo's camp on March 27, 1886, shortly before their surrender to General George Crook. Geronimo and his followers did not stay in army custody for long and they later escaped, leading to a final surrender at Skeleton Canyon in September 1886. Photograph taken by C. S. Fly.
|
|
| Date | April 27–28, 1886 |
|---|---|
| Location | near Arivaca, Arizona |
| Outcome | 4 killed 1 wounded 1 captured |
The raid on Bear Valley was an armed conflict that occurred in 1886 during Geronimo's War. In late April, a band of Chiricahua Apaches attacked settlements in Santa Cruz County, Arizona over the course of two days. The raid occurred during the final campaign of the war, in which thousands of soldiers and militia searched the frontier for a small band of Chiricahuas from San Carlos. Most of the natives followed the warrior Geronimo, though there were other leaders who led their own groups.
The Apaches raided four cattle ranches in or around Bear Valley, leaving four settlers dead, including a woman and her baby. They also captured a young girl, and stole or destroyed a large amount of private property. When the United States Army learned of the attack, an expedition was launched to pursue the hostiles. In May, two small skirmishes were fought just across the international border in Sonora, Mexico but both times the Apaches were able to escape capture.
Aftermath
When the army learned of the raid, Captain Thomas C. Lebo and Troop K of the 10th Cavalry were sent after the Apaches. Captain Lebo picked up the hostiles' trail near the Bartlett ranch and tracked the raiders south for over 200 miles before finally catching up with them on May 3, in the Pinito Mountains of Sonora, Mexico. During the trek, the Buffalo Soldiers counted thirty dead horses the Apaches had ridden to death. A small battle was fought as the Apaches fired on the cavalrymen from the top of a steep hill. The first volley killed a private named Hollis and wounded a corporal named Scott. Under accurate fire from the Apaches, Lieutenant Powhatan Clarke rescued Corporal Scott by dragging him to safety. For this, Clarke later received the Medal of Honor. After several hours of fighting, the hostiles retreated further into the Mexican wilderness, having lost two killed and one wounded. Several other army units became involved at that point but it was Captain Charles A.P. Hatfield and Company D, 4th Cavalry, that eventually found the Apaches encamped on May 15, near the village of Santa Cruz, between the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Rivers. A second skirmish ensued in which the cavalry charged and routed the hostiles, killing or wounded at least one man and capturing their horses and camping equipment. However, shortly after Hatfield decided to make for the nearby village of Santa Cruz, his command was ambushed five miles from the town while they were stopped at an animal watering hole. Two Americans were killed in the fight, a cook and a blacksmith, and two sergeants were wounded, one of them, Samuel Henry Craig, later received the Medal of Honor for his "conspicuous gallantry." Again the Apaches retreated and they weren't captured until the end of the war in September when Geronimo surrendered.
