DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Col. John I. Gregg 1872 Battle Site in Randall County.
The decade after 1865 was a time of transition for the United States — and in Texas, that word 'transition' carried a whole lot of weight. Citizens were moving west, pressing into the Great Plains, and that movement put them square in conflict with the Native American tribes who already lived there. Settlers demanded protection, and the U.S.
Army answered that call by conducting campaigns against the Southern Plains Indians. In 1872, one such campaign brought troops of the Eighth Cavalry out this way. Their commander was Colonel John I.
Gregg, and he led those troops east out of New Mexico, deep into West Texas, with one objective: locate Native American raiders. Now, out here on the Llano Estacado, the land itself doesn't give much away. It just sits there, flat and enormous, keeping its secrets.
But on August 16, right here on this ground, the secrets gave way. Gregg's troops skirmished with Kiowas. When the dust settled, twelve Kiowas had been killed or injured, and one of Gregg's soldiers was wounded.
It was one engagement in a longer, harder story. This fight, and then the Red River War that followed — 1874 to 1875 — led to the subjugation of the Plains Indians and their confinement to reservations. That's what this ground witnessed.
Not glory, exactly. History, in all its weight.
What the marker says
The decade after 1865 was a time of transition for the U.S. Many citizens moved west, coming into conflict with Native American tribes living on the Great Plains. Settlers demanded the U.S. Army provide their protection. The Army responded by conducting campaigns against the Southern Plains Indians. In 1872, one such campaign included troops of the Eighth Cavalry commanded by Colonel John I. Gregg, who departed from New Mexico into West Texas to locate Native American raiders. On August 16, his troops skirmished here with Kiowas, killing or injuring twelve while suffering one wounded. This and the Red River War (1874-75) led to the subjugation of Plains Indians and their confinement to reservations. (2006)