DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the Texas Historical Commission marker for the Battle of Blanco Canyon has to say — and friend, this one deserves your full attention. Now before we get to the gunfire and the horses screaming off into the dark, let's talk about the land itself. People have inhabited these canyons and plains for as far back as twelve thousand years.
Twelve thousand. Whatever you think you know about the history of Floyd County, the story starts long before any written record. Various bands and tribes settled here drawn by the area's abundant resources — and then, in 1720, the Comanche moved into north Texas, driving the Apache and other tribes south.
By 1790, the Comanche had established themselves as powerful trading figures in the region. Strong diplomatic power. Strong military power.
This was not a people anyone should have underestimated. And yet, by the summer of 1871, the pressure to relocate them onto a reservation had reached a breaking point. On August 12th of that year, an Indian agent named Lawrie Tatum made a formal request — he wanted General Benjamin Grierson and Colonel Ranald S.
Mackenzie to lead an expedition against the Kotsoteka and Quahadi Comanche bands, who had refused relocation. The target, specifically, was Chief Quanah Parker. On October 3rd, the command pulled out of Camp Cooper up in Throckmorton County.
They had Tonkawa scouts leading the way, and they were heading into Comanche country with purpose. Now here's where the plan gets complicated. October 10th.
The Battle of Blanco Canyon. Parker's forces didn't wait around to be found — they launched a preemptive strike against the cavalry. In that attack, the Indians drove off many of the cavalry's horses.
Mackenzie's men suffered one fatality. One man did not go home. Colonel Mackenzie and Lieutenant Robert G.
Carter pursued the Comanches in response. And the land itself seemed to have a say in what happened next — during the expedition, Lieutenant Carter's leg was crushed when his horse slipped. And then, on the return to Blanco Canyon, Colonel Mackenzie himself was shot in the leg.
The expedition that had set out with such force was now carrying its wounded and its sick. On October 24th, they retreated. Five hundred and nine miles the command had marched in total.
Five hundred and nine miles of canyon country and high plains. The marker calls the Battle of Blanco Canyon one of the most decisive clashes in the U.S. cavalry's campaigns against the Comanches — and yet, it notes that the expedition left Colonel Mackenzie discouraged. The cavalry had destroyed Comanche resources and disrupted Comanche dominance in the region, yes.
But Chief Quanah Parker and his people had met them head-on, struck first, and made them pay for every mile. Some victories are harder to name than others out here on the Texas plains.
What the marker says
Of all the confrontations between the United States Army and Indians in Texas, the Battle of Blanco Canyon is identified as one of the most decisive clashes in the U.S. cavalry’s campaigns against the Comanches. Indians inhabited the canyons and plains as far back as 12,000 years, and various bands and tribes populated what is now Floyd County due to the area’s abundant resources. In 1720, the Comanche Indians traveled into north Texas which drove the Apache and other tribes south. The Comanche maintained strong diplomatic and military power over Texas, and by 1790 the Comanche proved to be powerful trading figures in the region. On Aug. 12, 1871, an Indian agent, Lawrie Tatum, requested that Gen. Benjamin Grierson and Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie lead an expedition against Kotsoteka and Quahadi Comanche bands whom denied relocation to a reservation. On Oct. 3, the command left Camp Cooper (Throckmorton County) with Tonkawa scouts to find chief Quanah Parker and the accompanying Indians. During the Battle of Blanco canyon, a preemptive attack against the cavalry by Parker’s forces on Oct. 10 in which the Indians drove off many cavalry horses, Col. Mackenzie’s men suffered one fatality. In response, Col. Mackenzie and Lt. Robert G. Carter pursued the Comanches. During the expedition, Lt. Carter’s leg was crushed when his horse slipped and Col. Mackenzie was shot in the leg when returning to Blanco Canyon. The expedition ended soon after the wounded and sick retreated on Oct. 24. The command marched 509 miles in total, and although the expedition discouraged Col. Mackenzie, the cavalry destroyed Comanche resources and disrupted regional Comanche dominance.