1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: a show that pays tribute to people of the past 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: by telling their stories. Today, I'm Gabe Louzier, and in 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: this episode, we're reflecting on one of the great shames 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: of American military history, the time when a group of 7 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: soldiers made no distinction between friend and foe. The day 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: was November eighteen sixty eight. At dawn, Lieutenant Colonel George 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,640 Speaker 1: Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne 10 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: village along the banks of the Washata River in what 11 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: is now Oklahoma. Heralded as the first notable victory of 12 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: the American Indian Wars, the so called Battle of the 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: Washata would be more accurately described ribed as a massacre. 14 00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: If Custer and his troops had bothered to do any reconnaissance, 15 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: they would have found that the village was on reservations 16 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,440 Speaker 1: soil and that the inhabitants were not hostile. There was 17 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,199 Speaker 1: even a white flag flying above the dwellings, a sign 18 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 1: that the tribe was not inclined or prepared to fight. 19 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: The roots of the massacre can be traced back to 20 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: just after the Civil War, when white settlers headed west 21 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: and began forcing Native American tribes onto reservations. Many of 22 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: the Great Plains tribes fought back against the encroaching settlers 23 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: by attacking wagon trains as well as isolated farms and homesteads. 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: In October eighteen sixty seven, the U. S. Army tried 25 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: to put an end to the raids by negotiating peace 26 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: with several Native American chiefs from the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations. 27 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: As part of the proposed Medicine Lodge Treaty, the various 28 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 1: tribes would be provided with food and equipment and would 29 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,760 Speaker 1: be relocated to reservations and what was called the Indian 30 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:12,239 Speaker 1: Territory now the state of Oklahoma. One of the Cheyenne 31 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: chiefs president at the meeting was Black Kettle, a peace 32 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: inclined elder who had led a group of about two 33 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty people. Black Kettle's village had been attacked 34 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:25,720 Speaker 1: by the U. S. Army before, and he believed the 35 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 1: Cheyenne did not have the numbers or the firepower to 36 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: stand up to them for long. He signed the treaty 37 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: and agreed to move his people to a reservation on 38 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: the Washita River and what is now western Oklahoma. Several 39 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:44,680 Speaker 1: other Cheyenne chiefs refused to sign in continued raiding White 40 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: settlements well into the next year. This put Black Kettle 41 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,600 Speaker 1: in a tough spot, trying to live in peace while 42 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: American forces and other Cheyenne tribes waged war all around him. Finally, 43 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: on November twenty, eighteen sixty eight, Black Kettle paid a 44 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: visit to the American commander at nearby Fort Cobb. He 45 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,639 Speaker 1: was concerned his village might be caught in the crossfire 46 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,040 Speaker 1: and requested that the U. S. Army stationed troops to 47 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,919 Speaker 1: protect them, But the chief left empty handed that day 48 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: after being told that only General Philip Sheridan could grant 49 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: that kind of protection, and he wasn't there. When Black 50 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: Kettle arrived back at his village four days later, he 51 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: did what he could to make it clear that he 52 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:34,080 Speaker 1: and his people weren't part of the fighting. He flew 53 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: a white flag from the top of his dwelling and 54 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: made plans to try to meet with General Sheridan in 55 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: the coming days. However, unbeknownst to Black Kettle, General Sheridan 56 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: had already sent troops into that part of the Indian territory, 57 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: not to protect the people on the reservations, but to 58 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,200 Speaker 1: attack the hostile native forces who also lived in the region. 59 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: Sheridan ordered his troops quote to destroy villages and ponies, 60 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: to kill or hang all warriors, and to bring back 61 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:12,320 Speaker 1: all women and children survivors. He made sure his soldiers 62 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: understood that cruelty was the point, adding that he wanted 63 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 1: quote all segments of Indian society to experience the horrors 64 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: of war as fully as the warriors. The first group 65 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: of soldiers to reach the Indian territory was the U. S. 66 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: Seventh Cavalry led by George Custer. On November his scouts 67 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:40,160 Speaker 1: came across Black Kettle's village. They reported the findings to Custer, 68 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: and he immediately ordered an attack the next morning. It's 69 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 1: unclear whether he and his troops knew the village wasn't 70 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: hostile and chose to attack anyway, or if they just 71 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: didn't care enough to check in the first place. What 72 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: we do know is the Custer chose to attack unprovoked 73 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: while most of the village was sleeping. He offered no 74 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: warning to the inhabitants and made no offer of peace. 75 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: Prior to opening fire. Instead, at dawn on the Custer 76 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: divided his seven hundred troops into two units and began 77 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,159 Speaker 1: the attack. The first group of soldiers was sent to 78 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: the far side of the village in order to allure 79 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: all the armed warriors to one position. Custer then led 80 00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 1: the remaining soldiers to the opposite end of the village, 81 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,479 Speaker 1: which was unguarded. After just fifteen minutes, the fighting, such 82 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: as it was, was over. According to Custer, he and 83 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:43,159 Speaker 1: his men killed over one hundred Cheyenne warriors, though other 84 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: accounts report losses ranging from thirty to a hundred and fifty, 85 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: with many casualties being women, children, and elders, including Black 86 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: Kettle and his wife. An additional fifty or so women 87 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: and children were taken prisoner, and roughly eight jured horses 88 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: and mules were killed. Custer also burned all the dwellings 89 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: and the village food supply to ensure the village no 90 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,000 Speaker 1: longer posed a threat, though of course it never had 91 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:17,039 Speaker 1: in the first place. Custer's attack, along with the rest 92 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: of Sheridan's campaign, shook the confidence of the warring Cheyenne tribes. 93 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: They're armed resistance soon came to an end and they 94 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: gradually moved to the reservations. As for Custer, his hollow 95 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: victory won him acclaim among the undiscerning, ensuring that he 96 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: wouldn't learn anything from what had happened. Eight years later, 97 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:43,479 Speaker 1: in eighteen seventy six, Custer's recklessness caught up with him 98 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: at the famous Battle of the Little Big Horn. Once again, 99 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 1: he charged into a Native American camp without checking to 100 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: see who exactly he was fighting. This time, he found 101 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: himself vastly outnumbered and was killed on the battlefield. At 102 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: the time, aime, the quote unquote Battle of the Washita 103 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: was viewed by many as a great American victory, but 104 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: the civil servants of the Indian Bureau saw through the 105 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: patriotic spin. Even then, they called it a quote massacre 106 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: of the innocent and cold blooded butchery. Even today, the 107 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: Cheyenne people continued to campaign for the battle to be 108 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: called what it really was, the Massacre of Washita River. 109 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little 110 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,600 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you'd 111 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:41,680 Speaker 1: like to keep up with the show, you can follow 112 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d I 113 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: HC Show and if you have any comments or suggestions, 114 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: you can send them my way at this day at 115 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: i heart media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 116 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 117 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another day in history class. 118 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the i 119 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 120 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.