JANUARY 8, 1865:
The Battle of Dove Creek. In modern-day Tom
Green County, Texas, a Confederate force of 400 launches an unprovoked attack
on a village of Kickapoo Indians. The Kickapoos had been at peace since the
1830s. Nevertheless, six hundred Kickapoo warriors defend their village valiantly,
inflicting nearly 200 casualties on the Texans, who withdraw in confusion. The
Texans later claim that Union Jayhawkers were commanding the Kickapoo defense,
but there is no proof of this. The Kickapoos, who lose 16 men, travel south and
cross the Rio Grande for sanctuary in Mexico; from their Mexican village they
conduct border raids on Texas settlements well into the 1870s.
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
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