Red River Campaign
By: Nicholas Jewell 3rd Period
Event Information
Red River Campaign
When?
Sunday, Aug 1, 1875, 12:00 AM
Where?
Northern Texas
The Fight
During the summer of 1874, the U. S. Army launched a campaign to remove the Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indian tribes from the Southern Plains and enforce their relocation to reservations in Indian Territory. The actions of 1874 were unlike any prior attempts by the Army to pacify this area of the western frontier. The Red River Campaign of 1874 led to the end of an entire way of life for the Southern Plains tribes and brought about a new chapter in Texas history. During the Red River War of 1874, as many as 20 engagements between the U.S. Army and the Southern Plains Indians may have taken place across the Texas Panhandle region. The well-equipped Army kept the Indians on the run until eventually they could not run or fight any longer. The Red River War officially ended in June 1875 when Quanah Parker and his band of Quahadi Comanche entered Fort Sill and surrendered. The Indians were defeated and would never again freely roam the buffalo plains.