Kearny ordered his men to dig in on top of a small hill. Kearny sent Carson and two other men to slip through the siege and get reinforcements.
They left their canteens to avoid noise. Because their boots also made too much noise, Carson and Beale removed them and tucked them under their belts. They lost their boots, and had to make the journey barefoot through desert, rock, and cactus.
By December 10, Kearny believed all hope was gone, and planned to attempt a breakout the next morning. That night American troops on fresh horses arrived, and the Mexican army dispersed in the face of the new show of strength. Kearny arrived in San Diego by December His arrival contributed to the prompt reconquest of California by the American forces. He stopped in St.
Louis and met with Senator Thomas Benton , a prominent supporter of settling of the West and a proponent of Manifest Destiny. Carson was ordered to return to California with messages, receive further messages there, and bring those back yet again to Washington.
In they moved to Taos to take up ranching and farming. In , the first of many Carson action novels appeared. This type of western pulp fiction was known as "blood and thunders.
Ann White killed by Jicarilla Apaches after she and her daughter were captured by them weeks earlier, in an attack in which they killed her husband and others. They killed her as she tried to escape. While picking through the belongings that the Jicarilla had left in their camp, one of Major Grier's soldiers came across a book which the White family had carried with them from Missouri: the paperback novel starring Kit Carson.
Later he commented on seeing it. This was the first time that Carson came in contact with his own myth. The episode of the White massacre haunted Carson's memory for many years. He once stated, "I have often thought that, as Mrs. White read the book, she prayed for my appearance, knowing that I lived nearby.
He wrote later, "I have much regretted the failure to save the life of so esteemed a lady. With the help of scouts led by Kit Carson, he caught and defeated them April 4, at the canyon of Ojo Caliente. They agree to support the United States in the event of any issue between them and the people of any Territory, and do what they could for the suppression of rebellion in Utah. He joined the New Mexico volunteer infantry being organized by Ceran St.
Although New Mexico Territory officially allowed slavery , geography and economics made the institution so impractical there were few slaves within its boundaries. The territorial government and the leaders of opinion all threw their support to the Union. Canby of the Regular Army's 19th Infantry, headquartered at Ft.
Marcy in Santa Fe. Carson, with the rank of Colonel of Volunteers, commanded the third of five columns in Canby's force. Carson's command was divided into two battalions , each made up of four companies of the First New Mexico Volunteers, in all some men. Their goal was to conquer the rich Colorado gold fields and redirect the resource from the North to the South. The day-long Battle of Valverde ended when the Confederates captured a Union battery of six guns and forced the rest of Canby's troops across the river.
The Union lost 68 killed and wounded. Colonel Carson's column spent the morning on the west side of the river out of the action, but at 1 p. Carson's battalions fought until ordered to retreat. Carson lost one man killed and one wounded. Colonel Canby had little or no confidence in the hastily recruited, untrained New Mexico volunteers, "who would not obey orders or obeyed them too late to be of any service.
Carson and his New Mexico Volunteers were fully occupied by "Indian troubles. General Kearny, passing nearby on his way to California after his recent conquest of Santa Fe, learned of the raid and sent a note to Col.
William Doniphan , his second in command in Santa Fe. He ordered Doniphan to send a regiment of soldiers into Navajo country and secure a peace treaty with them. A detachment of 30 men made contact with the Navajo and spoke to the Navajo Chief Narbona in mid-October, about the same time that Carson met Gen.
Kearny on the trail to California. A second meeting between Chief Narbona and Col. Doniphan occurred several weeks later. Doniphan informed the Navajo that all their land now belonged to the United States, and the Navajo and New Mexicans were the "children of the United States. The treaty forbade the Navajo to raid or make war on the New Mexicans, but allowed the New Mexicans to make war on the Navajo if they saw fit.
Despite the treaty, the Navajo continued raiding in New Mexico, which they considered a category separate from war, as did the Jicarilla Apache, Mescalero Apache, Ute, Comanche, and Kiowa. On August 16, the U. Army began an expedition into the heart of Navajo country on an organized reconnaissance to impress the Navajo with the might of the U. They also mapped the terrain and planned forts. John Washington, the military governor of New Mexico at the time, led the expedition.
Forces included nearly infantry U. On August 29—30, , Washington's expedition needed water, and began pillaging Navajo cornfields. Mounted Navajo warriors darted back and forth around Washington's troops to push them off.
Washington reasoned he could pillage Navajo crops because the Navajo would have to reimburse the U. Washington still suggested to the Navajo that in spite of the hostile situation, they and the whites could "still be friends if the Navajo came with their chiefs the next day and signed a treaty.
The next day Chief Narbona came to "talk peace," along with several other headmen. After reaching an accord, a scuffle broke out after ta New Mexican thought he saw his stolen horse and tried to claim it from the Navajo. The Navajo position was that the horse had passed through several owners by this time, and rightfully belonged to its Navajo owner. Washington sided with the New Mexican. Since the Navajo owner took his horse and fled the scene, Washington told the New Mexican to pick out any Navajo horse he wanted.
The rest of the Navajo also left. At this, Col. Washington ordered his soldiers to fire. Seven Navajo were killed in the volleys; the rest ran and could not be caught. One of the dying was Chief Narbona, who was scalped as he lay dying by a New Mexican souvenir hunter. This massacre prompted the warlike Navajo leaders such as Manuelito to gain influence over those who were advocates of peace.
Raiding by native Americans had been rather constant up through , and New Mexicans were becoming more outspoken in their demand that something be done. Canby devised a plan for the removal of the Navajo to a distant reservation and sent his plans to his superiors in Washington D. But that year, Canby was promoted to general and recalled back east for other duties. Carleton believed that the Navajo conflict was the reason for New Mexico's "depressing backwardness.
Carleton saw a way to harness the anxieties that had been stirred up [in New Mexico] by the Confederate invasion and the still-hovering fear that the Texans might return. If the territory was already on a war footing, the whole society alert and inflamed, then why not direct all this ramped up energy toward something useful?
Carleton immediately declared a state of martial law, with curfews and mandatory passports for travel, and then brought all his newly streamlined authority to bear on cleaning up the Navajo mess. With a focus that bordered on obsession, he was determined finally to make good on Kearny's old promise that the United States would "correct all this. Carleton believed there was gold in the Navajo country, and that they should be driven out to allow its development.
Carleton ordered Carson to kill all the men of that tribe, and say that he Carson had been sent to "punish them for their treachery and crimes. Carson was appalled by this brutal attitude and refused to obey it. He accepted the surrender of more than a hundred Mescalero warriors who sought refuge with him. Nonetheless, he completed his campaign in a month.
When Carson learned that Carleton intended him to pursue the Navajo, he sent Carleton a letter of resignation dated February 3, Carleton refused to accept this and used the force of his personality to maintain Carson's cooperation. In language similar to his description of the Mescalero Apache, Carleton ordered Carson to lead an expedition against the Navajo, and to say to them, "You have deceived us too often, and robbed and murdered our people too long, to trust you again at large in your own country.
This war shall be pursued against you if it takes years, now that we have begun, until you cease to exist or move. There can be no other talk on the subject. Under Carleton's direction, Carson instituted a scorched earth policy , which coerced the Navajo to surrender.
Most corn fields were used to feed his horses, and some fields were destroyed. Carleton had insisted that livestock was not to be used for personal use. Carson did not cut down any orchard trees. He was aided by other Native American tribes with long-standing enmity toward the Navajos, chiefly the Utes. Carson was pleased with the work the Utes did for him, but they went home early in the campaign when told they could not confiscate Navajo booty.
Carson had difficulty with New Mexico volunteers as well. Troopers deserted and officers resigned. Carson urged Carleton to accept two resignations he was forwarding, "as I do not wish to have any officer in my command who is not contented or willing to put up with as much inconvenience and privations for the success of the expedition as I undergo myself. There were no pitched battles and only a few skirmishes in the Navajo campaign. Carson rounded up and took prisoner every Navajo he could find.
In January , Carson sent a company into Canyon de Chelly to investigate the last Navajo stronghold, presuming them to be under the leadership of Manuelito. The Navajo surrendered because of the confiscation of their livestock and food supplies. In the spring of , 8, Navajo men, women and children were forced to march or ride in wagons miles km to Fort Sumner , New Mexico.
Navajos call this "The Long Walk. Carson had left the Army and returned home before the march began, but some Navajo held him responsible for the events. He had promised that those who surrendered would not be harmed.
He was made a lieutenant. He led the 1st New Mexico Volunteer Infantry. He trained the new men. In October , he was made a colonel. Carleton led his forces deep into the Mescalero Apache territory. The Mescaleros were tired of fighting, and put themselves under Carson's protection. Carleton put these Apaches on a remote and lonely reservation east on the Pecos River.
He resigned from the Army in February Carleton refused to accept the resignation because he wanted Carson to lead a campaign against the Navajo.
Carleton had chosen a bleak site on the Pecos River for his reservation. This reservation was called Bosque Redondo Round Grove.
He chose this site for the Apaches and Navajos because it was far from white settlements. He thought as well that the remoteness and desolation of the reservation would discourage white settlement. The Mescalero Apaches walked miles to the reservation.
By March , four hundred Apaches had settled around nearby Fort Sumner. Others had fled west to join fugitive bands of Apaches. By middle summer, many of these people were planting crops and doing other farm work. On July 7, Carson, with little heart for the Navajo roundup, started the campaign against the tribe. His orders were almost the same as those for the Apache roundup: he was to shoot all males on site, and take the women and children captives.
No peace treaties were to be made until all the Navajo were on the reservation. Carson searched far and wide for the Navajo. He found their homes, fields, animals, and orchards, but the Navajo were experts at disappearing quickly and hiding in their vast lands. The roundup was a great frustration for Carson. He was in his 50s, tired, and ill. By autumn , Carson started to burn the Navajo homes and fields, and remove their animals from the area.
The Navaho would starve if this destruction continued. One hundred eighty-eight Navajo surrendered. They were sent to Bosque Redondo. Life at the Bosque had was grim, the Apaches and Navajos fought and the water in the Pecos contained minerals that gave people cramps and stomach aches. Residents had to walk about twelve miles to find firewood.
Carson wanted to take a winter break from the campaign. Major Carleton refused. Kit was ordered to invade the Canyon de Chelly. It was here that many Navajos had taken refuge. The Canyon de Chelly was a sacred place for the Navajo. They believed it would now be their strongest sanctuary. Three hundred Navajo took refuge on the canyon rim at a place called Fortress Rock. They resisted Carson's invasion by building rope ladders, bridges, lowering water pots into a stream, and keeping out of sight.
In January , Carson swept through the mile Canyon with his forces. He cut down the thousands of peach trees in the Canyon. Few Navajo were killed or captured. Carson's invasion however proved to the Navajo that the white man could invade their country at any time. Many Navajo surrendered at Fort Canby. By March , there were 3, refuges at Fort Canby. An additional 5, arrived in the camp. They were suffering from the intense cold and hunger. Carson asked for supplies to feed and clothe them.
The thousands of Navajo were led to Bosque Redondo. In Navajo history, this horrific trek is known as The Long Walk. By , reports indicated that Bosque Redondo was a complete failure. Major Carleton was fired. Congress started investigations. In , a treaty was signed, and the Navajo were allowed to return to their homeland.
Bosque Redondo was closed. Adobe Walls was an abandoned trading post blown up by its inhabitants to prevent a take-over by hostile Native Americans.
It was one of the largest engagements fought on the Great Plains. The result of Adobe Walls was a crushing spiritual defeat for the Indians. It also prompted the U. Within the year, the long war between whites and Indians in Texas would reach its conclusion. The battle was the result of General Carleton's belief that the Native Americans were responsible for the continuing attacks on white settlers along the Santa Fe Trail.
He wanted to punish these thieves and murderers, and brought in Carson to do the job. With most of the Army engaged elsewhere during the American Civil War, the protection the settlers sought was almost nonexistent.
They were begging for help. Carson led cavalry, 75 infantry, and 72 Ute and Jicarilla Apache Army scouts. In addition, he had two mountain howitzer cannons.
On the morning of November 25, Carson discovered and attacked a Kiowa village of lodges. After the destruction, he moved forward to Adobe Walls. Carson found other Comanche villages in the area, and realized he would face a very large force of Native Americans.
Four to five hours of battle ensued. When Carson ran low on ammunition and howitzer shells, he ordered his men to retreat to a nearby Kiowa village. There they burned the village and many fine buffalo robes. The battle is considered by some to be Carson's finest moment, and is thought one of the factors that made the Kiowas and Comanches sue for peace in Adobe Walls marked the beginning of the end of the plains tribes and their way of life.
A decade later, the Second Battle of Adobe Walls was fought on June 27, , between to Comanche and a group of 28 hunters defending Adobe Walls. After a four-day siege, the hundreds of Native Americans withdrew. Carson left the Army on November 22, He moved his family to a small settlement on the Purgatoire River called Boggsville, Colorado. He had no money. He sold his house in Taos. He wanted to build a ranch. He was called to Washington, D. Carson was seriously ill, and doubted he could make the journey, but he felt a responsibility to the chiefs and made the journey.
He asked doctors on the East Coast about his health they gave him little hope of recovery , and toured New York City, Philadelphia , and Boston. His last photograph was snapped in Boston. He returned home in April Josefa had given birth to their last child, Josefita. It was not an easy birth. Josefa died within two weeks. Carson missed her greatly. His health grew worse. He needed chloroform to ease the pain. Any monies realized from his estate would be used to support his children.
Carson had been diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. He died on May 23, at Fort Lyon, Colorado. He was 58 years old. The journey, known as the Long Walk, proved to be brutal, costing the lives of hundreds of participants.
Promoted to brigadier general in , Carson moved to Colorado after the war and was appointed the commander of Fort Garland. He negotiated a peace treaty with the Utes during this time before resigning in because of declining health. Carson spent his final months as superintendent of Indian affairs for Colorado Territory. Following a grueling trip to the East Coast in , he returned to Colorado in terrible condition.
After his third and final wife died in April, Carson followed approximately a month later, on May 23, , reportedly delivering the last words, "Doctor, compadre, adios! An icon of the frontiersman days of the American West, Carson is remembered through the designation of such locales as Carson City, Nevada, and Carson Pass in California.
Along with the dime novels that bolstered his legend while he was still alive, he was memorialized in Western-themed movies and TV shows like The Adventures of Kit Carson , which aired from to In early , he was featured in the History Channel's documentary series Frontiersmen.
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. His farewell show in drew 50 million viewers. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist, environmentalist and writer who alerted the world to the environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He preserved the Union during the U. Civil War and brought about the emancipation of slaves. George Custer was an American cavalry commander who in led men to their deaths at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He served from to , during the build-up to the Civil War.
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