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and some became worried, but considering the Army's numbers, they assumed the patrols would win the battle at any moment. Many patrols fled, and in the confusion, some of them attacked the Warm
Springs scouts that were coming to help them. At 1:30 p.m., some patrols got back to Gillem's Camp, and warned about the Modoc ambush. They were so panicked, their reports were considered unreliable. Eventually, the camp's namesake, Gillem, ordered a unit stationed at the Stronghold to go to Sand Butte, but they were arriving as dark came. The patrols started building low rock walls for protection, and planned to stay the night. More patrols reached Gillem's Camp at midnight, and they were directed to the Stronghold, where they found Warm Springs scouts who would go back to Sand Butte to help the army rescue the patrols. The scouts could not find their way in the dark, and the rescue was put off until the next morning. At the end of the battle, Scarface Charley allegedly told the soldiers, "All you fellows that ain't dead yet had better go home. We don't want to kill you all in one day". The next day, the rescue mission found the soldiers' bodies. The army had 36 casualties, and five officers, including Evan Thomas and Thomas Wright, were killed.
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339:, and numbered at 20 to 30. They carried rifles. They could easily tell where the patrols were, as they were fully visible and making noise. They formed a parallel line to the patrols, and stayed out of sight as they walked up from behind. Around noon, the patrols stopped at the base of Sand Butte (to the east) to eat, rest, and watch the arrival of Donald McKay and his troops. The area was flat grassland surrounded by ridges on all four sides, and was 200 feet below the top of Sand Butte. McKay and a dozen scouts met with the patrols at noon.
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After the patrols finished their lunch, Thomas ordered three soldiers to take up a picket position on top of the ridge. When those soldiers started going up the butte, the Modoc realized they would be spotted, and started firing at the pickets. Back at Gillem's Camp, the sound of gunfire was heard,
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Soon after the patrols were resting, the Modoc got into position. Kientpoos and
Charley's group went to an area of trees at the northern face of Sand Butte. They were flanked by two other squads to their north and south, and a few others were to their west at an overlook ridge. No matter which way
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On the morning of April 26, about 70 Army soldiers left their camp next to the
Stronghold, Gillem's Camp, and went south, hoping to find the Modoc. They assumed the Modoc were hiding east of the hill Sand Butte, which was four miles south of the Stronghold. They wanted to bring a mortar battery to
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scouts went looking for a group of Modoc who had escaped a previous assault attempt by the Army. Mid-day, the Army and Warm
Springs Indians were ambushed at the base of Sand Butte, and nearly wiped out by 20 Modoc warriors. The Modoc victory lead to further public calls for their extermination.
421:'s illustration, which showed an Indian scalping an army soldier while a vulture is perched nearby, was titled "The Two Vultures", and captioned, "'To the victor belong the spoils', thinks the Modoc murderer who interrupts the feathered savage in his post-mortem
319:. The next day, when the Army and Warm Springs Indians arrived, the Modoc that were present were women, the elderly, and the wounded. The women were given to the Warm Springs Indians, and the elderly and wounded were burned.
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the butte's summit so they could easily fire at the Modoc. This early morning party was led by
Captain Evan Thomas and Lieutenant Thomas Wright. During the walk, they were spread out in a line left-to-right.
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The Modoc escape from the
Stronghold and the victory at Sand Butte turned the public's sentiment further against them, and there were greater calls for their extermination. Various newsletters, including
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and a reverend named Thomas were killed by the Modocs, and in response, the U.S. Army and Warm
Springs Indians attempted to capture a Modoc base,
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315:. They planned an assault on the Stronghold on April 18. On the 17th, hours before the assault, most of the Modoc
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Remembering the Modoc War: Redemptive
Violence and the Making of American Innocence
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the patrols would run, they would be under gunfire from the Modoc at high ground.
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413:, portrayed the battle in illustrations which evoked "Indian savagery".
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in
California. On April 26, 1873, a force of ~70 Army soldiers and ~12
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The Modoc War: A Story of
Genocide at the Dawn of America's Gilded Age
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417:'s illustration was titled "Modoc Scalping and Torturing Soldiers".
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people in California. In the 1860s, McKay had fought against the
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393:"The Two Vultures", which depicts the aftermath of the battle
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with a band of Warm Springs Indians. In April 1873, General
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547:, University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469618609
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610:Native American history of California
411:Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newsletter
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605:Battles involving Native Americans
331:The Modoc in the area were led by
279:In the spring of 1873, during the
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554:, Bison Books. ISBN 9781496201799
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440:McNally 2017, pp. 132, 175-176.
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335:(who killed Edward Canby) and
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16:1873 battle of the Modoc War
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58:Captain Jack's Stronghold
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600:Battles of the Modoc War
550:McNally, Robert (2017).
531:Cothran 2014, pp. 59-61.
317:abandoned the Stronghold
543:Cothran, Boyd (2014).
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102:Commanders and leaders
488:McNally 2017, p. 181.
458:McNally 2017, p. 207.
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313:Medicine Lake Volcano
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263:Further information:
145:Casualties and losses
479:McNally 2017, p. 15.
470:Cothran 2014, p. 59.
449:McNally 2017, p. 68.
293:Warm Springs Indians
252:Warm Springs Indians
236:Battle of Sand Butte
96:Warm Springs Indians
22:Battle of Sand Butte
572: /
620:1873 in California
576:41.760°N 121.524°W
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246:was a part of the
244:United States Army
140:~12 Indian scouts
625:April 1873 events
615:Conflicts in 1873
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125:Thomas Wright †
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289:Donald McKay
283:, the U.S.'
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274:Donald McKay
238:between the
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138:~70 soldiers
120:Evan Thomas
117:Donald McKay
81:Belligerents
579: /
567:121°31′26″W
287:authorized
33:Indian Wars
594:Categories
564:41°45′36″N
429:References
259:Background
218:Sand Butte
203:Lost River
62:California
398:Aftermath
373:Kientpoos
333:Kientpoos
281:Modoc War
265:Modoc War
248:Modoc War
191:Modoc War
112:Kientpoos
56:South of
29:Modoc War
223:Dry Lake
130:Strength
52:Location
27:Part of
538:Sources
323:Prelude
311:, near
423:repast
415:Harper
343:Battle
69:Result
297:Modoc
240:Modoc
87:Modoc
409:and
234:The
150:none
44:Date
425:".
596::
518:^
493:^
463:^
60:,
182:e
175:t
168:v
122:†
35:)
31:(
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