Nana
(ca. 1800–May 19, 1896)
Apache War Chief
NANA
N
ana was among
the most ferocious
Apache warriors
to ever terrorize the Old
Southwest. Relentless and
hard-hitting, he was ne-
ver defeated before fi-
nally retiring to life on a
reservation.
Nana was born about
1800 in the Mimbres
country of present-day
New Mexico to the East-
ern Chiricahua band of
the Apache nation. Little
is known of his younger
days, but he was appar-
ently a skilled and fear-
less warrior, and he was
allowed to marry the sis-
ter of Geronimo, another Apache stalwart.
Commencing in 1858, white intrusions upon
Apache lands induced the great warrior Man-
gas Coloradasto initiate a frontier war that
lasted, on and off, for nearly three decades.
Nana was undoubtedly privy to these events,
and he formed a long-lasting relationship with
another vaunted fighter, Victorio. After the
death or capture of Mangas and Cochise, Vic-
torio’s was the sole surviving band to offer
any armed resistance. Nana, though quite old
at this juncture, was apparently his trusted
lieutenant—and every bit as ruthless and cun-
ning as the younger braves under him. He ac-
companied Victorio into captivity during the
1870s, but the two men fled with their respec-
tive bands to the Sierra Madre Mountains of
Mexico in 1879 and continued raiding their
Mexican and American adversaries. In Octo-
ber 1880, Mexican forces cornered and anni-
hilated Victorio’s forces at the Battle of Tres
Castillos, killing him, 62 warriors, and 16
women. A further 68 women and children
were also captured and
sold into slavery. Nana
was out foraging at the
time and survived the
massacre. Although old,
semilame from dozens of
wounds, and suffering
from rheumatism and
failing eyesight, he was
readily accepted by the
surviving Apaches as
their new chief. The old
man was reputedly so
lame that he had to be
helped into the saddle.
No one could have an-
ticipated what would
happen next. Nana may
have been old, but his
fighting skills were
honed by a lifetime of raiding, and he proved
himself a fearless fighter, an expert guerrilla
strategist, and—in the established norms of
Apache warfare—utterly ruthless. In July
1881, he took 15 surviving warriors on a
bloody and legendary raid across southwest-
ern New Mexico. Covering 1,500 miles in
three months, Nana ambushed civilians,
wagon trains, and army patrols with equal
abandon. He was undefeated in eight pitched
battles with soldiers and militia, killing an
estimated 100 whites and capturing upward
of 200 valuable horses. The army dispatched
several strong cavalry columns against the
wily warrior but, insomuch as Nana ap-
peared to know every hill, cave, and valley in
New Mexico, most patrols never came
within sight of the raiders. When seemingly
cornered, the elusive Apache simply disap-
peared as if into thin air. Nana was later
joined by approximately 20 Mescaleros for a
total of 40 men. At length the victorious
Apaches fled across the Rio Grande RiverNana
National Archives