meet with Bascom and his men. Unbeknownst to
Cochise, Bascom is convinced that he is responsible
for raiding a ranch of a local white man and ab-
ducting his children. When confronted by Bascom,
Cochise denies any involvement in the raid. Sens-
ing his life is in danger, the Apache slips out a knife
and cuts a hole in the meeting tent, through which
he escapes from the soldiers. The Cut-the-Tent af-
fair confirms to the Chiricahua that the U.S. Army
is not to be trusted.
April
Soldiers leave the western frontier with the
outbreak of the Civil War.
With the beginning of the Civil War, the U.S.
Army recalls soldiers in the West to help fight the
Confederate rebels. Troops policing the western
frontier are replaced by volunteers recruited by state
and territorial governments. From 1860 to 1865,
these volunteer armies will grow from 11 to 20,000
troops. The recruitment of these zealous volunteers
will result in increasing tension and violence as they
lead brutal attacks against Indian raiders on the
Plains and in the Southwest.
Summer
The Confederacy negotiates treaties with
Indian Territory tribes.
As the federal troops withdraw from Indian Terri-
tory (see entry for APRIL 1861), Confederate agents
arrive and begin meeting with leaders of the tribes
there to persuade them to become their allies. Many
of the largest groups—including the so-called
Five Civilized Tribes—had originally lived in the
South and therefore already had close ties to the
Confederates.
The agents are able to secure treaties with four
of the Five Civilized Tribes (the Choctaw, Chicka-
saw, Creek, and Seminole) as well as with Quapaw,
Seneca, Caddo, Wichita, Osage, and Shawnee. The
only major holdout is the Cherokee tribe, whose
principal chief, John Ross, advocates neutrality (see
entry for OCTOBER 1861). In the treaties, the Con-
federacy pledges to protect the Indians’ land from
invasions by Union troops. It also promises to let
the Indians participate in the Confederate govern-
ment in the event of a southern victory. The tribes
in return agree to organize troops for Indian Terri-
tory’s defense.September 22Seventeen Navajo (Dineh) are killed in the
Fort Fauntleroy Massacre.
According to the terms of a treaty made with Major
Edward R. S. Canby (see entry for APRIL 30, 1860)
in February, a group of Navajo (Dineh) arrive at
Fort Fauntleroy in present-day New Mexico to col-
lect food rations. As usual on ration day, the Navajo
and soldiers at the fort hold a series of horse races.
During one race, a Navajo rider loses control of his
horse because the rein on its bridle had been cut with
a knife. The Navajo accuse the soldiers of cheating,
and in the confusion that follows soldiers fire into
the crowd, shooting 12 women and children. The
fort commander, Colonel Marcus Chaves, orders
his men to shoot howitzers at the fleeing Indians.
Chaves, who in the past had raided Navajo
settlements to capture Indians to sell as slaves,
maintains that the Navajo had tried to rush the fort.
Even though an investigation proves Chaves’s claim
false, efforts to court-martial the officer fail.OctoberCherokee leader John Ross decides to side
with the Confederacy.
Despite pressure from Confederate authorities and
their Cherokee sympathizers, John Ross, principal
chief of the Cherokee, adopts a policy of neutrality
in the American Civil War (see entry for SUMMER
1861). He, however, reconsiders his position when
Confederacy supporter Stand Watie threatens to in-
cite a civil war within the tribe over the issue. Also
fearing that southern troops might invade a neutral
Cherokee Nation, Ross signs a treaty declaring the
Cherokee’s allegiance to the Confederate cause. (See
also entry for SUMMER 1862.)