Battle of the Diablo Mountains

The Battle of the Diablo Mountains was an October 1854 engagement of the Jicarilla War. A small force of Mounted Rifles attacked a much larger force of Lipan Apaches at the base of the Diablo Mountains in Texas.

Battle
Setting out from Fort Inge in South Texas on October 1, 1854, Captain John G. Walker, in command of around forty men of the Mounted Rifles, headed for the Diablo Mountains region along the Rio Grande border with Mexico. Among the forty enlisted men was the future American general; Eugene Asa Carr.

Their mission was to investigate the reports from local settlers of stolen livestock, taken by Apache warriors. On the third day out, in the morning of October 3, 1854, Captain Walker and his men encountered well over 200 Lipan warriors near a herd of captured farm animals. Immediately Walker ordered an attack which surprised the Apaches significantly.

A brief skirmish ensued and the Apaches quickly fled, leaving most of the stolen livestock. Casualties are unknown, except for Second Lieutenant Eugene Asa Carr who was wounded by an arrow and subsequently commended by General Persifor F. Smith for his "gallantry and coolness" and promoted to first lieutenant. This was the future general's first combat action.