Warren Wagon Train Raid

The Warren Wagon Train Raid, also known as the Salt Creek Massacre, occurred on May 18, 1871. Henry Warren was contracted to haul supplies to forts in the west of Texas, including Fort Richardson, Fort Griffin, and Fort Concho. Traveling down the Jacksboro-Belknap road heading towards Salt Creek Crossing, they encountered William Tecumseh Sherman. Less than an hour after encountering the famous General, they spotted a rather large group of riders ahead. They quickly realized that these were Native American warriors, probably Kiowa and/or Comanche. The wagon train quickly shifted into a ring formation, and all the mules were put into the center of the ring. The warriors captured all of the supplies, killing and mutilating seven of the wagoneer's bodies. Five men managed to escape, one of which was Thomas Brazeale who reached Fort Richardson on foot, some 20 miles away. As soon as Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie learned of the incident, he informed Sherman. Sherman and Mackenzie searched for the warriors responsible for the raid. In the end, 3 of the 4 war leaders involved were arrested at Fort Sill: Satanta (White Bear), Satank (Sitting Bear), and Addo-etta (Big Tree). Satank attempted escape and was killed while traveling to Fort Richardson for trial. The other two were tried and convicted of murder.

Raid
The ambush had been planned by a large band of Kiowa warriors under the leadership of Satanta, Big Tree, Satank, and Eagle Heart. Hidden in a thicket of scrub in the Salt Creek Prairie, they observed the slow approach of several wagons accompanied by 17 Buffalo soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, the black troopers. Relatively easy pickings, but no one moved. The previous night, a shaman had prophesied that this small party would be followed by a larger one with more plunder for the taking. The braves were rewarded three hours later when 10 mule-drawn wagons filled with army corn and fodder trundled into view. The Kiowa attacked and quickly overwhelmed this convoy. Seven muleskinners were killed, while five managed to escape. The warriors lost three of their own, but left with 41 mules heavily laden with supplies. It was well after dark before the white survivors reached the nearby Fort Richardson and told their harrowing tale to the very officer whose party had passed unharmed under the Kiowa guns, William Tecumseh Sherman. He ordered the arrests of the Indian war chiefs, and had them sent to the fort. Satank was killed in the train as he tried to escape the column of United States soldiers. The rest were tried in the first Indian trial in history. Satanta and Big Tree were convicted of murder.

The site of the Warren Wagon Train Raid received a historic marker in 1977.