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112-508: Geronimo (original name Goyahkla, meaning One Who Yawns ) was a Chiricahua Apache : he was never a chief, but only a warrior. In the summer of 1858, he lost his entire family (mother, wife and three children) when some Mexican troops attacked the Apache camp near the town of Janos , while warriors were in town, bartering with the Mexicans. Geronimo made a name for himself shortly after, when he burned

224-460: A Chiricahua Apache renegade chief / guerrilla fighter leader, in the military's Department of Arizona in the old Arizona Territory in the Southwest . General Crook had relied heavily on Apache scouts in his efforts to capture Geronimo. Instead, Miles relied instead on white regular cavalry troops, who eventually traveled 3,000 miles (4,800 km) without success as they tracked Geronimo through

336-516: A Florida reservation far to the east. Geronimo agreed on these terms, being unaware of the real plot behind the negotiations (that there was no real intent to let them go back to their native lands in Arizona and New Mexico). The exile included even the Chiricahuas Apache scouts who had worked for the army, in violation of Miles' original agreement with them. Miles denied Lt. Gatewood any credit for

448-602: A Winchester Model 1876 lever-action rifle with a silver-washed barrel and receiver, bearing Serial Number 109450. It is on display at the United States Military Academy , West Point, New York . Additionally, he had a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a nickel finish and ivory stocks bearing Serial Number 89524, and a Sheffield Bowie knife with a dagger type blade and a stag handle made by George Wostenholm in an elaborate silver-studded holster and cartridge belt. The revolver, rig, and knife are on display at

560-421: A battle in which, ignoring a deadly hail of bullets, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife. The origin of the name is a source of controversy with historians, some writing that it was appeals by the soldiers to Saint Jerome ("Jerónimo!") for help. Debo repeats this, speculating also an alternative unlikely in terms of phonetics, that it may have been "as close as they [Mexican soldiers] could come to

672-613: A cave, and the U.S. soldiers waited outside the entrance for him, but he never came out. Later, it was heard that Geronimo was spotted outside, nearby. The second entrance through which he escaped has yet to be found, and the cave is called Geronimo's Cave, even though no reference to this event or this cave has been found in the historic or oral record. Moreover, there are many stories of this type with other caves referenced that state that Geronimo or other Apaches entered to escape troops but were not seen exiting. These stories are in all likelihood apocryphal. The Apache–United States conflict

784-651: A hat he took off his head. As the train would pull into depots along the way, Geronimo would buy more buttons to sew on and more hats to sell. In 1898 Geronimo was part of a Chiricahua delegation from Fort Sill to the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska . Previous newspaper accounts of the Apache Wars had impressed the public with Geronimo's name and exploits, and in Omaha he became

896-519: A long time since then, but still I have no love for the Mexicans. With me they were always treacherous and malicious. Though outnumbered, Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from incarceration from 1858 to 1886. One such escape, as legend has it, took place in the Robledo Mountains of southwest New Mexico. The legend states that Geronimo and his followers entered

1008-511: A major attraction. The Omaha Exposition gave Geronimo celebrity status, and for the rest of his life he was in demand as an attraction in fairs large and small. The two largest were the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York , in 1901, and the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. Under Army guard, Geronimo dressed in traditional clothing and posed for photographs and sold his crafts. After

1120-524: A major characteristic of his persona. Within Geronimo's own Chiricahua tribe, many had mixed feelings about him. While respected as a skilled and effective leader of raids or warfare, he emerges as not very likable, and he was not widely popular among the other Apaches. This was primarily because he refused to give in to American government demands, causing some Apaches to fear the American response. Nevertheless,

1232-669: A member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right. He joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later

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1344-455: A prisoner has begun, I have heard the teachings of the white man's religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers ... Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been

1456-570: A specific raid in March 1883, in which Geronimo's people split up with Geronimo and Chihuahua raiding in the Sonora River valley to collect livestock and provisions, while Chatto and Bonito raided through southern Arizona to gather weapons and cartridges. In these raids into the United States, the Apaches moved swiftly and attacked isolated ranches, wagon trains, prospectors and travelers. They often killed all

1568-458: A telegram asking Sheridan to relieve him of command, to which Sheridan agreed. Sheridan replaced Crook with General Nelson A. Miles . In 1886, Miles selected Captain Henry Lawton to command B Troop, 4th Cavalry , at Fort Huachuca , and First Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood , to lead the expedition that brought Geronimo and his followers back to the reservation system for a final time. Lawton

1680-440: A thicket by the river. Silently we stole in one by one, sentinels were placed, and when all were counted, I found that my aged mother, my young wife, and my three small children were among the slain. Geronimo's chief, Mangas Coloradas (Spanish for "red sleeves"), sent him to Cochise 's band for help in his revenge against the Mexicans. It was during this incident that the name Geronimo came about. This appellation stemmed from

1792-446: A wild west show. I took part in the roping contests before the audience. There were many other Indian tribes there, and strange people of whom I had never heard ... I am glad I went to the Fair. I saw many interesting things and learned much of the white people. They are a very kind and peaceful people. During all the time I was at the Fair no one tried to harm me in any way. Had this been among

1904-467: A year, making him the most famous Native American of the time and earning him the title of the "worst Indian who ever lived" among white settlers. According to James L. Haley, "About two weeks after the escape there was a report of a family massacred near Silver City ; one girl was taken alive and hanged from a meat hook jammed under the base of her skull." His band was one of the last major forces of independent Native American warriors who refused to accept

2016-512: Is a life after this one, but no one ever told me as to what part of man lived after death ... We held that the discharge of one's duty would make his future life more pleasant, but whether that future life was worse than this life or better, we did not know, and no one was able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life, family and tribal relations would be resumed. In a way we believed this, but we did not know it. In his later years Geronimo endorsed Christianity and stated: Since my life as

2128-429: Is now northeastern Sonora, then Opata country. In 1835, Mexico had placed a bounty on Apache scalps. Two years later, Mangas Coloradas became principal chief and war leader and began a series of raids against the Mexicans. Apache raids on Mexican villages were so numerous and brutal that no area was safe. Between 1820 and 1835 alone, some 5,000 Mexicans died in Apache raids, and 100 settlements were destroyed. During

2240-504: The 5th U.S. Infantry Regiment , a position he held for 11 years until 1880. Miles played a leading role in nearly all of the U.S. Army 's campaigns of the later American Indian Wars against the native American Indian tribes of the Great Plains , of the Mid-West , among whom he was known as "Bearcoat" (for his characteristic bearskin fur coat). In 1874–1875, he was a field commander in

2352-819: The American Civil War (1861-1865), the later American Indian Wars (1840-1890), and the Spanish–American War , (1898). From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding General of the United States Army (General-in-Chief), before the office was transformed into the current Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in 1903 . Miles was born in Westminster, Massachusetts , on his family's farm. He worked in Boston , read military history, and mastered military principles and techniques, including battle drills. He attended

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2464-649: The Apache–United States conflict , which started with the Americans continuing to take land, including Apache lands, following the end of the war with Mexico in 1848. Reservation life was confining to the free-moving Apache people, and they resented restrictions on their customary way of life. Geronimo led breakouts from the reservations in attempts to return his people to their previous nomadic lifestyle. During Geronimo's final period of conflict from 1876 to 1909, he surrendered three times and eventually accepted life on

2576-520: The Fort Sill museum. The debate remains as to whether Geronimo surrendered unconditionally. He repeatedly insisted in his memoirs that his people who surrendered had been misled, and that his surrender as a war prisoner in front of uncontested witnesses (especially General Stanley) was conditional. General Oliver O. Howard , chief of US Army Division of the Pacific, said on his part that Geronimo's surrender

2688-633: The Fort Wayne College (now Taylor University in Upland, Indiana ). Miles was working as a crockery store clerk in Boston when the American Civil War (1861-1865) began. He joined the Union Army / United States Army as a volunteer soldier on September 9, 1861, and fought in many crucial battles in the Eastern Theatre . He became a lieutenant in the 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and

2800-541: The Indian Office provided Geronimo for use in a parade at the second inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt . He died at the Fort Sill hospital in 1909, as a prisoner of war, and was buried at the Fort Sill Indian Agency Cemetery, among the graves of relatives and other Apache prisoners of war. Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans resident in

2912-614: The James River , where former Confederate President , Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), was held prisoner. During his tenure at Fortress Monroe, General Miles was forced to defend himself against charges that Davis was being mistreated. Fifteen months after the end of the war, in July 1866, Miles was appointed a colonel in the Regular Army, confirmed by the U.S. Senate . The next year, in April 1867, he

3024-599: The Tchihende , and he grew up with them. Geronimo married a woman named Alope, from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache, when he was 17; they had three children. She was the first of nine wives. On March 5, 1851, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel José María Carrasco attacked Geronimo's camp outside Janos (Kas-Ki-Yeh in Apache) while the men were in town trading. Carrasco claimed he had followed

3136-630: The Union League Club of New York , where his portrait hung in the main bar area for many years. Miles City, Montana is named in his honor, as is Miles Street and the Miles Neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona . Miles Canyon on the Yukon River near Whitehorse , Yukon , was named after him in 1883 by Lt. Frederick Schwatka during his exploration of the river system. A steamship , General Miles ,

3248-473: The "savage" had been "tamed," and they paid Geronimo to take a button from the coat of the vicious Apache "chief." (Geronimo was not a chief.) The shows put a good deal of money in his pockets and allowed him to travel though never without government guards. In President Theodore Roosevelt 's 1905 Inaugural Parade, Geronimo rode horseback down Pennsylvania Avenue with five Indian chiefs who wore full headgear and painted faces. The intent, one newspaper stated,

3360-564: The American settlers and miners in Arizona and New Mexico (1863-1872). When Cochise surrendered to the US authorities in 1872 in return for a large reservation in southeastern Arizona, Geronimo settled on the reservation, occasionally raiding in Mexico, but keeping peace on the US side of the border. However, in 1875, all the Apache tribes were resettled in a much smaller single reservation, San Carlos , nicknamed "Hell's Forty Acres", on unproductive land in

3472-442: The Apache people stood in awe of Geronimo's powers, which he demonstrated to them on a series of occasions. These powers indicated to other Apaches that Geronimo had supernatural gifts that he could use for good or ill. In eyewitness accounts by other Apaches, Geronimo was able to become aware of distant events as they happened, and he was able to anticipate future events. He also demonstrated powers to heal other Apaches. Geronimo

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3584-496: The Apache raids and spread about 5,000 troops in small detachments in order to promptly respond to any Apache attack. However, all this effort gave no results, as Apache raiders successfully applied hit-and-run tactics over the vast territories – they attacked a ranch in Arizona, then the town of Nogales a few days later, without any loses on their side. With nothing to show for the enormous resources he spent, in August 1886, General Miles

3696-668: The Apache raids in the US resumed, the US government appointed general George Crook as military commander in Arizona. General Crook tried an original approach – improving living conditions on the San Carlos Reservation, hiring Apache scouts on the reservation to fight renegade Apache raiders and collaborating with Mexican authorities on the other side of the border. These measures gave immediate results – Crook's army comprising only 42 US cavalrymen and 193 Apache scouts crossed into Mexico in May 1883 and successfully found Geronimo's band in

3808-616: The Apache reservations. While well-known, Geronimo was not a chief of the Bedonkohe band of the Central Apache but a shaman, as was Nokay-doklini among the Western Apache. However, since he was a superb leader in raiding and warfare, he frequently led large numbers of 30 to 50 Apache men. In 1886, after an intense pursuit in northern Mexico by American forces that followed Geronimo's third 1885 reservation breakout, Geronimo surrendered for

3920-414: The Apache through the summer and autumn through Mexican Chihuahua and back across the border into the United States. The Apache continually raided settlements, murdering other innocent Native Americans and civilians and stealing horses. Over time this persistent pursuit by both Mexican and American forces discouraged Geronimo and other similar Apache leaders, and caused a steady and irreplaceable attrition of

4032-611: The Apaches to Janos, Chihuahua , after they had conducted a raid in Sonora, taken livestock and other plunder and badly defeated Mexican militia. Among those killed in Carrasco's attack were Geronimo's wife, children and mother. The loss of his family led Geronimo to hate all Mexicans for the rest of his life; he and his followers would frequently attack and kill any group of Mexicans that they encountered. Throughout Geronimo's adult life his antipathy toward, suspicion of, and dislike for Mexicans

4144-406: The Arizona civil authorities from intervening to arrest and try Geronimo for the death of the many Americans who had been killed during the previous decades of raiding. "In that alien climate," The Washington Post reported, "the Apache died 'like flies at frost time.' Businessmen there soon had the idea to have Geronimo serve as a tourist attraction, and hundreds of visitors daily were let into

4256-727: The Army a decade later, he fought for compensation payments to the Lakota Sioux survivors of the massacre. Overall however, he believed that the United States federal government should have authority over the native Indians, with the Lakota under military control. In his capacity as commander of the Department of the East from 1894 to 1895, Miles commanded the troops mobilized to put down the Pullman strike riots. He

4368-633: The Cañon de los Embudos (Canyon of the Funnels), in the Sierra Madre Mountains about 86 miles (138 km) from Fort Bowie and about 20 miles (32 km) south of the international border, near the Sonora/Chihuahua border. During the three days of negotiations in March 1886, photographer C. S. Fly took about 15 exposures of the Apache on 8 by 10 inches (200 by 250 mm) glass negatives. One of

4480-504: The Mexican army and militia units of Sonora and Chihuahua were unable to suppress the several Chiricahua bands based in the Sierra Madre mountains, in 1883 Mexico allowed the United States to send troops into Mexico to continue their pursuit of Geronimo's band and the bands of other Apache leaders. The Indians always tried to live peaceably with the white soldiers and settlers. One day during

4592-399: The Mexican side of the border, agreed to Crook's surrender terms. That night, a soldier who sold them whiskey said that his band would be murdered as soon as they crossed the border. Geronimo, Nachite, and 39 of his followers slipped away during the night. Crook exchanged a series of heated telegrams with General Philip Sheridan defending his men's actions, until on April 1, 1886, when he sent

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4704-673: The Mexican town of Arispe in retribution, with the support of the great Apache chief Mangas Coloradas . In the following years, Geronimo led regular raids into Mexico, and he was present at the Bascom Incident (1861) and the Battle of Apache Pass (1862), which were the beginning of the Apache wars with the US. After Mangas Coloradas was captured and executed by the US Army in 1863, Geronimo took part in his son-in-law Cochise 's war of vengeance against

4816-539: The Mexicans I am sure I should have been compelled to defend myself often. Later that year, the Indian Office took him to Texas, where he shot a buffalo in a roundup staged by 101 Ranch Real Wild West for the National Editorial Association. Geronimo was escorted to the event by soldiers, as he was still a prisoner. The teachers who witnessed the staged buffalo hunt were unaware that Geronimo's people were not buffalo hunters. In February 1909, Geronimo

4928-469: The Mexicans are hunting me with soldiers. On May 17, 1885, a number of Apache including Nana , Mangus (son of Mangas Coloradas), Chihuahua , Naiche , Geronimo, and their followers fled the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona after a show of force against the reservation's commanding officer Britton Davis . Department of Arizona General George Crook dispatched two columns of troops into Mexico,

5040-531: The Mexicans once again attacked the Apache. After months of fighting in the mountains, the Apaches and Mexicans decided on a peace treaty at Casas Grandes . After terms were agreed, the Mexican troops gave mezcal to the Apaches, and while they were intoxicated, they attacked and killed 20 Apaches and captured some. The Apache were forced to retreat into the mountains once again. I have killed many Mexicans; I do not know how many, for frequently I did not count them. Some of them were not worth counting. It has been

5152-767: The Montana Territory in 1878 . The heliographs were supplied by Brig. Gen. Albert J. Myer (1828-1880), of the U.S. Army 's Signal Corps . In December 1880 , Miles was promoted to brigadier general in the Regular Army. He was then assigned to command the military Department of the Columbia (1881–1885) in Oregon and the Washington Territory , and subsequently the Department of Missouri (1885–1886). In 1886, Miles replaced General George R. Crook (1828-1890), as commander of forces fighting against Geronimo (1829-1909),

5264-630: The Siera Madre mountains. Attacked in his lair, although he lost only a few warriors, Geronimo agreed to meet Crook and surrender. The raiders arrived at San Carlos in March 1884 and lived peaceably for a time. One night in May 1885, Geronimo got drunk with several other chiefs; however, consumption of alcohol by reservation Indians was illegal. Fearing reprisals, Geronimo again fled into Mexico with about 130 followers. General Crook set off his forces in pursuit, comprising some 3,000 men, including 200 Apache scouts, but Apaches were an elusive enemy, fleeing from

5376-538: The Sierras intimately, which helped them elude pursuit and protected them from attack. The Sierra Madre mountains lie on the border between the Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua, which allowed the Apache access to raid and plunder the small villages, haciendas, wagon trains, worker camps and travelers in both states. From Mexico, Apache bands also staged surprise raids back into the United States, often seeking to replenish their supply of guns and ammunition. Utley refers to

5488-685: The Southwest United States. The current division of Apachean groups includes the Western Apache , Yavapai , Coyotero , Aravaipa , Mojaves , Chiricahua , Tontos , Bylas , San Carlos , Mescalero , Jicarilla , Lipan and Plains Apache (formerly Kiowa-Apache). The first Apache raids on Sonora and Chihuahua took place in the late 17th century. To counter the early Apache raids on Spanish settlements, presidios were established at Janos (1685) in Chihuahua and at Fronteras (1690) in what

5600-562: The Tchihende, the Tsokanende (called Chiricahua by Americans) and the Nednhi ;– to carry out numerous raids, as well as fight against Mexican and U.S. military campaigns in the northern Mexico states of Chihuahua and Sonora and in the southwestern American territories of New Mexico and Arizona . Geronimo's raids and related combat actions were a part of the prolonged period of

5712-459: The US army started arresting prominent Apache warriors after Cibecue Creek Incident (September 1881), Geronimo fled for Siera Madre mountains in Mexico with some 70 warriors. In Mexico, Geronimo joined Nana 's band, and for two years with about 80 warriors raided farms and ranches on both sides of the border. In 1883, Apaches raided a mining camp in Arizona and killed a judge in New Mexico. When

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5824-581: The United States Army was abolished by an Act of Congress and the Army Chief of Staff system was introduced. A year later, standing as a presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention , he received a handful of votes. The Prohibition Party was going to give him their nomination, but an hour before balloting he sent a telegram to the convention stating that he did not want the nomination which went to Silas C. Swallow instead. When

5936-516: The United States entered World War I in 1917, the 77-year-old general offered to serve, but President Woodrow Wilson turned him down. Miles died in 1925 at the age of 85 from a heart attack while attending the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Washington, D.C., with his grandchildren. First Lady Grace Coolidge was also in attendance at the circus that day, and upon arriving at

6048-671: The United States occupation of the American West . Geronimo and other Apaches, including the Apache Scouts who had helped the Army track him down, were sent as prisoners to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio , Texas. The Army held them there for about six weeks before they were sent to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida , and his family was sent to Fort Marion ( Castillo de San Marcos ) in St. Augustine, Florida . This prompt action prevented

6160-554: The army units and attacking ranches and farms. During the winter of 1885-1886, US forces doggedly hunted Geronimo through the Sierra Madre with little success. In March 1886, Geronimo surrendered to General Crook, but before the US forces could escort him across the border, Geronimo broke his word and fled with 20 warriors and 18 camp followers. Crook was severely criticised in Washington DC for his failure to capture Geronimo, as well as for his strategy of negotiations with Indians and using Apache scouts to fight Apache. On April 1, 1886, Crook

6272-570: The attack at Apache Pass we organized in the mountains and returned to fight the soldiers. General Crook said to me, "Why did you leave the reservation?" I said: "You told me that I might live in the reservation the same as white people lived. One year I raised a crop of corn, and gathered and stored it, and the next year I put in a crop of oats, and when the crop was almost ready to harvest, you told your soldiers to put me in prison, and if I resisted, to kill me. If I had been let alone I would now have been in good circumstances, but instead of that you and

6384-401: The book. Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He refused to answer questions or alter his narrative. He expressed himself in Spanish . Barrett did not seem to take many liberties with Geronimo's story as translated into English by Asa Daklugie . Frederick Turner re-edited this autobiography by removing some of Barrett's footnotes and writing an introduction for

6496-461: The choking sounds that composed his name." Attacks and counterattacks with Mexicans were common. In December 1860, 30 miners began a surprise attack on an encampment of Bedonkohes Apaches on the west bank of the Mimbres River . According to historian Edwin R. Sweeney, the miners "killed four Indians, wounded others, and captured thirteen women and children." Attacks by the Apache again followed, with raids against U.S. citizens and property. In 1873

6608-597: The continuing animosity in Arizona for the deaths of civilian men, women, and children associated with Geronimo's raids during the prolonged Apache Wars. Through an interpreter, Roosevelt told Geronimo that the Indian had a "bad heart". "You killed many of my people; you burned villages…and were not good Indians." Roosevelt responded that he would "see how you and your people act" on the reservation. In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S. M. Barrett, Superintendent of Education in Lawton, Oklahoma . Barrett had to appeal to President Roosevelt to gain permission to publish

6720-433: The corruption of Indian agents caused rationing to become perilously scarce. The people, who had lived as semi-nomads for generations, disliked the restrictive reservation system. Rebelling against reservation life, other Apache leaders had led their bands in "breakouts" from the reservations. On three occasions – April or August 1878; September 1881; and May 1885 – Geronimo led his band of followers in breakouts from

6832-467: The decades of Apache-Mexican and Apache-United States conflicts, raiding had become embedded in the Apache way of life, used for strategic purposes as well as economic enterprise. Speaking of the start of the Spanish/Mexican Apache conflict, Debo states, "Thus the Apaches were driven into the mountains and raiding the settled communities became a way of life for them, an economic enterprise as legitimate as gathering berries or hunting deer" and often there

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6944-956: The end of 1885, the 12 Apache raiders led by Ulzana covered 1,200 miles (1,931 km), killed 38 people, and captured 250 head of livestock with just a single casualty. During Crook's Campaign, 20 women and children were captured in August 1885, a single warrior was killed in Ulzana's Raid in December 1885, and 20 warriors and 60 non combatants surrendered in March 1886. During Miles' Campaign, 18 warriors, 12 women and 6 children surrendered in September 1886, and 400 peaceful Apache from San Carlos Reservation , including Apache Scouts , were deported to Florida . Geronimo spent two years in prison in Fort Pickens (on Santa Rosa Island , off Florida ) with his warriors, while their families were moved to Fort Marion , 300 miles away. In all, he spent 23 years in captivity, first in Florida, later in Southern Oklahoma , but he never returned to his homeland in Arizona . He died in 1909 of pneumonia, aged about 80. He

7056-413: The fair, Pawnee Bill 's Wild West shows brokered an agreement with the government to have Geronimo join the show, again under Army guard. The Indians in Pawnee Bill's shows were depicted as "lying, thieving, treacherous, murderous" monsters who had killed hundreds of men, women and children and would think nothing of taking a scalp from any member of the audience, given the chance. Visitors came to see how

7168-473: The fires of a virulent revenge warfare that reverberated back and forth between Apaches and Mexicans and later, Apaches and Americans. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo, as well as other Apache leaders, conducted attacks, but Geronimo was driven by a desire to take revenge for the murder of his family by Mexican soldiers and accumulated a record of brutality during this time that was unmatched by any of his contemporaries. His fighting ability extending over 30 years forms

7280-473: The first commanded by Captain Emmet Crawford and the second by Captain Wirt Davis. Each was composed of a troop of cavalry (usually about forty men) and about 100 Apache Scouts recruited from among the Apache people. These Apache units proved effective in finding the mountain strongholds of the Apache bands and killing or capturing them. It was highly unsettling for Geronimo's band to realize their own tribesmen had helped find their hiding places. They pursued

7392-539: The force that defeated the Kiowa , Comanche , and the Southern Cheyenne along the upper Red River of the South . Between 1876 and 1877, he participated in the campaign that scoured the Northern Plains after 5 companies of the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment under the command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer were massacred at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in June 1876, and forced the Lakota Sioux tribe under chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and their native allies onto designated federal Indian reservations . In

7504-563: The fort to lay eyes on the 'bloodthirsty' Indian in his cell." While the prisoners of war were in Florida, the government relocated hundreds of their children from their Arizona reservation to the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. More than a third of the students quickly perished from tuberculosis, "died as though smitten with the plague", the Post reported. The Chiricahuas remained at Fort Pickens until 1888 when they were relocated to Mt. Vernon Barracks in Alabama , where they were reunited with their families. After 1/4 of

7616-425: The government funds allotted to help Indians settle in a new, farming way of life. In 1876, Geronimo and some of his followers escaped the reservation for the first time and fled to Mexico, but were captured in March 1877 when they returned with a herd of stolen horses and forcibly returned to San Carlos. Geronimo stayed in the reservation till 1881, taking no part in the Victorio's War (1879-1880). However, after

7728-425: The island, acting as both heads of the army of occupation and administrator of civil affairs. Upon returning to the United States, Miles was a vocal critic of the Army's quartermaster general, Brigadier General Charles P. Eagan , for providing rancid canned meat to troops in the field during what was known as the Army beef scandal . He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 1900 based on his performance in

7840-455: The last time to Lt. Charles Bare Gatewood . Geronimo and 27 other Apaches were later sent to join the rest of the Chiricahua tribe, which had been previously exiled to Florida . While holding him as a prisoner, the United States capitalized on Geronimo's fame among non-Indians by displaying him at various fairs and exhibitions. In 1898, for example, Geronimo was exhibited at the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska; seven years later,

7952-487: The members of their bands, which taken all together eroded their will to resist and led to their ultimate capitulation. Crook was under increased pressure from the government in Washington. He launched a second expedition into Mexico, and on January 9, 1886, Crawford located Geronimo and his band. His Apache Scouts attacked the next morning and captured the Apache's herd of horses and their camp equipment. The Apaches were demoralized and agreed to negotiate for surrender. Before

8064-600: The negotiations and had him transferred far north to the Dakota Territory . During this campaign, Miles' special signals unit used the heliograph extensively, proving its worth in the field. The special signals unit was under the command of Captain W. A. Glassford . In 1888 , Miles became the commander of the Army's Military Division of the Pacific and the Department of California , headquartered at The Presidio in San Francisco . Two years later in April 1890 , Miles

8176-463: The negotiations could be concluded, Mexican troops arrived and mistook the Apache Scouts for the enemy Apache. The Mexican government had accused the scouts of taking advantage of their position to conduct theft, robbery, and murder in Mexico. They attacked and killed Captain Crawford. Lt. Maus, the senior officer, met with Geronimo, who agreed to meet with General Crook. Geronimo named as the meeting place

8288-500: The new state of South Dakota and hoped that Lakota chief Sitting Bull could be peacefully removed from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation . However, on December 15, 1890, Chief Sitting Bull was killed by Indian agency police attempting to arrest him, and 14 days later on December 29th, American cavalry troops surrounded and massacred hundreds of Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee . Miles was not directly involved in

8400-471: The non-Apache readers. Turner notes the book is in the style of an Apache reciting part of his oral history. When I was at first asked to attend the St. Louis World's Fair I did not wish to go. Later, when I was told that I would receive good attention and protection, and that the President of the United States said that it would be all right, I consented ... Every Sunday the President of the Fair sent for me to go to

8512-488: The persons they encountered in order to avoid detection and pursuit as long as possible before they slipped back over the border into Mexico. The "breakouts" and the subsequent resumption of Apache raiding and warfare caused the Mexican Army and militia as well as United States forces to pursue and attempt to kill or apprehend off-reservation "renegade" Apache bands, including Geronimo's, wherever they could be found. Because

8624-618: The pictures of Geronimo with two of his sons standing alongside was made at Geronimo's request. Fly's images are the only existing photographs of Geronimo's surrender. His photos of Geronimo and the other free Apaches, taken on March 25 and 26, are the only known photographs taken of an American Indian while still at war with the United States. Among the Indians was a white boy Jimmy McKinn, also photographed by Fly, who had been abducted from his ranch in New Mexico in September 1885. Geronimo, camped on

8736-488: The population died of tuberculosis , the Chiricahuas, including Geronimo, were relocated to Fort Sill , Oklahoma, in 1894; they built villages scattered around the post based on kindred groups. Geronimo, like other Apaches, was given a plot of land on which he took up farming activities. On the train ride to Fort Sill, many tourists wanted a memento of Geronimo, so they paid 25 cents for a button that he cut off his shirt or

8848-479: The pursuing expedition over taking credit for Chief Joseph's capture. Later while on the Yellowstone River , he developed expertise with the use of the heliograph for sending long-distance communications signals utilizing ancient principles of sunlight and mirrors, establishing a 140-mile-long (230 km) line of stations with heliographs connecting far-flung military posts of Fort Keogh and Fort Custer , in

8960-419: The reservation to return to their former nomadic life associated with raiding and warfare. Following each breakout, Geronimo and his band would flee across Arizona and New Mexico to Mexico, killing and plundering as they went, and establish a new base in the rugged and remote Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains. In Mexico, they were insulated from pursuit by U.S. armed forces. The Apache knew the rough terrain of

9072-414: The rocky desert. Although Apaches were expected to support themselves by farming, the land given to them was too unproductive for that purpose. The life on the overpopulated reservation was troubled by starvation, disease (like smallpox and malaria) and inter-tribal dispute, made worse by the corruption of the local US traders who charged exorbitant prices to Indians, and Indian agents who routinely mishandled

9184-553: The showgrounds the general told circus owner John Ringling that he never missed a circus. Nelson was one of the last surviving general officers who served during the Civil War on either side. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in the Miles Mausoleum. It is one of only two mausoleums within the confines of the cemetery. George Burroughs Torrey painted his portrait. Rank and Organization: Citation: General Miles

9296-410: The time that the soldiers were stationed at Apache Pass I made a treaty with the post. This was done by shaking hands and promising to be brothers. Cochise and Mangus-Colorado did likewise. I do not know the name of the officer in command, but this was the first regiment that ever came to Apache Pass. This treaty was made about a year before we were attacked in a tent, as above related. In a few days after

9408-428: The tortuous Sierra Madre Mountains of neighboring northern Mexico . Finally, young First Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood (1853-1896), who had studied Apache culture and ways, succeeded in meeting with and negotiating a surrender of the war chief at a subsequent meeting arranged and held with General Miles, under the terms of which Geronimo and his few remaining followers agreed to temporarily spend two years in exile on

9520-399: The tragic massacre, and was critical of the Army's commanding officer of the reconstituted / reorganized and ill-fated 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment in the field, Colonel James W. Forsyth (1833-1906). Just two days after the massacre, Miles wrote to his wife, describing it as "the most abominable criminal military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children". After his retirement from

9632-419: The use of torture was widespread and was undertaken with the knowledge of some senior officers. To show that he was still physically able to command, on July 14, 1903, less than a month before his 64th birthday, General Miles rode the 90 miles from Fort Sill to Fort Reno , Oklahoma, in eight hours' riding time (10 hrs 20 mins total), in temperatures between 90 and 100 °F (32 and 38 °C). The distance

9744-458: The war, two years later, on March 2, 1867, Miles was brevetted a brigadier general in the regular army in recognition of his earlier wartime actions of 1863 at Chancellorsville. He was again brevetted, this time to the rank of major general , for his documented actions at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in 1864. Three decades later, he received the congressional Medal of Honor on July 23, 1892, for his gallantry at Chancellorsville. He

9856-587: The war. Miles was an opponent of the Philippine–American War and supported an inquiry into the brutality of American troops in the Philippines. In response, President Roosevelt called Miles a hypocrite and reminded him of his complicity in the Wounded Knee massacre. Miles would release his own report on US atrocities in the Philippines to the public. He condemned the use of concentration camps and said that

9968-506: The winter of 1877 , he drove his bluecoat mounted troops on a forced march across the eastern Montana Territory to intercept and stop the Nez Perce tribal band led by Chief Joseph (1840-1904), after the Nez Perce War , heading north to cross the border into British Canada . For the rest of his career, General Miles would quarrel with General Oliver O. Howard (1830-1909), who also led

10080-425: Was expelled for gambling. To the end of his life, he seemed to harbor ambivalent religious feelings, telling the Christian missionaries at a summer camp meeting in 1908 that he wanted to start over, while at the same time telling his tribesmen that he held to the old Apache religion. Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was a United States Army officer who served in

10192-506: Was Azul. The great-great-grandson of Geronimo, Harlyn Geronimo, taught Apache language lessons at Mescalero Apache Reservation until his death in 2020. Geronimo was raised with the traditional religion of the Bedonkohe. When questioned about his opinions concerning life after death, he wrote in his 1905 autobiography: As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. We believed that there

10304-418: Was a direct outgrowth of the much older Apache–Mexican conflict which had been ongoing in the same general area since the beginning of Mexican/Spanish settlement during the 17th century. While Apaches were shielded from the violence of warfare on the reservation, disability and death from diseases like malaria were much more prevalent. On the other hand, rations were provided by the government, though at times

10416-797: Was a member of several hereditary and military societies, including the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), serving as Commander-in-Chief from 1919 to 1925, the Grand Army of the Republic , Sons of the American Revolution and the Military Order of Foreign Wars . He was also an honorary member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati . He was also a member of

10528-525: Was accepted as that of a dangerous outlaw without condition. Howard's account was contested in front of the US Senate . According to National Geographic , "the governor of Sonora claimed in 1886 that in the last five months of Geronimo's wild career, his band of 16 warriors slaughtered some 500 to 600 Mexicans." At the end of his military career, he led a small band of 38 men, women and children. They evaded thousands of Mexican and American troops for more than

10640-656: Was appointed assistant commissioner of the North Carolina branch of the United States War Department 's Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, ( Freedmen's Bureau ), serving under Bureau Commissioner, Brigadier General Oliver O. Howard (1830-1909). On June 30, 1868, he married Mary Hoyt Sherman (daughter of Charles Taylor Sherman , niece of fellow Union Army General William T. Sherman and U.S. Senator John Sherman , and granddaughter of Charles R. Sherman ). In March 1869, he became commander of

10752-583: Was appointed brigadier general of volunteers as of May 12, 1864, for the Battles of the Wilderness and Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Six months after the end of the Civil War, on October 21, 1865, he was appointed a major general of volunteers at the young age of 26. After the war, he was commandant of Fort Monroe, Virginia at the mouth of the Hampton Roads harbor and the southern end of Chesapeake Bay and

10864-540: Was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of New Mexico , then part of Mexico , though the Apache disputed Mexico's claim. His grandfather, Mahko, had been chief of the Bedonkohe Apache. He had three brothers and four sisters. His parents raised him according to Apache traditions. After the death of his father, his mother took him to live with

10976-495: Was commissioned a lieutenant colonel of the 61st New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment on May 31, 1862. He was promoted to the rank of colonel after the Battle of Antietam of September 1862. Other battles he participated in include Fredericksburg , Chancellorsville (during which he was shot in the neck and abdomen), the Overland Campaign , and the final Appomattox Campaign , and Wounded four times in battle. Following

11088-424: Was covered on a relay of horses stationed at 10-mile intervals; the first 30 miles were covered in 2 hours, 25 minutes. This was the longest horseback ride ever made by a commanding general of the army. Called a "brave peacock" by President Theodore Roosevelt , Miles nevertheless retired from the army in 1903 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64. Upon his retirement, the office of Commanding General of

11200-609: Was demonstrably greater than for Americans. Recalling that at the time his band was at peace with the Mexicans, Geronimo remembered the incident as follows: Late one afternoon when returning from town we were met by a few women and children who told us that Mexican troops from some other town had attacked our camp, killed all the warriors of the guard, captured all our ponies, secured our arms, destroyed our supplies, and killed many of our women and children. Quickly we separated, concealing ourselves as best we could until nightfall, when we assembled at our appointed place of rendezvous –

11312-416: Was forced to negotiate. Geronimo met his envoy, Lieutenant Gatewood, and learned that his family and his entire people were exiled to Florida because of his defiance. That news broke Geronimo's will to fight, and he surrendered for the final time to General Miles in September 1886. Geronimo's band killed 17 American civilians on the run to Mexican border in May 1885. In Ulzana's Raid from November 23 to

11424-488: Was given orders to head up actions south of the U.S.–Mexico boundary, where it was thought that Geronimo and a small band of his followers would take refuge from U.S. authorities. Lawton was to pursue, subdue, and return Geronimo, dead or alive, to the United States. Lawton's official report dated September 9, 1886, sums up the actions of his unit and gives credit to a number of his troops for their efforts. Geronimo gave Gatewood credit for his decision to surrender as Gatewood

11536-460: Was likely named for him. Nelson M. Holderman , himself a Medal of Honor recipient, was also named after Miles. Fort Miles at Cape Henlopen near Lewes, Delaware, was named for Miles on 3 June, 1941. Miles' legacy as an Indian fighter has seen him portrayed by Kevin Tighe in the film Geronimo: An American Legend , by Hugh O'Brian in the film Gunsmoke: The Last Apache , and by Shaun Johnston in

11648-579: Was named Commanding General of the United States Army in 1895, a post he held during the Spanish–American War . Miles commanded forces at Cuban sites such as Siboney . After the surrender of Santiago de Cuba by the Spaniards, he led the invasion of Puerto Rico , landing in Guánica in what is known as the Puerto Rican Campaign . He served as the first head of the military government established on

11760-411: Was overlap between raids for economic need and warfare. Raids ranged from stealing livestock and other plunder, to the capture and/or killing of victims, sometimes by torture. Mexicans and Americans responded with retaliatory attacks against the Apache which were no less violent and were very seldom limited to identified individual adult enemies, much like the Apache raids. The raiding and retaliation fed

11872-653: Was promoted to major general in the Regular Army and became the commander of the Military Division of the Missouri . The Ghost Dance movement of the Lakota Sioux people , which started in 1889, led to the Pine Ridge Campaign of the so-called Ghost Dance War and General Miles being brought back into the field. During the campaign, he commanded U.S. Army troops stationed near the several federal Indian reservations in

11984-405: Was relieved of his command and replaced with general Nelson Miles , who defeated the Indians in the Nez Perce War (1877). Miles' first action was to relocate all the Apaches (including Crook military scouts) to Florida, in order to deprive Geronimo from his source of manpower and support in Arizona. Second, he ordered heliographs built along the border, in order to quickly get information about

12096-474: Was the last man alive." He was buried at Fort Sill in the Beef Creek Apache Cemetery. Geronimo married Chee-hash-kish, and they had two children, Chappo and Dohn-say. Then he took another wife, Nana-tha-thtith, with whom he had one child. He later had a wife named Zi-yeh at the same time as another wife, She-gha, one named Shtsha-she and later a wife named Ih-tedda. Geronimo's ninth and last wife

12208-587: Was the last of the Indian rebels to surrender. Geronimo Geronimo's chronology Gerónimo ( Mescalero-Chiricahua : Goyaałé , lit.   'the one who yawns', Athapascan pronunciation: [kòjàːɬɛ́] ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands –

12320-417: Was thrown from his horse while riding home and lay in the cold all night until a friend found him extremely ill. He died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909, as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill. On his deathbed, he confessed to his nephew that he regretted his decision to surrender. His last words were reported to be said to his nephew, "I should have never surrendered. I should have fought until I

12432-402: Was to show Americans "that they have buried the hatchet forever." They created a sensation and brought the crowds to their feet along the parade route. Later that same week Geronimo met with Roosevelt and made a request for the Chiricahuas at Fort Sill to be relieved of their status as prisoners of war and allowed to return to their homeland in Arizona. President Roosevelt refused, referring to

12544-507: Was well known to Geronimo, spoke some Apache, and was familiar with and honored their traditions and values. He acknowledged Lawton's tenacity for wearing the Apaches down with constant pursuit. Geronimo and his followers had little or no time to rest or stay in one place. Completely worn out, the small band of Apaches returned to the U.S. with Lawton and officially surrendered to General Miles on September 4, 1886, at Skeleton Canyon , Arizona. When Geronimo surrendered, he had in his possession

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