Washita Battlefield

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site protects and interprets the site of the Southern Cheyenne village of Chief Black Kettle, where the Battle of Washita occurred. Just before dawn on Nov. 27, 1868, the village was attacked by the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Custer. In the ensuing massacre, warriors and women were killed indiscriminately, and more than 400 horses were stolen. The survivors were taken prisoner and marched to Fort Cobb in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The attack on Black Kettle's village was one of the opening battles in the protracted conflict between the Southern Plains Indians and the United States known as the Red River War. The Battle of Washita launched a winter campaign that culminated in the defeat of the Southern Plains Indians and their forced relocation to reservations in Indian Territory. Today, visitors to Washita Battlefield can see evidence of the battle including earthworks erected by the cavalry, archaeological remains of the Cheyenne camp, and a monument honoring Chief Black Kettle.