Skirmish at Fort Elliott
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| Skirmish at Fort Elliott | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Texas-Indian Wars | |||||||
_(14744996526).jpg) Comanche attack on settlers (1890) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Ranchers and Cowboys | Unspecified Indian tribe (presumed to be either Comanche or Apache) | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Clay Allison | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 15 | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 1 killed | ||||||
The Skirmish at Fort Elliott or the Fort Elliott incident[1] was a minor engagement between Texas ranchmen led by Clay Allison and Native American warriors on October 31, 1878 near Fort Elliott in Wheeler County, Texas.[2][3] The skirmish was part of the ongoing Texas-Indian wars that raged throughout much of 19th century Texas.
Since the arrival of Anglo-American settlers in Texas during the first-half of the 19th century, open warfare occurred between them and various Native-American tribes.[4] When Texas was annexed by the United States of America following the Mexican-American War, the Native Americans was forced to contend with United States Army besides their ongoing fight with settlers.
Many of these settlers were ranchers who had staked claims in the vast Texas countryside, putting them in direct conflict with Native-Americans who hunted game in these areas.[5][6] One of these ranchers was the notorious gunfighter named Clay Allison, who had recently arrived in the state following his participation in the bloody Colfax County War in New Mexico.[3][7]