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The Cayuse War
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The Cayuse War
The Cayuse War
Whitman Massacre
1847-1855 The cayuse war was born out of a misunderstanding and a clash of cultures. Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were the catalyst of the Cayuse War. Their meddling and promotion of Eurocentric Protestant ideals made tensions between the Cayuse and the white settlers rise, ultimately culminating in death and destruction, and used to justify cruel actions against native populations.
Bad Medicine
SUBTOPIC 1
Measles was spread between Whites and Natives, and had the Native populace convinced that Marcus was bringing bad medicine with his Protesstant mission. They began a plot to remove the mission from their land.
Whitman Massacre
SUBTOPIC 2
Nov. 29,1847 tensions rose to an extreme. The Cayuse and Umatilla tribes rode to the confluence of the Columbia and Walla Walla rivers, where the Whitman outpost stood. Bearing weapons, they killed Marcus, Narcissa, and 12 others. They also took 53 white settlers captive. This murder would be used to justify raids against natives in the Oregon territory throughout the period of Westward expansion.
The Cost of War
SUBTOPIC 3
During westward expansion, Clarence Bagley reports in 1910 that around 150 white men were killed each year "a frightful drain on an already sparse population" (p.36) The idea of the time was simply either the Indians had to be killed or the whites would be. There was no room for compromise.
Jan. 8th, 1848 Battle of the Dalles
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After the Whitman conflict, the Oregon Provisional Govt mobilized a volunteer fighting force to pursue their idea of justice. The Oregon Rifles as they were named marched on the Cayuse and had a battle at The Dalles. The volunteer force was not equipped to handle the native tactics, and 300 of their horses were stolen. This tactic bought the native army some time to counter attack.
Skirmish Tactics
Tactics
Most of the decisive battles of the conflict unfolded in various skirmishes, because the Cayuse and Palouse both understood that this was the most unexpected way to fight war. Many skirmishes and ambushes unfloded through the late 1840's
TEXT
PICTURES
Key Players
Many key figures were instrumental in this conflict besides Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. The governmental leaders and tribal leaders also played a large part in the conflict as it unfolded.
TIMELINE
1848 Battle of The Dalles
1847 Whitman Masssacre
TIMELINE
Gov. Abernathy declares war
1850 Oregon City Cayuse Surrener
Chief Five Crows
Five Crows
Five Crows was a well respected chief of the Cayuse Tribe throughout the war. He took one of the Whitman Hostages as his wife through a showing of good will, and was often reputed to be a man rich in horses and well spoken leader. The Cayuse War had a toll on Five Crows, and took a large chunk of his horse fortune in order to finance the fighting.
Gov. George Abernathy
George Abernathy
On the side of the American Govt, was Governor George Abernathy of the Oregon Provisional Governement. Abernathy was a Methodist missionary, and he got involved in politics after traveling to the Wilamette valley. Abernathy declared a war upon the Cayuse and allies following the massacre.
1850 Surrender
Surrender
Realizing that continued fighting would yield nothing but more bloodshed, the Cayuse surrenered five men they blamed for the start of the conflict to the Oregon City Court in 1850. Those five men were tried in a court of law and ultimately hanged. Though this was the end of this period of battle, there would be more conflicts betweeen tribes and settlers, even after the advent of reservations.
Works Cited
Bagley, C. B. (1906). Our First Indian War. The Washington Historical Quarterly, 1(1), 34–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40481697
WA Sec of State. (n.d.). Territorial timeline. Washington State Archives - WA Secretary of State. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/timeline/detail.aspx?id=198
Weiser , K. (n.d.). The Cayuse War. Legends of america. Retrieved August 17, 2022, from https://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-cayusewar/
1855 TREATY cayuse, umatilla & walla walla; it was history. (2005, 06). Confederated Umatilla Journal Retrieved from http://edmonds.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/1855-treaty-cayuse-umatilla-walla-was-history/docview/363311344/se-2