We spent Monday night in Elk City, Oklahoma, on old Route 66. In the morning, I left my wife sleeping in the room and drove 30 miles north-northwest to the Washita Battlefield. I arrived shortly before the visitor center opened, so I drove the mile to the actual battlefield and walked the trail.
As the marker says, it was a battle fought between Custer and the 7th Cavalry and the Cheyenne Indians. Many of the Indians had been raiding in Kansas, killing and kidnapping settlers. Since the Indians wouldn’t give up the murderers, and since the warring Indians were mixed in with Indians who claimed to want peace, General Sheridan opted for total war. Custer led his force through a blizzard and attacked the first Cheyenne camp he came upon. It just happened to be led by Black Kettle, who had also been at Sand Creek four years earlier and who had done all he could to promote peace, but he had lost influence over his tribe. There were other villages — Arapaho, Kiowa, and Cheyenne — nearby, filled with warring Indians.
Black Kettle and his wife were killed in the battle, along with about 18 other warriors. About 18 women and children were also killed, mostly by the Osage Indians who accompanied the army as scouts. The U.S. Army lost 22 men, including second-in-command Joel Elliot and his troop of 17 soldiers who pursued Indians toward the other villages, were surrounded, and killed. Custer’s men destroyed the villages and a herd of over 800 Indian horses. Indians from the other villages were threatening, so Custer skedaddled before they attacked. Custer claimed victory, although from a numbers standpoint, it wasn’t much of one, and was considered a hero by many. The battle gave him a reputation as a great Indian fighter.
Anyway, I had the battlefield totally to myself as I walked the trail. Here’s the view from the overlook along the road.
Black Kettle’s camp was set up along the Washita River where the clump of trees is on the left.
A closer view of the camp area, with prayer flags in the tree.
I read a book on the battle shortly after I got home.
I walked through the visitor center museum, bought a few souvenirs, and went back to Elk City for my wife.
We went to the Route 66 museum in Elk City, which turned out to be a bust. There were a few rooms of cars and so forth that were visually impressive but uninformative. Then there were about 15 out buildings filled with local historical society stuff that were a waste of our time. We didn’t even bother with several of them. We passed signs for at least two other Route 66 museums in the next hour or so. At least we only paid $5 each.
We were finally vacationed-out, although we still had six hours to go. We didn’t stop much. My wife took over the driving in Checotah and took us the rest of the way home.