How to Use This Chronology
The conflicts known as the Apache Wars were not one war but a long series of campaigns, raids, negotiations and removals involving different Apache peoples and the United States, along with Mexico and other neighbors. This list gives a quick reference for the period from about 1861 to 1886. It names the Apache group involved where that is clear. Sources sometimes differ by a few days or by a year on some entries, and casualty numbers are omitted where they are uncertain. Context and causes are covered in other articles; this one is a reference.
The 1860s
- February 1861: the Bascom affair. At Apache Pass in southern Arizona, Lieutenant George Bascom accused a Chiricahua party led by Cochise of kidnapping a child. A meeting ended in violence, hostages were taken, and several people on both sides were killed. This is widely seen as the start of open conflict between the Chiricahua and the United States.
- July 1862: Battle of Apache Pass. Soldiers of the California Column, marching east, fought Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache people led by Cochise and Mangas Coloradas at the spring. The army then built Fort Bowie, and Apache Pass and Fort Bowie became a lasting symbol of the conflict in that region.
- 1862 to 1863: campaign against the Mescalero. Under General James Carleton, New Mexico forces pursued the Mescalero, and the story of the Mescalero at Bosque Redondo on the Pecos River began, with many people confined there. Navajo people were later sent there as well, and the Mescalero left the site in 1865.
- January 1863: death of Mangas Coloradas. The Chihenne leader, who had come to talk, was taken into army custody in southwestern New Mexico and killed. The army reported that he was shot while trying to escape, though many historians doubt this account.
- Mid to late 1860s: Western Apache and Yavapai conflicts. Army posts were founded in central Arizona, and fighting occurred in several regions of the Territory, including the Tonto Basin.
The 1870s
- April 30, 1871: Camp Grant. A group from Tucson attacked a camp of Aravaipa and Pinal Apache who were under army observation. Most of the dead were women and children, and commonly cited estimates are around 144.
- 1871: General George Crook takes command in Arizona. He later used Apache scouts extensively.
- 1872 to 1873: Tonto Basin campaign. Crook’s forces campaigned against Yavapai and Tonto Apache groups in central Arizona, and many surrendered by spring 1873.
- October 1872: Howard and Cochise. General Oliver O. Howard negotiated an agreement with Cochise that created a Chiricahua reservation in southeastern Arizona.
- June 1874: death of Cochise. The reservation continued for two more years under his son Taza and others.
- February to March 1875: the Rio Verde removal. More than a thousand Yavapai and Tonto Apache people were marched to San Carlos.
- 1876: end of the Chiricahua reservation. The government closed it, and many Chiricahua were moved to San Carlos. Some groups went to Mexico.
- April to May 1877: Warm Springs removal. The agent John Clum arrested Geronimo at Ojo Caliente, and the Warm Springs (Chihenne) people there were sent to San Carlos.
- September 1879: Victorio leaves the Mescalero agency. His band, with followers, began more than a year of movement across New Mexico, Texas and Chihuahua.
The 1880s
- October 1880: Tres Castillos. A Mexican force attacked Victorio’s camp in Chihuahua. Victorio was killed, and many of his followers were killed or captured.
- August 30, 1881: the Cibecue Creek incident. Soldiers tried to arrest the Western Apache religious leader at Cibecue, and fighting broke out. Some Apache scouts turned on the soldiers, and several were later tried. Fort Apache was attacked days afterward.
- Late September 1881: departure from San Carlos. Anxious after Cibecue, a Chiricahua group including Geronimo left for Mexico.
- July 1882: Big Dry Wash. US cavalry fought a band of Apache fighters in the Mogollon Rim country of Arizona, in one of the last major battles in the Territory.
- 1882 to 1883: the Sierra Madre. In 1882, a group of Chiricahua under Loco went or were taken to Mexico. In 1883, Crook led an expedition into the Sierra Madre with Apache scouts, and many Chiricahua agreed to return to the reservation. Juh died in 1883.
- May 1885: breakout from the Turkey Creek area near Fort Apache. Geronimo, Naiche and others left the reservation again, in part over fears of arrest and rumors about punishment.
- March 1886: Cañón de los Embudos. Geronimo and Crook met in Mexico, and Geronimo agreed to terms, then left with some followers. Crook was criticized and, at his own request, replaced by General Nelson Miles in April.
- Summer 1886: pursuit. Miles committed thousands of troops and used Apache scouts. Captain Henry Lawton led one column, and Lieutenant Charles Gatewood carried messages to the camp.
- September 4, 1886: Skeleton Canyon. Geronimo and Naiche’s party surrendered to Miles in southern Arizona. This is the date generally used for the Apache Wars end 1886 milestone.
- September 1886: imprisonment. The surrendered group and most Chiricahua, including peaceful families and the scouts who had served the army, were sent by train to Florida. The Chiricahua prisoners of war remained in custody until 1913.
What the Chronology Leaves Out
A list of dates favors campaigns and leaves out most of daily life: farming, raising families, trading and negotiating. It also does not include the many Apache people who never fought. Other conflicts continued in Mexico after 1886, and a few small groups remained in the Sierra Madre for years. Readers should use this list as a map and consult fuller accounts for causes and consequences.
Dates also depend on sources. Army reports, newspapers and Apache accounts sometimes disagree, and historians continue to revise details. When citing a specific date, it is best to check the original or a recent scholarly source.