Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, near Cheyenne, Oklahoma, is the site of a Cheyenne village that was attacked and destroyed by a cavalry regiment of the United States Army in 1868. The regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, killed the Cheyenne chief, Black Kettle, and killed or wounded more than 100 of his people. Displays at the historic site tell the story of the attack and the engagements between the United States Army and the Plains Indians, who lived in the vast grasslands of North America. The site includes a historic plaque, a monument, and a display demonstrating the approximate route, strategy, and attack of Custer’s troops.
Black Kettle had signed peace treaties in 1865 and 1867. However, some Cheyenne continued to raid white settlements in Kansas. Major General Philip H. Sheridan, a famous Civil War general, directed the Army’s operations against the Plains Indians from headquarters in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Black Kettle appealed for protection for his people, but Sheridan ordered retaliation for the raids.
In the dawn of Nov. 27, 1868, 800 Army troops under Custer’s leadership attacked 51 Cheyenne lodges. They killed or wounded more than 100 Cheyenne and captured 53, mostly women and children. On Custer’s orders, the Army then slaughtered 800 of the Cheyenne’s ponies and mules and burned the Cheyenne’s lodges and food supplies.
Washita Battlefield became a national historic site in 1996. The National Park Service maintains and operates the site.
