Comanche Warriors vs. Army Soldiers : The Battle Of Palo Duro Canyon

VIDEO HERE  (18:40 minutes)

The battle that took place proved to be the critical final blow in the US Government’s decades long war against the tribes of the Southern Plains.

Not because of a massive loss of warriors or territory. But because of what happened after the battle.

Once the Comanche and their allies had fled the site of their village, Colonel MacKenzie would order his men to select the finest horses from the Comanche’s expansive herd for use by the Army’s Cavalry.

MacKenzie then ordered the rest of the horses, well over 1,000 animals, to be rounded up and slaughtered. For the entirety of the afternoon, until the sun had nearly set, the men of the 4th Cavalry chased the horses into smaller redoubts throughout the canyon, and shot them down one by one. 

Many of the soldiers would be forever haunted by their actions that day. And, while the killing of the enemy’s means of transport and survival was an arguably brilliant tactical move, the horrors of Palo Duro canyon would haunt both the legacy and the psyche of Colonel MacKenzie until his dying day.