White River War 1879
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 29 September 1879 – 5 October 1879 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1879 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| Participants | United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 40.2017, -107.6903 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879, in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute Indians (Native Americans) attacked the Indian agency on their reservation, killing the Indian agent Nathan Meeker and his 10 male employees and taking five women and children as hostages. Meeker had been attempting to convert the Utes to Christianity, to make them farmers, and to prevent them from following their migratory culture. On the same day as the massacre, United States Army forces were en route to the Agency from Fort Steele in Wyoming due to threats against Meeker. The Utes attacked U.S. troops led by Major Thomas T. Thornburgh at Milk Creek, 18 miles (29 km) north of present day Meeker, Colorado. They killed the major and 13 troops. Relief troops were called in and the Utes dispersed.
The conflict resulted in the Utes losing most of the lands granted to them by treaty in Colorado, the forced removal of the White River Utes and the Uncompahgre Utes from Colorado, and the reduction in the Southern Utes' land holdings within Colorado. The expulsion of the Utes from Colorado opened up millions of acres of land to pioneer settlement.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article White River War (revision 1370750797), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Platte Bridge 1865 · 313 km
- Grattan massacre 1854 · 349 km
- Dull Knife Fight 1876 · 372 km
- Battle of Summit Springs 1869 · 387 km
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles