Rogue River War Essay

The Rogue River War even though short-lived was a bloody and terrible conflict. It is not as much as a single war as many conflicts strung together. There is the Yakima Native American War, The Battle of Hungry Hill, the Cayuse War, and more. You could even say that the Rogue River War started earlier, and ended later than believed due to the included conflicts spanning before and after the war. The war was indirectly started by the discovery of gold in south-western Oregon. White settlers started to move in to the Rogue River Valley, and usurped the lands of the native people. Many people thought the war to be unnecessary, even General John Wool and Superintendent of Indian Affairs Joel Palmer who were major parts in the war,
Many natives in the Valley chose to accept the changes coming with the miners and settlers. The people of the Rogue River Valley were split between Toquahear and Tecumtum. Those who followed Tequahear ran to seek refuge at Table Rock in 1853 as they were faced with extermination declared by Major Lupton talking about him and his men said “were determined to teach them a lesson they would not soon forget, and induce them to remain on the reserve (Schwartz 89).” Tecumtum also like Tequahear wanted to live in peace with the whites, but when they lynched one of his sons and attacked a peaceful Indian village he had enough. He took his followers and retreated to the neighboring mountains and fought the whites for a year saying he’d rather die fighting for what is right than having him and his people killed for nothing when the whites felt like it (Allen).
May of 1855, a lonely miner was murdered and it was suspected to be the Takelmas who did it. Two militia companies marched on the Kerbyville for reven...

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...ing burned to the ground, and were once again attacked; after three days of constant fighting reinforcements came for the settlers with a cannon. Some volunteers from Portland sailed to Bradford Island where they found many Indians sitting, and cooking food who at the sound of a bugle fled and were slaughtered. Eleven leaders of the Indian ambush were captured. Among those, nine were hung including Tecomeoc, Sim Lassels, and Old Skeen. The other two, Jim Thompson and Captain Dan Baughman escaped and ran to the mountains and later to the Vanderpool Place where they rested until the troops left.
On April twenty third with five hundred and thirty five men camped at a meadow known as Little Meadow found a group of Native Americans in between them and Big Meadow.Four days later they attacked the group suffering only one casualty, while the Indians suffered thirty.