Battle of Little Robe Creek

Battle of Little Robe Creek
Part of the Comanche Wars, Texas–Indian wars, Apache Wars
Comanche warriors, circa 1870.
Date May 12, 1858 Location Comancheria, Texas, Oklahoma 35°58′24.2394″N 99°54′28.89″W / 35.973399833°N 99.9080250°W / 35.973399833; -99.9080250 (Little Robe Creek Battlefield) Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States Tonkawa Caddo Anadarko Waco Shawnee Delaware Tawakoni	Comanche Kiowa Apache
Commanders and leaders
John Salmon Ford Shapley Prince Ross Placido-Tonkawa O'quinn-Tonkawa Jim Pockmark-Caddo-Anadarko Jose Casa Maria-Caddo Shot Arm-Waco Jim Linney-Shawnee-Delaware Nid-e-wats-Tawakoni	Iron Jacket † Peta Nocona
Strength
100 Americans 113 Indian allies[1]: 232	200–600
Casualties and losses
2 killed and 4–5 wounded[1]: 237	76 killed 60 captured[1]: 237  400 horses captured[1]: 237
Little Robe Creek Battlefield class=notpageimage| Location within Oklahoma

The Battle of Little Robe Creek, also known as the Battle of Antelope Hills and the Battle of the South Canadian,^[2] took place on May 12, 1858. It was a series of three distinct encounters that took place on a single day, between the Comanches, with Texas Rangers, militia, and allied Tonkawas attacking them. The military action was undertaken against the laws of the United States at the time, which strictly forbade such an incursion into the Indian Territories of Oklahoma, and marked a significant escalation of the Indian Wars. It also marked the first time American or Texas Ranger forces had penetrated the Comancheria as far as the Wichita Mountains and Canadian River, and it marked a decisive defeat for the Comanche.^[3]

Military historians distinguish between the Antelope Hills expedition by the Texas Rangers and the Battle of Little Robe Creek, with the former being the entire campaign against the Comanche conducted from January to May 1858, starting in Texas above the Edwards Plateau, and continuing on to the Indian Territories in what is now Oklahoma. The latter is the specific May 12 battle at Little Robe Creek, with all three encounters counting as one sustained, day-long battle. Since federal troops would not attack the Comanche and Kiowa in that portion of the Comancheria, the Texas Rangers launched the incursion into the Antelope Hills.^[3]