Rio Grande (1950)

Director:  John Ford

Cast:  John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara

Col. Ranald Mackenzie's 1873 raid against the Comanche and Kiowa hiding in Mexico

Historical Background:

Comanche  --  at one time there may have been as many as 20,000 Comanche living in the present-day Eastern New Mexico, Southern Colorado, Southern Kansas, all of  Oklahoma, and most of Northern and Southern Texas.  Quanah Parker was the last major chief of the Comanche Indians.

Kiowa  --  The Kiowa lived mostly in the plains of west Texas, Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico.  They formed a deep bond with the Comanche and the Plains Apache.  Two of their most famous chiefs were named Satanta and Satank. 

Cheyenne  --  the Cheyenne nation comprised ten bands, spread all over the Great Plains, from southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Currently the Northern Cheyenne live in southeast Montana and the Southern Cheyenne, along with the Southern Arapaho, live in central Oklahoma.

Arapaho  --  lived on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming.  They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux.

1840 (July 27)  --  Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was born in Westchester County, New York.  He was the nephew of diplomat John Slidell, diplomat for the Confederate States of American, and the brother of U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Alexander Slidell MacKenzie.

class of 1862  --  he graduated from West Point at the head of his class.  He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and served in the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg and through the Overland Campaign. 

He was appointed colonel of the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, which served as infantry during the attacks on Petersburg, Virginia.  He was wounded there, losing two fingers.  This led to his nickname, "Bad Hand".

1864 (August-October)   --  he helped oppose Jubal Early's raid menacing Washington, D.C.

1864 (October 19)  -- he was wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek fighting off Jubal Early's force.

He was appointed brigadier general of volunteers.  He commanded the Cavalry of the Army of the James.  He led the cavalry in the Battles of Five Forks and Appomattox Courthouse. 

1865  --  he was appointed brevet major general of volunteers and served in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. 

Mackenzie was not that popular among his troops because of his harsh discipline that led to the nickname the "Perpetual Punisher".  But as far as fighting was concerned, General Ulysses S. Grant said he was the "most promising young officer" in the entire Union after the Civil War  --  Mackenzie served in the West in the Indian Wars. 

1867  --  he was appointed colonel in the 41st U.S. Infantry {later the 24th Infantry Regiment) and saw action against the Apaches in the American southwest.

1867  --  at Medicine Lodge, Kansas, the United States signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty (a series of three treaties) with the Kiowa, Comanche, Plains Apache, Cheyenne and Arapahoe.

1868  --  in the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Great Sioux reservation was established in the Black Hills of Dakota.   

1871 (Feb. 25)  --  he now commanded the 4th U.S. Cavalry. 

Panic of 1873  --  economic depression in the U.S.

1874-1875  --  the United States defaulted on the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867.   What resulted was the Red River War, a series of conflicts in the Texas panhandle between Comanche, Kiowa, Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho and the United States Army.

1874  --  the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of Dakota was made public following the Custer Expedition there.  People suffering from the Panic of 1873, caught gold fever and flocked into the Dakota Hills, naturally making the Indians there very angry.  

1875 (Sept. 28)  --  Mackenzie fought in the Red River War.  He and his troops were able to route the Indians at the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon that brought about the end of the war.

1876  --  outbreak of the Black Hills War between the Sioux and the U.S. Army. 

1876 (summer)   --  Mackenzie defeated the Cheyenne in the Dull Knife Fight, which helped bring about the end of the Black Hills War. 

1882  --  he was appointed brigadier general. 

1884 (March 24)  --  following a fall from a wagon at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he suffered from mental instability and retired from the Army. 

1889 (January 19)  --  he died in New Brighton, Staten Island, New York City.  He is buried in the West Point National Cemetery.