The third volume takes up the story of the continued struggle for the return of their Ojo Caliente reservation after Victorio's death at Tres Castillos. Led by Nana, the surviving Chihenne Apaches regrouped and, despite their losses, decided to continue the fight. In January 1881, these Apaches launched several attacks in southern New Mexico but, for the moment, avoided direct confrontation with the US army, choosing to evade their pursuers.
Having returned to northern Mexico, Nana returned to New Mexico in July and August to lead one of the legendary raids of the Apache wars between 1860 and 1886. While this event deserves legendary status, the numbers of US troops deployed against the Apaches has been exaggerated. Moreover, the numerical advantage of the actual numbers of US troops deployed was usually offset by the scope and knowledge of the terrain traversed by the Apaches. Most importantly, this was the last time that Apaches would attempt to maintain their independent way of life within the USA.
This volume will conclude with an evaluation of winners and losers, legacy of the campaign and lessons to be learned for today from the small wars of the nineteenth century.
About the Author
Dr Robert N. Watt is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Studies (POLSIS) at the University of Birmingham, UK. His main area of research is into the Apache Wars of 1860-1886, with particular reference to the Victorio Campaign of 1879-1881. He has made numerous archive and field trips to the USA and has visited most of the areas where the Victorio Campaign took place - including Tres Castillos in Northern Mexico, where Victorio was killed in October 1880. He has published articles on Victorio, the Apaches and the US Army in Small Wars & Insurgencies, The New Mexico Historical Review, War in History, Southwestern Historical Quarterly and The Journal of Military History.
This article was awarded a Moncado Prize in 2017 by the Society for Military History. He has also published two books with Osprey on the 'Apache Warrior' and 'Apache Tactics' and taught a module on American Indian Wars for the History Department, the University of Birmingham. He has also published an article on the Red Army in the Second World War and has lectured on Soviet Deep Battle/Operations for a module in the same department.
50 b/w photos, 10 colour maps, 27 tables, 5 figures
Industry Reviews
"Robert Watt's masterly work deals with the struggle by Chihenne Apaches for the return of their reservation at Ojo Caliente, N.M."-- "Wild West" "Taken as a whole, these three volumes are a labor of love, constituting the most detailed summary and comprehensive analysis of small-scale conflict between the Native Americans and the United States we may well expect to read in our lifetimes. That should be achievement enough to satisfy any historian."-- "Journal of Military History"
