“We slept with our boots on”, The Red River War, 1874

2024 marks the 150th Anniversary of the largest and most decisive campaigns of the American Indian Wars in Texas, the Red River War of 1874-5. This campaign pitted U.S. Army Soldiers from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico against Comanche and Kiowa in the Panhandle region of Texas.

From September 26-28, 2024 reenactors from across the nation will gather to mark and commemorate this historic event. “‘We slept with our boots on’: The Red River War, 1874” is a historical reenactment of the 10th U.S. Infantry’s participation in the Red River War. Reenactors will portray members of Company I, 10th U.S. Infantry as they prepared to march into field service in the summer of 1874.

On Thursday, September 26, reenactors will gather at Fort McKavett State Historic Site to form the core of Company I in the historic Barracks. A public presentation will be held in the historic Schoolhouse about the history of the Red River War at 3 pm. The public is welcome to visit with Site Staff at Fort McKavett SHS and the reenactors as they prepare for the coming campaign.

On Friday, September 27th, the reenactors will march from Fort McKavett SHS along Toe Nail Trail following in the historic footsteps of the soldiers under the command of Ranald Mackenzie. In the afternoon, the reenactors will be representing “field service” in Christoval City Park in Christoval, Texas. The public is welcome to meet with the reenactors and watch presentation about the history of the Red River War to be led by staff from Fort McKavett State Historic Site and Fort Concho National Historic Landmark at 3 pm.

On Saturday morning, September 28th, the reenactors will march through the City of San Angelo along Ben Ficklin Road, W. Ave. W, S. Irving St., W. Ave. P, S. Chadbourne St. to S. Oakes St. enroute to Fort Concho National Historic Landmark. They will march from about 10:30AM to 11:30AM. The reenactors will encamp on the Parade Ground of Fort Concho and portray soldiers preparing for the upcoming campaign. Another public presentation will be held in the historic Officer’s Quarters No. 8 Building at 3 pm by Site Staff from Fort McKavett SHS and Fort Concho NHL. Public parking is available outside of the building and if you put 213 E Ave D into your GPS, it should have you within a few steps of the building. The public portion of the event will conclude at 5:00 pm when Fort Concho NHL closes to public visitation.

This program is being sponsored by the Friends of Fort McKavett, the Fort Concho Foundation, City Park Christoval, and the Texas Historical Commission. For more information about this program and how you can support these organizations, please visit their websites at www.ftmckavettfriends.com, www.fortconcho.com, and www.cityparkctx.com.

Credit: A special thank you to our friends at Fort McKavett for putting together this detailed description of the program.

The bottom photo featured in the graphic is a ledger drawing made by Zotom and Making Medicine. After being taken prisoner and escorted to Florida, being among the 72 who refused to be sent to the reservations, they marked their experience through a series of drawings in a ledger book.