Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present

The following Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present presents a detailed chronological account of significant events shaping the history of the Comanche people, from their emergence as a distinct group to their modern-day endeavors. This timeline aims to provide a comprehensive overview of their migrations, interactions with other tribes and European powers, conflicts, treaties, and cultural preservation efforts. It traces their journey from nomadic hunter-gatherers to a resilient nation navigating the complexities of the modern world. This Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present is not exhaustive, but it seeks to capture the most critical milestones in the Comanche story.

1500-1599: Early Migrations and Encounters

• 1500: The Comanches, originally part of the Eastern Shoshone tribe, begin to separate near the Wind River region of present-day Wyoming. This separation marks the genesis of the Comanche as a distinct cultural and linguistic group.
• 1540: The Coronado Expedition ventures into the Southern Plains. While direct interactions with the nascent Comanche are not explicitly documented, this expedition signifies the arrival of European influence and exploration into the region that would become central to Comanche history.
• 1540: Evidence suggests that the Comanches were already utilizing dogs for transportation, indicating a sophisticated understanding of their environment and resource management.
• 1598: Spain establishes a colony in New Mexico, initiating a period of Spanish colonization and interaction with indigenous populations, including the practice of enslaving Native Americans.

1600-1699: Interactions with Europeans and Acquisition of Horses

• 1601: Don Juan de Oñate encounters Plains Apache near the Canadian River during his search for the mythical Seven Cities of Gold (Cibola). This encounter illustrates the presence of various indigenous groups vying for resources and territory in the Southern Plains.
• 1680: The Pueblo Rebellion, a significant uprising against Spanish rule in New Mexico, provides the Comanches with access to horses. This acquisition fundamentally transforms their way of life, enabling greater mobility, hunting efficiency, and military prowess. The horse becomes central to Comanche culture and identity.
• 1687: Sieur de la Salle encounters Comanches near the Trinity River in present-day Texas, marking one of the earliest documented interactions between the French and the Comanche.
• 1692: The Picuris people relocate with the Plains Apache in West Kansas, likely seeking refuge from Spanish oppression or intertribal conflict.

1700-1749: Expansion, Trade, and Conflict

• 1700: Comanches and Utes engage in trade at Taos, New Mexico, indicating established trade networks and intertribal relations.
• 1706: The Picuris return to the Rio Grande Valley area.
• 1716: Jicarilla Apache are forced into the mountains of New Mexico due to repeated raids by the Comanche and Ute, demonstrating the growing influence and territorial expansion of the Comanches.
• 1716: During the summer months, Comanches and Utes conduct trade at villages in New Mexico.
• 1716: Spanish forces attack a Comanche/Ute village north of Santa Fe, capturing prisoners who are subsequently sold into slavery.
• 1719: The first recorded Comanche raids in New Mexico specifically target horses, highlighting the importance of these animals to their society.
• 1719: Spanish soldiers are dispatched as far north as Pueblo, Colorado, but find only abandoned campsites, underscoring the Comanches’ nomadic lifestyle and ability to evade pursuit.
• 1720: Apache bands retreat into Mexico as a result of repeated Comanche attacks, further solidifying Comanche dominance in the region.
• 1720: A Spanish military expedition sent to investigate rumors of French trade is destroyed by the Pawnee, illustrating the complex web of alliances and rivalries among indigenous groups and European powers.
• 1723: War erupts between the Comanches and Utes, as well as the Plains Apache. Two military expeditions sent to assist the Apache fail to locate the Comanche and Ute tribes.
• 1724: The Comanche engage in a nine-day war at the Great Mountain of Iron, resulting in a major defeat for the Apache.
• 1724: French trader Bourgmont trades with the Padouca (believed to be a Plains Apache group) in Kansas.
• 1725: The last Apache groups settle on the upper Arkansas River before disappearing from the historical record.
• 1728: Plains Apache settle on the Rio Grande alongside Pueblo Tribes.
• 1730: The Comanches gain control of the Texas Panhandle, Central Texas, and Northeastern New Mexico, marking a significant expansion of their territory.
• 1730: The Comanche/Ute alliance collapses, leading to a 50-year war between the two tribes.
• 1740: Comanches obtain firearms from French traders, increasing their military capabilities.
• 1742: Spanish launch another unsuccessful expedition as far as Wichita villages without encountering Comanches.
• 1743: Comanches visit San Antonio de Bexar.
• 1745: Comanches force the Utes from the Plains, driving them into the mountains.
• 1745: The Kotsoteka Comanche band crosses the Arkansas River and moves into New Mexico.
• 1746: Comanche raids intensify at Pecos, New Mexico, initiating a 40-year period of conflict during which Comanches attack virtually all Spanish settlements in New Mexico.
• 1746: Major war breaks out between the Comanches and the Osage and Pawnee tribes.
• 1747: The French mediate peace between the Comanche and Wichita.
• 1749: The French again broker peace between the Comanche and Wichita; Comanches break alliance with the Utes.
• 1749: Utes seek Spanish protection from the Comanches.

1750-1799: Consolidation of Power and Shifting Alliances

• 1750: Comanches settle in the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains, of the Texas Panhandle, a region that becomes a central part of their territory.
• 1750: French trade for horses with the Comanches increases in exchange for firearms.
• 1750: Utes form an alliance with the Jicarilla against the Comanches.
• 1750: Comanches raid Pecos again.
• 1750: Wichita mediate peace between the Comanche and the Osage and Pawnee.
• 1750: Comanches drive Apaches out of the Southern plains, including the Jicarilla, Carlanas, Mescaleros, Faraones, and Lipans.
• 1751: Comanche and Pawnee defeat the Osage.
• 1751: Pawnee leave the Plains and settle in the Platte Valley.
• 1754: The Blackfeet Tribe acquires horses from Comanches, expanding the use of horses across the Great Plains.
• 1757: Lipan Apaches request the Spanish to build a mission on Comanche Territory, which results in war between the Spanish and Comanche.
• 1758: Comanche and Wichita attack the San Saba Presidio and missions, killing all occupants.
• 1759: The Spanish army is defeated by the Comanche and Wichita at the Red River.
• 1760: The Crow tribe acquires horses from the Comanche.
• 1760: Taos is attacked by Comanches.
• 1761: Comanches attack a Lipan mission on the Nueces River.
• 1763: France transfers Louisiana to Spanish control.
• 1765: Prior to this date, the Kiowa lived in the Black Hills, driven out by the Lakota Sioux moving westward from Minnesota.
• 1768: The Ute/Jicarilla alliance is defeated by the Comanches.
• 1773: Comanches raid Pecos for the 4th time.
• 1774: Spanish soldiers, with the help of Pueblo Indians, attack a Comanche village near Raton and capture over 100 Comanche prisoners.
• 1775: Yamparika Comanches fight Lakota and Cheyenne in the Black Hills.
• 1777: New Spain holds a council of war and seeks an alliance with the Nations of the North, Comanche and Wichita.
• 1779: Spanish send a 500-man army with 200 Utes and Apache to attack a large Comanche village, killing Chief Green Horn.
• 1780: Due to the Kiowa being forced to move south by the Lakota, war breaks out between the Comanche and Kiowa.
• 1781: Smallpox decimates both Wichita and Comanche Tribes, resulting in widespread death and societal disruption.
• 1785: Spanish propose a treaty with the Texas Comanche, signed in the Fall.
• 1786: Kotsoteka kill Chief White Bull in New Mexico because of his stance against peace; his followers scatter.
• 1786: Spanish broker a peace between the Comanche and Ute tribes and sign a treaty with the Comanches.
• 1789: Spanish and Comanche defeat the Lipan Apache.
• 1790: Comanche and Pawnee war for 3 years, Pawnee defeated.
• 1791: Comanche and Osage War; Osage are again defeated by the Comanches.
• 1797: Comanches destroy an entire Osage village near the Kansas/Missouri border.

1800-1849: Interactions with the United States and Mexico

• 1803: Comanches and Pawnee war; Pawnee are again defeated by the Comanches.
• 1805: Comanches and Kiowa make peace after a Kiowa warrior lives among the Comanche for a summer.
• 1807: Dr. John Sibley has a meeting with a Comanche Chief.
• 1810: Approximate time of peace with the Kiowa Apache.
• 1810: The Hidalgo Revolt occurs.
• 1811: Comanche Chief El Sordo visits Bexar and is imprisoned in Coahuila.
• 1811: Relations between Texas and Comanches break down due to the imprisonment of El Sordo.
• 1813: American traders trade with Comanches for horses.
• 1816: John Jamison meets with Comanche Chiefs for trade.
• 1821: Spanish rule is replaced by Mexico.
• 1821: The Santa Fe trail is opened.
• 1822: Mexico makes a treaty with a Texas band of Comanches.
• 1825: Mexico does not honor the treaty with Comanches, and the Rio Grande War breaks out.
• 1825: Comanches raid Chihuahua.
• 1825: The United States begins construction of Ft. Gibson in Oklahoma.
• 1826: Mexico makes a treaty with the Texas band of Comanches again.
• 1829: Comanches and Kiowa battle U. S. Infantry on the Santa Fe Trail.
• 1830: Comanches war with the Cheyenne and Arapaho alliance.
• 1831: Mexico bans trading with Comanches.
• 1832: Comanches catch Pawnee raiders stealing horses and kill them all.
• 1832: Construction of Bent’s Fort on the Arkansas River.
• 1833: Sam Houston barters peace with Comanches, becoming friends to many.
• 1834: Mexico makes a treaty with Texas Comanches.
• 1834: Mexico again dishonors the peace treaty, and Comanches resume raids on Mexico.
• 1835: Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango re-establish bounties for Comanche scalps.
• 1835: American Treaty made at Camp Holmes, with Comanche, Wichita, Osage Quapaw, Seneca, Cherokee, Choctaw and Creek.
• 1836: Cynthia Ann Parker is captured at Fort Parker, Texas.
• 1836: Texas wins independence from Mexico; Sam Houston becomes president of the Republic.
• 1837: Texas Cherokee Chief Diwali makes peace and trades with 16 different bands of Comanches.
• 1838: Texas and Comanches make a peace treaty.
• 1839: Texas forces out Cherokee, Shawnee, and Delaware from Texas.
• 1839: A smallpox epidemic occurs.
• 1840: Comanches meet Texans for council in San Antonio; 12 Comanche Chiefs are killed, and 27 women and children are taken prisoner.
• 1840: Peace is made between Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Comanches. Comanches give massive gifts of horses to their new allies.
• 1840: Chief Potsana Kwahip (Buffalo Hump) takes warriors against Texas on a thousand-mile raid. Homes are burned, and hundreds of Texans are killed.
• 1840: Texas, with Tonkawa warriors, attacks Comanches at Plumb Creek.
• 1840: The Texas Rangers are formed to fight Comanches.
• 1841: Texas has a second war with Mexico.
• 1843: Colonel J.C. Eldridge meets with Chief Pahayuco of the Tenawa at Pecan River, near the Red River.
• 1844: Sam Houston meets with Chief Tseep Tasewah along with other Indian Leaders.
• 1845: Quanah Parker is born to Cynthia Ann Parker near Laguna Sabinas (Cedar Lake).
• 1845: A treaty between the Republic of Texas and the Texas band of Comanches is signed.
• 1846: The United States annexes Texas.
• 1846: The Butler-Lewis Treaty is made with Comanche, Anadarko, Caddo, Lipan, Wichita, and Waco.
• 1846: A Comanche delegation meets with President Polk.
• 1847: A German Treaty is signed at Fredericksburg with Comanche; this treaty is still honored.
• 1848: A smallpox epidemic strikes the Comanche people.
• 1848-1853: Mexico files 366 separate claims for Comanches and Apache raids originating from North of the border.
• 1849: Gold seekers traveling along the Canadian River bring smallpox to the Comanches.

1850-1899: Reservation Life and the End of an Era

• 1851: The Comanche population drops from 20,000 to 12,000 due to smallpox.
• 1851: The Ft. Laramie Treaty is signed with Plains Indian Tribes.
• 1851: An epidemic breaks out among the Comanches and Kiowa.
• 1852: Comanches raid Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, and Tepic in Jalisco, 700 miles south of the Border.
• 1853: Kiowa and Yamparika sign the Ft. Atkinson Treaty.
• 1854: The Texas Congress provides 23,000 acres and establishes three Indian reservations on the upper Brazos River for the Texas tribes, Caddo, Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee, Wichita and Tonkawa.
• 1854: The Penateka Tribe moves to the Texas reservation.
• 1856: Robert E. Lee becomes in charge of Texas Indian Reservations.
• 1858: Due to Indian raids, the Army abandons Camp Cooper.
• 1858: Texas Rangers attack a Comanche village at Little Robe Creek in Indian Territory.
• 1858: Captain Earl Van Dorn attacked a Comanche village at Rush Springs, killing 83.
• 1858: Van Dorn strikes the Comanches at Crooked Creek in Kansas.
• 1859: Settlers attack a reservation in Texas and are repelled by Indians.
• 1859: Indians on the Texas reservation are forced to leave Texas.
• 1860: Calvary sends 3 columns on expedition; a battle is fought with Comanches, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.
• 1860: Cynthia Ann Parker is re-captured by Texas Ranger Sul Ross.
• 1861: The Confederacy signs two treaties with Comanche bands.
• 1861: Confederates fail to make good on the treaty, and Comanches push the Texas frontier back over 100 miles. Forts are abandoned, and raids increase.
• 1861: The Santa Fe trail is closed down by Comanches, Kiowa, Cheyenne, and Arapaho.
• 1862: A smallpox epidemic from New Mexico strikes.
• 1862: Comanches and Pro-Union Delaware and Shawnee from Kansas attack the Tonkawa agency on a revenge raid and kill 300 Tonkawa for helping the white men track and fight other Indian tribes.
• 1863: Full scale war in the Great Plains by an alliance for Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, and Kiowa-Apache.
• 1864: Colonel Kit Carson sent to deal with Comanches at first battle of Adobe Walls with Ute and Jicarilla scouts; Carson left after 4 days battle and never again returned to Texas to fight Comanches.
• 1864: Five days after Carson’s battle, Chivington’s Colorado volunteers attack a sleeping Cheyenne village on Sand Creek in southern Colorado, mutilating 300 Cheyenne, mostly women and children.
• 1865: A council is held with Confederate and Plains Tribes at the Wichita River two weeks after Lee had surrendered.
• 1865: The Little Arkansas Treaty is signed with the Comanche and other Plains Tribes.
• 1867: A cholera epidemic strikes Comanche bands.
• 1867: The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by Comanche Tribes; the Kwahada band refuses to sign.
• 1868: Comanche bands that signed the treaty moved to Ft. Cobb only to leave again in the summer to return home to the plains.
• 1868: Comanche raids target Texas and Kansas; all tribes are then ordered to Oklahoma.
• 1868: George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Calvary attack a southern village on the Wichita in November.
• 1868: Major Andrew Evans attacks a Comanche village at Soldiers Spring on Christmas Day.
• 1869: The Comanche-Kiowa Agency was relocated to Ft. Sill, and the Cheyenne-Arapaho agency to Darlington.
• 1870: The Comanche population is estimated at around 8,000.
• 1871: Kiowa raids General William Sherman’s wagon train and almost kills the Supreme Commander of the American Army.
• 1871: A raid by the Kwahada band of Comanches stole 70 horses from the Army at Rock Station.
• 1871: General Randall Mackenzie and his black buffalo soldiers fight the Kwahada band of Comanches for two years on the Plains.
• 1872: Combined Comanche and Kiowa raids in Texas kill 20 in Texas. At the same time Texans steal 1,900 horses from tribes at Ft. Sill, OK.
• 1872: Mackenzie attacks a Comanche village at McClellan Creek; he takes 130 women and children hostage and imprisons them at Ft. Concho. 200 more lodges are destroyed.
• 1873: Comanche hostages are released and forced to go to Ft. Sill, OK.
• 1874: Cheyenne hunters report that there are dead buffalo all over the Plains. Violence erupted at Wichita and Darlington Agencies and put down by federal troops.
• 1874: Large groups of Cheyenne leave the reservation to the Plains.
• 1874: A large Comanche-Cheyenne war party attacked 23 buffalo hunters camped in the Texas Panhandle at the site of Carson’s 1864 battle of Adobe Walls.
• 1874: The Red River War or Buffalo War begins; this is the last Great Indian War in the Plains.
• 1875: General Miles attacks a group of Cheyenne near McClellan Creek.
• 1875: General Mackenzie attacks and burns five Comanche villages in Palo Duro Canyon and massacres women and children and destroys over 1400 Comanche horses.
• 1875: Wintertime brings starvation to the Indians, and they start to return to the reservation after relentless pursuit by Federal Troops.
• 1875: In April, 200 Kwahada, who had never surrendered, arrived at Ft. Sill. In June, the last 400 Kwahada with Quanah Parker surrendered.
  This Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present shows that even in the face of defeat, the Comanche resilience was present.
• 1879: The Buffalo of the Great Plains were gone; over 65 million were destroyed by white hunters. Estimation taken in 1879 reported less than 1500 buffalo left on the Plains.

1900-Present: Adaptation and Cultural Preservation

• 1901: The Comanche reservation is broken up due to Government pressure to open the land for settlement.
• 1905: Quanah Parker rides in President Roosevelt’s Inaugural parade in Washington, D.C.
• 1905: President Theodore Roosevelt visits Quanah’s Star House. Quanah and the President go on a wolf hunt in April.
• 1910: Quanah buries his mother Cynthia Ann Parker on December 4 at Post Oak.
• 1911: Quanah Parker dies. Over 2000 people attend his funeral.
• 1916: Comanche warriors volunteer for service in Europe; Code Talkers are utilized by United States forces.
• 1941: Comanche warriors again volunteer for service in Europe.
• 1941: Code Talkers use the Comanche language in the D-Day Invasion and Patton’s tank battalion to secure victory for allied forces during WW II.
• 1989: France recognizes Comanche Code Talkers for bravery and awards them the highest honor it can bestow for esteemed service in having saved France from German occupation.
• 1992: The first Annual Comanche Nation Fair was held on the grounds of the old Craterville Park location in the foothills of the Wichita Mountain, now known as Camp Eagle Training Center on the west range of Fort Sill Military Reservation. The Annual Fair continues on the last week-end in September on the grounds of the Comanche Nation Complex, north of Lawton.
• 1993: The first and only Comanche Nation Rodeo was held at Eagle Park in Cache Oklahoma.
• 1993: Comanches adopt an official alphabet, and Numu Tekwapuha Nomeneekatu, the Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee (CLCPC) is formed to preserve Comanche language and culture.
• 1998: The Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee launches its first language newsletter and their official web site.
• 1999: The last Comanche Code Talker, Charles Chibitty, received the Knowlton Award by the United States Government for the Code Talker’s help in WWII.
• 2000: The Comanche Tribe attains a herd of buffalo from the Wichita Wildlife Refuge for cultural revitalization.
• 2000: The first Annual Shoshone Nations Reunion is held in Fort Hall, Idaho. Reunions have been held each year since then, with the Comanche Nation hosting in 2002 and again in 2006.
• 2001: Comanches attain a herd of wild mustangs from Pyramid Lake Piutes.
• 2002: Dr. William C. Meadows published a book titled “The Comanche Code Talkers of World War II” that tells the story of our code talkers.
• 2002: The Comanche Nation College is opened.
• 2002: The CLCPC certifies the first two Comanche language teachers at the Comanche Nation College in Lawton.
• 2003: The first official Comanche Dictionary is published by the CLCPC, compiled entirely by Comanche people. This Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present shows that the Comanche language is thriving today.

This Comanche Timeline 1500 to Present illustrates the remarkable journey of the Comanche people, characterized by adaptability, resilience, and a strong commitment to preserving their cultural heritage in the face of immense challenges.