[VICTORIO'S WAR] &
FLORES (Blas M.)
Relacion Historica de la Campana Contra los Salvajes, que, en los Meses de Setiembre y Octubre Ultimos, Emprendio el 9o Cuerpo Rural de la Federacion, Seguida de un Informe que el Jefe del Detall del Referido Cuerpo, C. Blas M. Flores, Rinde a la Inspecci
A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT
A rare firsthand account of the final stages of Victorio’s War, which was largely fought between September 1879 and October 1880. Blas M. Flores was commander of the 9th Cuerpo Rural and his work focuses on the events of September-October, 1880.
As the United States expanded into western territories after the Civil War, many Native nations were forcibly removed. In this case, Mescalero and Lipan Apaches were pushed from New Mexico to the San Carlos Indian Reservation in south east Arizona.
Victorio (c.1825-1880) was a chief of the Warm springs band of the Tchihendeh, being a division of the central Apaches. Having initially sought refuge on the Fort Stanton reservation, he led a guerilla campaign and won battles against the 9th, 10th, and 6th US cavalries near the Percha River in January 1880. This war culminated at Tres Castillos when a force of 250 Mexican troops surrounded Victorio’s encampment and killed him plus another seventy-seven others.
The Relacion divides roughly in two. The first half, largely in diary form, is a firsthand account of the action seen by the Flores in September and October 1880. The second prints advice from him on future strategy.
OCLC locates four copies: Yale, the DeGolyer Library, the Biblioteca Nacional in Mexico City, and the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey.
Not in Palau.
