Buried Here are the Remains of Seven Teamsters
Loving, Young County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Buried here are the remains of seven teamsters, Nathan S. Long, J.J. Baxter, Jesse Bowman, James S. and Samuel E. Elliott, James and Thomas Williams, employed by Henry Warren, government contractor, who were slain by Indians under Satana, Satank, and Big Tree, Kiowa and Comanche chiefs, on May 18, 1871 while hauling forage between Jacksboro and Fort Griffin. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This marker names seven teamsters hauling forage between Jacksboro and Fort Griffin who were killed on May 18, 1871, in a raid led by the Kiowa chiefs Satanta, Satank, and Big Tree along with Comanche warriors. The attack on Henry Warren's contract wagon train was one of the most notorious episodes of the Southern Plains wars, and it led directly to the arrest and trial of the Kiowa leaders. Texas erected the memorial in 1936.
Why it matters
The Warren Wagon Train raid became a turning point in federal Indian policy on the Southern Plains, hastening the confinement of the Kiowa and Comanche to reservations.
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Related people
- · Satanta
- · Satank
- · Big Tree
- · Henry Warren
Related events
- · Warren Wagon Train Raid (Salt Creek Massacre)
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Warren Wagon Train Massacre
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On May 18, 1871, Kiowa and Comanche warriors leaving the Fort Sill reservation struck Henry Warren's wagon train hauling army supplies across this raw frontier, killing seven teamsters. The chiefs who led the raid were arrested; Satank died resisting, while Satanta pleaded eloquently for his people at a closely watched trial in Jacksboro. Governor E. J. Davis later commuted the resulting death sentences.
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