Comanche Village Massacre
Colorado City, Mitchell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In this vicinity on a bank of the Colorado October 21, 1840; A Comanche Indian village was completely destroyed and much stolen property recovered including 500 horses; 128 Indians were killed; 34 were captured; The expedition commanded by Colonel John Henry Moore; Consisted of 90 citizen volunteers; Mostly residents of Fayette County; Seventeen friendly Lipan Indians under Chiefs Castro and Flacu served as guides; No Texans were killed and but two wounded. (1936)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On the banks of the Colorado River in October 1840, a punitive expedition of ninety volunteers under Colonel John Henry Moore attacked a Comanche village, killing and capturing scores of its people and recovering hundreds of horses. Guided by seventeen Lipan Apache scouts under Chiefs Castro and Flacco, the raid came amid the bitter frontier warfare of the Republic of Texas years. It was one episode in the long, violent contest between settlers and the Comanche over the Texas plains.
Why it matters
The site marks the brutal frontier conflict that accompanied Anglo-Texan expansion, when raids and reprisals defined relations between the young republic and the Native nations of the southern plains.
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Related people
- · John Henry Moore
- · Castro
- · Flacco
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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