Hood's Devils River Fight
Juno, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Hood's Devils River Fight The men of Company G, a small unit of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry, left Fort Mason on July 5, 1857, under the command of Lt. John Bell Hood (1831-1879), in pursuit of Comanche Indians in the vicinity. Traveling northwest, they discovered a fresh Indian trail leading southward toward Mexico. Crossing bluffs near the Devils River on July 20, the men encountered an Indian camp on a ridge about two miles from the stream, marked by a while flat. Suspecting an ambush, Hood proceeded cautiously toward the ridge. A small band of Indians advanced to meet Hood's party. Then, throwing down the flag to signal their concealed allies, a group of close to 100 Comanches and Lipan Apaches attached. Outnumbered, and hampered by brush fires set by Indian women, the soldiers were forced into fierce hand-to-hand combat. Outflanked by a force at least three times his number and hemmed in by a wall of fire and smoke to his front, all that Hood could hope for was that superior marksmanship and discipline would prove to be the decisive elements in the fight. The company fell back to reload its weapons, only to hear the loud cries of Comanche women through the smoke and dust, indicating an Indian retreat. Two cavalrymen, William Barry and Thomas Ryan, were killed, and five others, including Hood, were wounded. A relief unit from Camp Hudson (20 mi. S) arrived the following day, rendering medical aid and helping to bury the dead. Pvt. Ryan was buried at the site, and Pvt. Barry's body was never found. Later reports revealed that nineteen Indians were killed, and many more wounded. Hood and his men were later cited for valor in army reports. During the Civil War, Hood became a general in the Confederate States Army. (1987)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In July 1857 a small detachment of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry under young Lt. John Bell Hood tracked a fresh trail toward the Devils River, only to be lured into an ambush by a decoy flag near an Indian camp. Roughly a hundred Comanche and Lipan Apache warriors closed in, and grass fires set by the women hemmed the soldiers into brutal hand-to-hand fighting. Outnumbered several times over, Hood's men held and broke the attack; two troopers died and several, including Hood, were wounded before a relief column arrived from Camp Hudson.
Why it matters
The clash is a vivid window into the frontier Indian wars of antebellum Texas and marks an early trial of John Bell Hood, who would later become a famous Confederate general.
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Related people
- · John Bell Hood
- · William Barry
- · Thomas Ryan
Themes & tags
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