HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Indian Mott Skirmish

Wimberley, Hays County, Texas

Marker Inscription

After peace talks ended in the disastrous “Council House Fight” in March 1840 in San Antonio, the Comanche increased raids. Returning from a bold attack on Linnville, a band of warriors was intercepted at Plum Creek near Uhland on August 12, 1840, by 200 Texas Rangers and volunteers. A fierce running battle ensued. According to local lore, several Comanche warriors were pursued to this spot, Lone Man Creek’s horseshoe bend. Hiding their horses down the creek, they took refuge in the tall grass and an oak mott. When night fell, their pursuers retreated. By moonlight, the Comanche buried their dead under flat rocks and disappeared into the hills. (2014)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In the spring of 1840, peace talks between Texas and the Comanche collapsed in the bloody Council House Fight at San Antonio, and raiding surged along the frontier. That August, after a sweeping raid on the coastal town of Linnville, a large Comanche band was intercepted near Plum Creek by Texas Rangers and volunteers in a sprawling running fight. Local tradition holds that a handful of warriors were chased to this horseshoe bend of Lone Man Creek, where they hid in the tall grass and an oak mott until nightfall let them slip away, burying their dead beneath flat stones by moonlight.

Why it matters

The clash marks a turning point in the long, violent struggle between the young Republic of Texas and the Comanche for control of the Hill Country frontier.

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Related events

  • · Council House Fight
  • · Battle of Plum Creek

Themes & tags

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