One of the Trails of Col. Ranald S. MacKenzie
Fieldton, Lamb County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie (1840-89) of the United States Army was ordered in the 1870s to conquer Indians on Texas frontiers. He led 240 enlisted men and eight officers in an expedition along the draw here. Heading toward New Mexico, he hoped to break up a ring of traders paying Indians to steal cattle and horses. He marched past this point about August 1, 1872, in a swift, secret move against the traders. The path beaten out by his men was serviceable later to scouts and settlers. Its traces are still known as Mackenzie's Trail. (1977)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the summer of 1872, Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie of the U.S. Army marched 240 men and eight officers along the draw near this spot as part of the Army's campaign to force Native peoples off the Texas frontier. His swift, secret movement toward New Mexico aimed to break up a network of traders who paid Indians to raid settlers' cattle and horses. The track his soldiers beat across the plains served later scouts and settlers and is still remembered as Mackenzie's Trail.
Why it matters
The trail marks the hard reality of the Plains Indian Wars, when Army campaigns like Mackenzie's opened the Texas Panhandle to settlement at enormous cost to its Native inhabitants.
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Related people
- · Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie
Related events
- · Plains Indian Wars
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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