Onion Creek Indian Fight
Brady vicinity, McCulloch County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One night in 1866, five men from Richland Springs (about 25 mi. NE) recovered stolen horses from Indians camped near here. A metal arrow hit a Mr. Lafferty, slid halfway around his skull, was cut out with a pocket knife, and Lafferty survived. The grave of an Indian casualty is about 30 yards north. (1973)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
One night in 1866, five men from Richland Springs tracked stolen horses to an Indian camp near this spot and recovered them in a sharp encounter. A metal arrow struck a Mr. Lafferty and slid halfway around his skull; it was cut out with a pocketknife, and remarkably he survived. The grave of an Indian killed in the fight lies about thirty yards to the north.
Why it matters
The skirmish reflects the violent contest over horses and land that marked the Texas frontier in the years just after the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Lafferty
Related events
- · 1866 Onion Creek Indian Fight
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Soldier's Waterhole
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This waterhole on an old military road served U.S. soldiers — including troops under Robert E. Lee — who patrolled for raiders in the 1850s, as well as westbound emigrants camping before the Civil War. The marker records a grim toll: in 1850 a party of eighteen men, women, and children was attacked here, their wagons burned and horses stolen. Long before, the same reliable water had drawn Native peoples to what was noted as an ancient Indian campground.
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