Today in History: Discovery of Abandoned Camp Led to Historic Battle Near San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX — On this day in history, December 9, 1864, Captain N. M. Gillintine and a militia scouting party discovered an abandoned Indian camp near the Clear Fork of the Brazos River, about 30 miles from old Fort Phantom Hill. This seemingly minor discovery set the stage for one of the most consequential military confrontations in West Texas history—the Battle of Dove Creek.

The camp, consisting of 92 wigwam sites, had been recently vacated by a band of Kickapoo Indians, prompting the militia to track their movement. Mistakenly believing the group to be hostile Comanches or Kiowas, the militia initiated a pursuit that culminated in the ill-fated Battle of Dove Creek on January 8, 1865. The battle took place along Dove Creek, a tributary of the Concho River, near present-day Knickerbocker, just 20 miles southwest of San Angelo.

The Kickapoo were migrating peacefully to Mexico, seeking to escape the violence and unrest of the Civil War. Misjudging their intentions, militia and Confederate forces under Captains S. S. Totten and Henry Fossett hastily planned an attack. The plan, based on poor reconnaissance and frontier assumptions that all Indians were hostile, led to a disastrous engagement for the Texans.

The battle unfolded in rugged terrain with dense timber and heavy thickets, which gave the Kickapoo a defensive advantage. The militia, slowed by the creek and heavy underbrush, faced fierce resistance. The Kickapoo repelled the attackers, inflicting many casualties. Among the fallen were Captain Gillintine and several other officers. In total, the militia suffered 22 deaths and 19 wounded, while Kickapoo losses were estimated at fewer than 15.

After the battle, the battered militia retreated eastward to John S. Chisum’s ranch near the confluence of the Concho and Colorado Rivers, where they found food and shelter. Following the Battle of Dove Creek, the Kickapoo retreated to their sanctuary in Mexico near Santa Rosa, Coahuila. From there, they conducted cross-border raids, driven by anger and resentment over the attack by the Texas militia and Confederate forces.