Avenging Victorio

A rag-tag group of Apache warriors, led by an elderly man in his late seventies, took on the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry in revenge for the death of the great Apache war chief Victorio. Using guerilla warfare, they led raids through New Mexico, slaughtering men, women, and children and evading the Cavalry and the Buffalo Soldiers. In the end, they won!

Interesting historical characters abound. Billy the Kid was killing people in the southern part of the territory. The New Mexico Territory was governed by Lew Wallace (author of Ben-Hur and territorial governor). Colonel Edward T. Hatch (the chile town of Hatch is named for him) was in charge of the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry. And the great Apache war chief Victorio had been killed by the Mexican Army. After Victorio (a supposed treasure trove is named after him) was killed, the elder war chief Nana led the Apache to victory.