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My favorite Librarian gave me this Discard: Fact Finder Guide: WARRIORS by Jan Westwell and Nick Grant.

Apache Brave (Late 19^th Century)

The Native American Brave was arguably the finest light cavalryman of the age. Able to operate in often harsh environments, having enormous stamina and being a master of concealment and ambush, he could usually outdistance the heavy US Cavalry horse on his lighter pony.

The Apache warrior was particularly renowned as a warlike raider and fierce marauder in territory of the deserts of southwestern United States. These fighters had grown up used to athletic pursuits ~ learning to value bravery to fight and to endure pain as part of the culture. In addition, the Apache lived in small semi-nomadic bands to avoid being surprised by enemy attack as they were often at odds with other Apache bands. When raiding their main aim was not to kill, but they would go to war to revenge deaths and were responsible for as many acts of cruelty as their enemies.

Fighting tactics were hit and run, by day and night, sniping and ambushing using gunfire or arrows. The direct frontal attack was not their style of warfare; they preferred instead circling attacks or ambushes.

The traditional Apache warrior's garb was a kilt, breech-clout and buckskin leggings, moccasins, and turbaned headdress although they often fought semi-naked. Their weapons were a lance, a war club ~ a stone head wrapped in buckskin on a wooden handle ~ and a wooden bow stringed with sinew. Arrows were long and finished with steel tips that would often detach themselves in the body of the enemy. Usually a rawhide shield was also carried.

In addition, the Apache brave was often armed with guns ~ albeit outmoded ~ from the Indian Bureau. These could be muzzle-loading rifles such as the Lancaster, the Hawken percussion rifle, or an early Springfield, musket, or a percussion gun with either half or full stock. Even flintlocks were used when percussion caps were not readily available. As good horsemen they could fire these weapons while slipped to the side of the horse to protect themselves from returned gunfire.

Even before the Indian Wars of the second half of the 19^th century the Apache had developed a reputation for aggression when fighting against other Native American tribes in the area as well as against Spanish invaders and the Mexicans. These conflicts demonstrated the skills of the great Apache leaders, first Cochise and then Geronimo and Naiche. The chiefs would personally lead their braves but they were adept at avoiding full-scale battles with the US Cavalry so that the Apaches were only fully subjugated onto reservations after Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886, being worn down by living on the run in the mountains for so long.

For years they lived off the land and harried the US army, attacking silently and then disappearing into the wilderness. A measure of their quality as pioneering guerilla fighters is that for a remarkable 25 years these tactics helped prolong their campaign against the vastly superior firepower and artillery of the US Army.

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The following preceded the above, and although it is not specifically Native American, I wanted to make note of the information since it ties into the experiences of the Apache warrior:

U.S. Cavalryman (Late 19^th Century)

In the Indian Wars of 1886 to 1890, the US cavalryman was the spearhead of the United States' drive to impose its control on the plains of the Midwest and deserts of the Southwest America, the last remaining heartlands of the Native American tribes. The frontier that needed to be patrolled was enormous and cavalry was the only effective force in these vast open spaces.

The ten cavalry regiments of the US Army were perhaps the best mounted troops in the world at the time. The four assigned to the frontier ~ the 7^th to the 10^th ~ forged a defiant, self-reliant, and professional ethos in these isolated conditions under the constant threat of attack and in the face of neglect by politicians.

The fighting was often unpleasant, both sides at times guilty of going beyond the normal rules of warfare, and life was generally hard. There was little training, the men being expected to learn the skills of horsemanship in the early months of their service, ammunition was often in short supply, the food was basic, and disease was a constant scourge. Drinking was about the only entertainment and discipline had to be harsh in these conditions. Many soldiers deserted before the final encounter at the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1880.

The US cavalryman was dressed typically in slouch hat or kepi, bandana, dark blue "sack coat" (officers coats had black braiding), which was a waist-length shell jacket, blue or gray shirt with yellow piping for officers, blue woolen trousers, long and heavy boots, and a caped overcoat during the winter. He was allowed a great deal of freedom in dress in the field, often appearing in civilian clothes and using civilian weapons.

He was typically armed with a Colt or Remington .44 cap-and-ball six-shooter revolver and a 50 caliber Springfield or 56/0 Spencer carbine. The saber was also occasionally carried by some officers.

The cavalry had two roles: as protection for encroaching US government control through escorting settlers or the mail and protecting the building of railways, etc., as well as actively pursuing the war against hostile Native American tribes. The latter often took the form of scouting parties to track bands of marauding braves. Often these cavalry scouting parties would attempt to keep the nuisance of attacks down by putting the bands of braves on the defensive so that large-scale battles were avoided. Long-distances were covered in the campaigns as the enemy was gradually worn down, often in winter when it was harder for the braves to live off the land so the cavalry took its own wagon train of supplies with it on these expeditions.

Famous US Cavalry names include Major-General Philip H. Sheridan, who masterminded many of the campaigns of the Indian Wars where the policy was to destroy Native American villages and horse herds. The intention was to drive the marauding braves out of the territory and onto reservations.

Another important figure was Brigadier-General Alfred H. Terry who led the cavalry in the wars against the plain Native Americans in the 1870s. However, the most famous name is Lieutenant-Colonel George A. Custer of the 7^th Cavalry Regimen who led the attack on the Cheyenne village of Washita in 188 taking his forces to destruction and meeting his own end at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Montana, in 1876, against a combined Sioux and Cheyenne force led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.