The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site is located in western Oklahoma approximately 25 miles north of I-40 and the town of Sayre. This is the site where in 1868 LTC Custer and his 7th Cavalry troops attacked the peaceful indian tribe of Chief Black Kettle. The attack on this tribe was unprovoked, and historical reports state that Custer thought this was one of the hostile tribes in the area. There were many indians killed, including Chief Black Kettle and his wife. Most of the remaining women and children were taken captive by Custer and his soldiers. The so called battle was very brief and afterwards LTC George Armstrong Custer ordered his troops to burn everything in the village. Chief Black Kettle was a man of peace. Even though he had endured and survived the Sand Creek Massacre, a similar attack by Custer on a tribe which occurred in Colorado, Chief Black Kettle still wanted peace with the whites. The visit to this site was educational, and sad as Josephine put it.
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