Old Northwest War Military Campaign
The Old Northwest War erupted between 1785 and 1795 as settlers pushed into the “Old Northwest Territory” in present-day Ohio and Indiana.
Also known as the Ohio ... View MoreOld Northwest War Military Campaign
The Old Northwest War erupted between 1785 and 1795 as settlers pushed into the “Old Northwest Territory” in present-day Ohio and Indiana.
Also known as the Ohio War and Little Turtle’s War, the confrontation occurred over control of the Northwest Territory between the United States and a confederation of numerous Native American tribes, with support from the British.
Called the Miami Campaign by the U.S. Military, the soldiers pushed back as hostile Indians, chiefly the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, Shawnee, and others, resisted this expansion. Three separate expeditions of military forces were soon sent in to remove this obstacle to Westward Expansion.
In the fall of 1790, a force of 320 regular army troops, along with 1,000 Kentucky and Pennsylvania militiamen led by Brigadier General Josiah Harmar, moved north from Fort Washington in present-day Cincinnati, Ohio, but were severely defeated in two separate engagements on October 18 and 22 in the vicinity of present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. These troops, consisting primarily of untrained recruits and volunteer militiamen, suffered about 1,000 killed, a number far higher than their opponents. This defeat was among the worst ever suffered in the history of the U.S. Army.
Congress reacted to these losses by doubling the authorized strength of the Regular Army in 1792 and appointed “Mad” Anthony Wayne to lead the troops. In the Spring of 1793, Wayne reorganized the soldiers and began extensive training programs At Fort Washington. After an organized campaign up the Great Miami and Maumee river valleys in western Ohio Country, he led his men to a decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers near the southwestern shore of Lake Erie in 1794. More battles occurred in the following months until the Indians were defeated and their villages destroyed.
Afterward, the defeated tribes were forced to cede extensive territory, including much of present-day Ohio, in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795. The Jay Treaty in the same year also arranged for the cession of British Great Lakes outposts on the great U.S. territory.
The United States Army considers the Northwest War the first of the United States Indian Wars.
An October 1775 Birthday for the Continental Navy
Unity vs. Margaretta, 12 June 1775 by Robert Lambdin (Naval History and Heritage Command). Margaretta was a Royal Navy vessel captured off Machias, t... View MoreAn October 1775 Birthday for the Continental Navy
Unity vs. Margaretta, 12 June 1775 by Robert Lambdin (Naval History and Heritage Command). Margaretta was a Royal Navy vessel captured off Machias, then part of Massachusetts, but now in Maine. The image illustrates the relatively small sizes of vessels involved in creating the early American navy.
During the first six months of the American rebellion, the colonies inched toward some means of dealing with Britain’s naval superiority. Over the summer, the Americans had already waged a sort of whaleboat war among the estuaries and islands around Boston, mainly to deprive the British army couped up there of forage and fodder. Efforts escalated as the war continued. A confrontation between small Royal Navy vessels and the Massachusetts town of Machias over the summer serendipitously resulted in a small Massachusetts Navy created by capture in June 1775.[1] In June, Rhode Island’s General Assembly voted to charter two ships and outfit them for naval operations to protect the colony’s trade, essentially by contesting the Royal Navy’s control of Narragansett Bay.[2] In September, Colonel John Glover in the Continental Army offered his fishing schooner, Hannah, as a charter to wage war on the sea. George Washington naturally accepted, limiting its operations to capturing unarmed supply ships serving the British army.[3] The army had essentially created its own navy out of necessity.
The explicit question of coordinating continental naval power fell to the Continental Congress on Tuesday, October 3, when a delegate from Rhode Island, announced his colony’s conclusion that “the building and equipping of an American fleet, as soon as possible, would greatly and essentially conduce to the preservation of the lives, liberty and property of the good people of these Colonies and therefore instruct their delegates to use their whole influence at the ensuing congress for building at the Continental expence a fleet of sufficient force for the protection of these colonies, and for employing them in such a manner and places as will most effectually annoy our enemies, and contribute to the common defense of these colonies.”[4] At the time, Congress was preoccupied with governing colonial trade, both internal and external, so it decided to put off consideration of Rhode Island’s proposal until “Friday next.” (The primary trade question was how to implement the non-importation and exportation agreements, how the costs of non-exports would be spread across society, and how the agreements might be loosened to facilitate the importation of gunpowder, arms, and munitions.)
The Congress kept discussing trade issues throughout the week without resolving much. But, naval matters kept intruding. On Thursday, Congress received and reviewed a packet of letters from London, one of which included the news that two vessels had departed England carrying munitions to Canada.[5] It quickly appointed a committee of three men to determine a course of action—John Langdon of New Hampshire, Silas Deane of Connecticut, and John Adams of Massachusetts. New Englanders all, they were already on record supporting moves to create a Continental Navy.[6]
Surprisingly, there was some opposition to creating the committee in the first place. Historiography on the debate is, unfortunately, vague. The Journals of the Continental Congress themselves do not rehash debates, unsurprising since they focus almost entirely on actions, motions made, and resolutions agreed to. Instead, they tell us that a committee was appointed, its report considered, and the actions Congress took as a result. The substance of the report or any controversy it sparked are left unspoken. Historians instead turn to John Adams and his notes on the positions taken by various delegates.[7] Their original publication in the American Archives indicated the debate over a navy took place during consideration of the committee intended to develop courses of action for dealing with the two Canada-bound British cargo vessels, suggesting debate over the committee served as a surrogate for wider debate over the creation of a navy.
According to Adams, Samuel Chase of Maryland thought, “It is the maddest idea in the world to think of building an American fleet…we should mortgage the whole Continent.”[8] Georgia’s John Zubly, not yet willing to consider separation from Britain, agreed that an American fleet would be extravagant, but conceded it would be necessary if the plans of “some gentlemen were to take place.” Presumably, he was referring to the more aggressively minded rebels like John and Sam Adams, who had already expressed their sentiments about independence in private. Silas Deane, who had shared his support for a navy of some sort with John Adams, desired a serious debate on the creation of a navy. Although Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina held similar sentiments, he opposed Rhode Island’s proposal as overly ambitious and argued for studying the problem before committing to a course of action. He was joined by fellow South Carolinian John Rutledge, who proposed forming a committee to study the larger problem of naval power and declined expressing an opinion about a navy until there was a formal structure he could consider. Zubly proposed leaving it to Rhode Island to propose something more specific, that colony having taken the lead on the matter. John Adams, perhaps recognizing that the debate’s momentum was moving in the wrong direction, attempted to bring things back to the topic at hand: a decision about how to react to the reports of two British cargo vessels carrying arms and munitions to Canada. With that, Congress decided against appointing a committee to develop a comprehensive proposal for a navy, instead moving on to appoint a committee on intercepting the cargo vessels.[9]
That committee quickly reported out, and Congress adopted a resolution to recommend to General George Washington that he request Massachusetts to place its tiny new navy under the general’s command for the purpose of intercepting British cargo ships and, similarly, that Rhode Island and Connecticut would be directed to do the same. In short, the Continental Congress put off Rhode Island’s recommendation to build a Continental Navy and instead ordered Washington to co-opt colony navies for the purposes of intercepting unarmed British shipping.[10] As President of the Congress, John Hancock quickly passed on the guidance to Washington, clarifying that the master, officers, and seamen crewing such ships would be entitled to prize money and that the Congress would pay for their service and indemnify ship owners against the financial risks.[11] It was a compromise.
The question of creating a continental navy would not die, however. Congress began on Friday, October 13, with further discussions on trade. That inexhaustible subject came to a brief halt when Washington’s response to Hancock’s letter of October 5 arrived and updated the Congress on how he was implementing his instructions. The Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army confessed that he had already armed some ships for the very purposes of intercepting British cargo vessels—this was a reference to Hannah—and was in the process of outfitting more when Hancock’s letter arrived in Cambridge. (Washington’s letter was dated October 12 and arrived in Congressional hands the next day; it is not clear why it took a week for Hancock’s October 5 letter to arrive in Cambridge and prompt a reply.) Washington also updated Congress that ships from Connecticut and Rhode Island were unavailable, but that he would make every effort to follow Congressional guidance with those ships he was acquiring for the Continental Army.[12] In a separate letter to his brother John, Washington referred to these vessels as “privateers,” which, strictly speaking, they were not.[13] Although they might be leased, they were taken into Continental Army service and crewed by army officers and soldiers. While prize money would be available to the officers and crew for any cargo they captured, the Continental Army had essentially indemnified ship owners against risk should the vessels be lost.
General Washington’s actions prompted Congress to revisit the question of a continental navy, since the army commander-in-chief had, in effect, already created one. The earlier attempt to leave the burden of a navy to individual colonies was effectively rendered moot by Washington’s actions. So, the Congress returned to the committee report crafted earlier by Langdon, Deane, and Adams. After some debate, it resolved “That a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted with all possible dispatch, for a cruise of three months, and that the commander be instructed to cruise eastward, for intercepting such transports as may be laden with warlike stores and other supplies for our enemies, and for such other purposes as the Congress shall direct.” Then it resolved to appoint a committee of three men to prepare an estimate of the expense and “lay the same before Congress, and to contract with proper persons to fit out the vessel.”[14] The grammatical construction of the resolution is odd, since it appears to decide to outfit a ship before determining the cost, which would be reported to Congress as the committee entered into contracts to fit out the ship. The resolution became odder still when in the very next sentence, it resolved to fit out a second, identical ship, while also receiving a report from the aforementioned committee about the proper kind of vessel to acquire and an estimate of the expense. The language bears all the hallmarks of a compromise being developed in real time as the resolution was recorded. In any event, this was not strictly an ex post facto endorsement of the actions Washington had already undertaken. First, the mission was broader than the earlier focus on two cargo ships bound for Canada. Second, these two new vessels would be directed by Congress, not George Washington and the Continental Army. Third, by creating a new committee, Congress would undertake the outfitting of the ships itself, again not deferring to Washington. (Langdon and Deane again were appointed to this new committee, but Southernor Christopher Gadsden replaced John Adams.)
Thus, the Continental Navy was born on October 13, 1775.
[1] Nathan Miller, Sea of Glory: A Naval History of the American Revolution (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1974), 30-35.
[2] https://emergingrevolutionarywar.org/2025/06/05/captain-james-wallaces-tumultuous-june-1775-in-narragansett-bay/
[3] “George Washington’s Instructions to Captain Nicholson Broughton, 2 Sept. 1775,” in William Bell Clark, ed., Naval Documents of the American Revolution, Volume I, 1287-1289. Hereafter NDAR, Volume, Page; William M. Fowler, Jr., Rebels Under Sail: The American Navy during the Revolution (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1976), 28-29.
[4] Library of Congress, Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, September 21 – December 30, 1775, Volume III (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1905), 274; Tim McGrath, Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America’s Revolution at Sea (New York: NAL Caliber, 2014), 16-17; Miller, Sea of Glory, 41. The Journals of the Continental Congress themselves are silent on who raised Rhode Island’s instructions to its delegates. McGrath believes it was Hopkins. Miller thought it might be Samuel Ward. Hopkins was a leading proponent of a navy and engaged in the debate that ensued, so we can speculate that he the more likely candidate.
[5] Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, III, 278.
[6] Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, III, 277, note 1.
[7] Miller, Sea of Glory, 43; McGrath, Give Me a Fast Ship, 18-19.
[8] The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, Vo. II (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1850), 463. These are Adams’ words as no verbatim transcript of the debate exists.
[9] Ibid; Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, III, 278. Historians generally tie Adams’ notes on the naval debate to discussions on October 5 about intercepting the Canada-bound cargo ships and the original October 3 Rhode Island proposal to create a navy. However, Adams’ notes make more sense in the context of a subsequent debate on October 13 that actually resulted in creation of a two-ship navy. The October 13 resolution more closely tracked with the topics Adams described in the debate, whereas the substance of the debate veered considerably away from the immediate task and resolutions before Congress on October 5. To complicate matters further, Charles Francis Adams, John’s grandson, who compiled and edited the work, placed the debate on Saturday, October 7, after Congress had already resolved to rely on Massachusetts and Rhode Island to intercept the cargo ships and Hancock had communicated Congressional guidance to Washington. In all likelihood, Adams’ notes should not be read as a real time debate, but as his effort to capture the positions of various delegate over time when naval issues were discussed on several occasions that October.
[10] Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, III, 279.
[11] “John Hancock to George Washington, 5 October 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0099. ;
[12] “George Washington to John Hancock, Octr 12th 1775,” NDAR, II, 415. Washington’s inquiries to Connecticut and Rhode Island may explain the delay in his response to Hancock’s October 4 letter.
[13] “George Washington to John Augustine Washington October 13, 1775,” NDAR, II, 436.
[14] Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, III, 293.
Pueblo Revolt — Popé's Rebellion that Forced the Spanish Out of New Mexico 1680
The Pueblo Revolt (1680) was an uprising by the Pueblo People against the Spanish in the Province of New Mexico. The Pu... View MorePueblo Revolt — Popé's Rebellion that Forced the Spanish Out of New Mexico 1680
The Pueblo Revolt (1680) was an uprising by the Pueblo People against the Spanish in the Province of New Mexico. The Pueblos successfully drove the Spanish from the province and regained control of the territory.
What was the Pueblo Revolt?
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 — also known as Popé’s Rebellion — was an uprising by the Pueblo People, led by a Medicine Man named Popé, against the Spanish in the Province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, or New Mexico. The Pueblos successfully drove the Spanish from the province and regained control of the territory for the next 12 years.
The Pueblo People
According to Pueblo tradition, their ancestors — the Anasazi — came from the North and traveled South, following herds of animals, including mastodons and pre-historic bison. They hunted with Atlats — long spears.
When the animals were hunted to extinction, the Pueblos learned to live off of the land, growing crops and weaving cloth from plant fibers. Around 700 A.D., they were experts at making pottery and baskets. By 800 A.D., they adopted the architectural style they are famous for.
The buildings were massive structures built with adobe bricks made from sand, clay, and straw or grass. They were made up of many rooms that were joined together and had ceremonial chambers called “kivas.” The first buildings were one story tall and were built into the sides of mountains and overlooked the fields where they grew crops and raised livestock. Over time, they expanded to multiple stories.
Near the end of the 13th Century, the Anasazi left their dwellings and moved into the desert and the Rio Grande Valley, where they established new settlements, which exposed them to nomadic, warlike Indian tribes, like the Apache, Navajo, and Ute.
It was in that region where the Spanish found the Pueblo People in the 16th Century.
Early Spanish Expeditions into Pueblo Homelands
After the Spanish conquered Mexico in 1521, Cabeza de Vaca explored the present-day American Southwest in the 1530s.
Marcos Expedition
In 1539, the first Viceroy of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, sent an expedition to scout the region, called Cibola, to see if the Spanish should colonize it. The expedition was led by Fray Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan Priest.
The Marcos Expedition was led by a slave named Estevanico and encountered Zufii Pueblos in the desert, in present-day western New Mexico. The encounter ended in violence when Estevanico apparently offended the Zuni, and they killed him.
Marcos returned to Mexico and reported he found a city with “house doors studded with jewels, the streets lined with the shops of silversmiths” and there were six more cities like it.
Coronado Expedition
Viceroy Mendoza responded to the information by sending another expedition into the region in 1540. This one was led by Francisco de Coronado, Governor of the Province of New Galicia, in North Mexico.
Marcos accompanied Coranoado as a guide. When they arrived at the Zuni village, Coronado was furious. The condition of the village was nothing like what Marcos had described in his reports. Coronado wrote to Viceroy Mendoza, saying the “priest has not told the truth in a single thing he said.”
The expedition was intended to be peaceful, but the Zuni were shocked and scared by the horses the Spanish rode on. They warned the Spanish to keep the horses away from them. Unfortunately, the Spanish refused and moved closer to the village.
The Zuni responded by sounding an alarm and shooting arrows at the Spanish. The Spanish charged the village and routed the Zuni, who took refuge in their homes. The Spanish ransacked the Zuni storehouses and took the food they could find.
In the aftermath of the incident, the Zuni sent messages to the other villages, warning them about the powerful Spanish. Chiefs from some of the villages responded by traveling to meet with the Spanish and give them gifts to appease them, because they were afraid they were gods that were foretold of in Pueblo mythology.
Tiguex Massacres
Coronado moved into the Rio Grande Region, which the Pueblo called “Tiguex.” At the village of Alcanfor, they forced the residents to leave and then used it for their winter headquarters. By then, the Pueblos understood the Spanish were mortal, not gods.
The Spanish treated the Tigua Pueblos with brutality, which led some of the settlements to rise up in December. The fighting lasted three months and the Spanish carried out brutal attacks on various settlements, destroying them and killing inhabitants.
Eventually, the Tigua left the region and moved to the North, where they found refuge in other villages.
Expedition to Quivira
By the Spring of 1541, Coronado had established authority over the Rio Grande Region. He moved northeast, into the plains, in search of a place called “Quivira,” which was supposed to be plentiful with gold and riches.
Quivira was located in present-day Kansas and was nothing more than a collection of villages populated by the Wichita Indians. Frustrated, Coradona returned to Tiguex, where he stayed for the winter, before returning to Mexico.
The disappointing outcome of the campaign led Spanish officials to ignore the region for roughly 40 years and the Pueblo slowly returned to the settlements in Tiguex and reestablished their cultural and religious traditions in their ancestral lands.
The Spanish Resume Interest in the American Southwest
In July 1582, a small expedition was led by three Franciscan Friars into Tiquex, which was called New Mexico by then. When they encountered the Pueblo, they found they were interested in trading with them for animals and goods. One of the priests returned to Mexico to report on the situation and the other two eventually settled among the Pueblo for the purpose of converting them to Christianity.
Another expedition returned to Tiguex in 1583 and found the two priests were dead. They had been killed and their possessions stolen by the Pueblos.
The expedition fought with the Pueblos before returning to Mexico. When they arrived in Mexico, the stories they told about New Mexico inspired others to follow in their footsteps, searching for glory and adventure.
Sosa’s Colony
In 1590, one of them, Caspar Castaño de Sosa, Lieutenant Governor of the province of Nuevo Leon, organized a colonizing expedition and marched to Tiguex. However, Sosa was acting on his own, without permission from the government.
The expedition encountered the Pueblos without incident. Sosa sent a message to Mexico City, informing the government he had established a new colony. However, the government sent a military force to Tiguex. When it arrived, Sosa was arrested, and the settlement was broken up. Later, Castaño de Sosa was exiled to China, where he eventually died.
Over the course of the next eight years, a small number of Spanish expeditions traveled into the region, but none were able to take control.
Oñate’s Expedition of 1598
Finally, in 1598, the government decided to take control of New Mexico and Don Juan de Oñate led a large expedition into the region. Oñate’s expedition was large and included soldiers and their families, Franciscan Friars, and thousands of head of livestock.
Although Oñate sought gold and silver in the region, the priests intended to convert the Pueblo People to Christianity.
On April 30, he stopped under a grove of trees and declared possession of the territory for Spain. The site where he made his declaration is near present-day Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In the summer, Oñate went to the village of Ohkay Owingeh. He renamed Ohkay Owingeh, calling it San Juan Bautista. Later it was known as San Juan de los Caballeros.
Oñate decided to make Yungé Owingeh the capital of New Mexico. He moved the members of his expedition there and forced the residents of Yungé Owingeh to move to Ohkay Owingeh.
He called the new capital San Gabriel de Yungé. The Spanish built new homes, a fort, and a church, and modernized the existing pueblo to suit their needs. The first Catholic Mass was held on September 8.
Soon after, Oñate visited nearby villages, demanding their allegiance and demonstrating Catholic rituals. The chiefs agreed to allow the priests to visit the villages and tell their people about Christianity.
Acoma Massacre
While the missionary work was underway, Oñate went in search of gold. While he was gone, a group of Spanish troops visited the Acoma Pueblo, which was on top of a high mesa.
There was a misunderstanding and the people attacked the troops, which were under the command of Oñate’s nephew, Juan de Zaldiva. Many of the Spanish were killed, including Zaldiva, and the survivors fled for their lives. When they returned to their settlement, they prepared defenses, but no attack came.
Oñate returned in December and was furious over the incident at Acoma. He declared war on the village and led an attack on Acoma. He arrived on January 21 and the battle lasted for three days, ending when the Spanish overwhelmed the Acomas and burned the town. It is estimated that 600-800 Pueblo died at Acoma.
About three weeks later, Oñate levied more punishments on the Acomas. He ordered the women and children to be taken as slaves and had the right foot removed from every man over the age of 25.
In the wake of the Acoma Massacre, hostilities ended. However, the horrible treatment of the Acoma Pueblo eventually led to Oñate being removed from power and stripped of his titles by the Spanish Crown. However, he appealed and was cleared of charges, returning to Spain where he lived for the rest of his life.
Santa Fe Becomes the Capital of New Mexico
In 1609, Pedro de Peralta moved the capital of New Mexico to Santa Fe. The following year, construction started on the Palace of the Governors.
Pueblo Revolt Causes
The Pueblo were already wary of the Spanish because of events like the Tiguex Massacres and the Acoma Massacre. However, the Spanish continued to enforce their labor system and religious practices on the Pueblo.
Oppression of the Pueblo People
The Spanish continued to oppress the Pueblo People, forcing them to work, demanding they pay taxes, and insisting they convert to Christianity.
The territorial governors manipulated the system by granting Encomiendas to supporters, who forced the Pueblos to work in the fields and pay tribute to the Encomendros. In turn, the Ecomenderos paid tribute to the governors.
As part of the Spanish Mission System, the Franciscan Friars founded missions throughout New Mexico. Although some Pueblo converted to Christianity, many of them remained true to their traditional religious beliefs and practices. However, the Friars held back from punishing the Pueblo as long as they attended Mass and paid tribute to the Friars.
Despite the ongoing clash between culture and religion, there was little violence. This was due in part to the fact the Pueblo needed the Spanish to protect them against the Apache and Navajo.
The attacks from the nomadic Indian tribes increased in the 1670s, as New Mexico suffered from a severe drought. Spanish troops were unable to deal with all of the attacks, which troubled the Pueblo.
Further complicating their relationship was the fact the Spanish were spreading disease among the Pueblo. Dissatisfied with Spanish rule, Pueblo religious leaders — Medicine Men — advocated for a return to the traditional ways of their ancestors
Around this time, a Tewa Pueblo called Popé rose to prominence, resisting Spanish political and religious authority.
Pueblo Religious Practices Outlawed
Friar Alonso de Posada responded by outlawing Pueblo religious ceremonies. He also confiscated religious artifacts and had them burned. Finally, he threatened to have them put to death if they were caught practicing their religion.
In 1675, nearly 50 Pueblo men were found practicing their religion and were accused of witchcraft, including Popé. Governor Juan Francisco Treviño had them arrested. Three were hanged, one committed suicide and the rest were whipped in public and then sent to prison.
Outraged by the Governor’s actions, 70 Pueblo — who had converted to Christianity — marched toward Santa Fe, which was unprotected, because Treviño’s troops were gone, fighting the Apache. They threatened to attack Santa Fe unless Treviño freed the prisoners.
Treviño spoke with his advisors and released the prisoners, including Popé.
The Plan of the Pueblo Revolt
Popé was determined to retake New Mexico from the Spanish. He traveled to various villages, meeting with Medicine Men and Chiefs, many of whom agreed to join him.
It took time, but a plan was created that involved many different villages. Similar to Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763, the people living in the villages would attack the Spanish on the same day. The Pueblos would execute the Spanish missionaries, destroy the missions, and execute any Spanish who refused to leave New Mexico.
According to some accounts, part of the plan included informing the Spanish of the plot but giving them the wrong date for the attack.
On August 9, Governor Antonio de Otermin received messages in Santa Fe that warned an uprising was imminent and would take place on August 11. Otemin responded by sending warnings to the Spanish officials at each pueblo.
The Pueblo Revolt on August 10, 1680
The ruse worked. At 7:00 the next morning, August 10, the Pueblos living in Taos, Santa Clara, Picuri, Santa Cruz, Tewa, and other villages attacked the Spanish. Roughly half of the Friars living in the province were killed, and at least 380 Spanish — men, women, and children.
The Governor ordered everyone in Santa Fe to take shelter and sent troops out to alarm the countryside. The Spanish who survived the attacks fled to the safety of Santa Fe and Isleta where they were armed and prepared for additional attacks.
The Pueblo, who were carrying Spanish weapons and riding Spanish horses, attacked Santa Fe but were unable to take the town. The Spanish eventually pushed them back, but Pueblo reinforcements arrived, and the tide of the battle shifted. The Spanish fell back to Santa Fe, and the Pueblo laid siege to the town.
After more Pueblo reinforcements arrived the next day, they destroyed the ditch that carried water into Santa Fe and burned the church. The Spanish tried to save the church and brutal hand-to-hand fighting carried on throughout the day. As night fell, the Spanish took refuge within the walls of Santa Fe — but were without water.
Despite the lack of water, fighting resumed the next day. The Spanish were able to drive the Pueblos off but suffered heavy casualties. On August 21, Governor Antonio de Otermín ordered the Spanish to withdraw.
Roughly 3,000 Spanish people left Santa Fe and started to make their way to El Paso, in present-day Texas. In September, the survivors at Isleta also left for El Paso.
Pueblo Control of New Mexico
After the Spanish were gone, the Pueblos destroyed Spanish buildings, including homes and churches. Popé and his followers took over Santa Fe and the Pueblo maintained control of New Mexico for the next 12 years. Speaking the Spanish language was outlawed, and the use of Christian names was banned.
However, life for the Pueblo was difficult. They were dependent on the tools and amenities they enjoyed under Spanish rule. The Apache and Navajo continued their raids, and the Pueblo had trouble protecting themselves.
During their raids, the Apache took horses, which was a significant development in the West. Once they had horses, they were able to spread across the Great Plains, taking horses with them, and spreading them to other tribes. The Plains Tribes gained a new means of mobility that allowed them to combat each other and, later, attack Americans as they moved west along the Overland Trails.
Popé tried to act as the leader of the Pueblo People, but he was unpopular. However, he still remained in power and often dealt harsh punishments to his opponents. According to most accounts, Popé conducted himself much like a Spanish Governor, which was resented by the Pueblos.
The Spanish tried to retake New Mexico in 1681 and 1687. Both times, Popé raised an army and fought them off. Popé died in 1689, further weakening the grip of the Pueblo on New Mexico.
In July 1692, Spanish forces led by Governor Diego de Vargas marched into the region. They were joined by Pueblo who supported a return to Spanish rule. Pueblo leaders met with Vargas in Santa Fe on September 14, 1692. Vargas agreed to pardon Pueblo leaders, and they agreed to submit to Spanish rule.
Additional Context for the Pueblo Revolt
Pueblo — “Pueblo” is the Spanish word for “town” or “village.” The term was used to refer to the homes of Pueblo Indians, which were multi-story, attached homes, built after the style of the Anasazi, the ancestors of the Pueblo Indians. The word is used to refer to the architectural style and the people who live in Pueblos. In this article, we refer to Pueblo Villages by the name of the village or simply as “village” to help clarify if the text is referring to a group of people or a location.
Pueblo People — The Pueblo People, or “Puebloans”, were Native American Indians living in the present-day American Southwest, including New Mexico.
Spanish Conquest of the Americas — After Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain claimed much of the region, including South America, Mexico, and the American Southwest for Spain, and called it “New Spain.” The Spanish conquered and subjugated many native populations.
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt, also known as Popé’s Rebellion, took place in 1680 in the Spanish Colony of New Mexico. Led by the Pueblo leader Popé, indigenous Pueblo communities rose up in protest of Spanish colonization and religious oppression. The revolt aimed to drive the Spanish out of the region and restore the religious practices of the Pueblos. The Pueblo Revolt resulted in the temporary expulsion of Spanish authorities from New Mexico and a period of indigenous self-governance before Spanish reoccupation in 1692.
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