10 Reasons Why Apache Chief Cochise Is One Of History's Biggest Badasses

Cochise joined an attack in Sonora, Mexico. This battle happened in what is now [unspecified location].Sonora, MexicoThis land belonged to the Apaches. Spanish settlers took it by 1847. During the Mexican American War, a band of Chiricahua Apaches attacked a settlement there. This shows how much the colonists grabbed land and how far the Apaches would go to keep their ancestral spaces.

In 1860, Cochise faced false accusations of raiding a ranch on former Apache land owned by John Ward.Colonialist John WardCochise allegedly kidnapped Ward's adopted son, Felix Tellaz. Ward did not witness the raid but told the U.S. government he thought Cochise led the attack and kidnapping. Ward asked the U.S. Army to rescue Felix and arrest Cochise and his men for the crime.

The army sent troops to the area. Lieutenant George Bascom led them. Bascom promised Cochise and his men food and entertainment. This was a peace offering. Apache who came were arrested fast. Cochise claimed innocence. He refused punishment for actions he did not commit. Night arrived. He cut a hole in their tent and escaped.

Years later,Felix Tellaz confirmedhe was kidnapped by Western Apaches, not Cochise.

After facing false accusations about raiding John Ward's ranch and kidnapping his adopted son, Cochise lost trust in the U.S. government and western settlers. Seeking revenge, he began rebelling to drive them out of Apache territory. One early action involvedrobbing a stage coach, which carried supplies west. Only one thing is known about this robbery: Cochise kidnapped a coach employee.

Cochise escaped Lieutenant Bascom by cutting a hole in a tent. However, five family members remained Bascom's captives. Cochiseattacked a nearby freight trainas it passed through Apache territory. He killed nearly everyone on board, except for three Americans he held for ransom in exchange for the prisoners Bascom held. When Bascom refused to return his family, Cochise tortured the Americans to death. Bascom then hanged Cochise's brother and two nephews.

On September 27, 1861, Cochise and his tribesmen attacked and raided a mining town.They attacked and raided a mining town.in present-day New Mexico. Pinos Altos was one of the few places still held by settlers because most fled due to Apache tactics. The miners fought back, creating a bloody fight between the groups. Neither side won, but Cochise felt he successfully pushed the colonists away.

After Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, created the Territory of Arizona in 1862, the Apaches gained more land.The First Battle of Dragoon SpringsThe group of Apaches, Cochise and Francisco, with 100 warriors, ambushed a small group of Confederate Arizona Rangers. The Rangers rode horses, moving prisoners to a Texas prison camp. Four men died in this fight: three Rangers and one Mexican stock herder who rode with them.

The Second Battle of Dragoon SpringsThis battle happened on May 9, 1862. To get revenge for the first battle, where four men died, Confederate Captain Sherrod Hunter sent his men after the Apaches. Cochise and his men took some Confederate livestock after the first battle, and the captain wanted it back. This fight killed five Apaches.

The Battle of Apache PassIn 1862, Cochise, his father-in-law Mangas Coloradas, and 500 men tried to stop the California Volunteer Infantry from entering the New Mexico Territory. The U.S. Army's new howitzer artillery stopped the Apache from succeeding.

Shortly after the battle, General Carleton, now in charge of New Mexico's land, luredMangas ColoradasHe lured Mangas Coloradas into his camp by pretending to offer a truce. His men brutally killed Coloradas, increasing Cochise's hatred for the U.S. government.

After the U.S. Civil War ended, the people living on Apache lands changed. Before and during the war, the settlers' makeup shifted.Cochise and his menThey scared off many colonists. Afterward, they returned, starting new ranches and settlements. They were well armed and less afraid of Cochise's tactics.

Cochise refused to quit without a fight. He changed his methods, attacking new settlements on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border using guerrilla tactics.

In 1872, the U.S. government offered Cochise a large reservationCochise accepted the offer to stop fighting in Arizona. He reportedly said, "The white man and the Indian are to drink of the same water, eat of the same bread, and be at peace."

Cochise died of natural causes in 1874. This happened two years after the Chiricahua Reservation was created. His burial spot remains unknown, though it is in the Cochise Stronghold area of the Dragoon Mountains.