What would it have been like to experience a Comanche raid? Accounts from settlers on the Texas frontier paint a terrifying picture. The Comanche had a reputation as the most brutal of all the Native American Tribes. In the centuries prior to the 1800s they had inherited the horse from the Spanish and tamed them to become the supreme riders of the Great Plains. They lived entirely nomadically, hunting animals like the bison and raiding their neighbors for anything else they needed. New Spain learned of the Comanche in the 1750s, when they were massacred at San Saba. Decades later the Comanche Introduced themselves to Texans and the United States. Raids became common for those living on the frontier. A Constant threat that settlers had to understand and prepare for. In this video I discuss some of the factors behind the power of the Comanche and the experiences of settlers who had experienced raids including Nelson Lee, Herman Lehman, and Rachel Parker Plummer. VIDEO CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 00:30 Rise to Power and the San Saba Massacre 04:15 Comanche Tactics and Witnessing Raids (Nelson Lee and Herman Lehman) 08:38 The Parker Fort Massacre 15:46 Legacy of Raids, Rachel Plummer, and the Parkers RESOURCES Comanches: A History of a People- T.R. Fehrenbach (Book) Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne (Book) Fort Parker Fort Parker State Park Indian Depredations in Texas by J.W. Wilbarger (Book) Life on the Frontier #:~:text=Rich soils and open spaces,of settlers throughout the 1800s. Nine Years Among the Indians by Herman Lehman (Book) Three Years Among the Comanches by Nelson Lee (Book) Tragedy and Triumph by Don Smart 21 Months a Captive by Rachel Plummer and James Parker (Book)
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