Battle of Dove Creek

Seeing a good opportunity to flee to Mexico, a large number of Anishinabek from the Kansas region, joined with a group of other Anishinabek from Oklahoma, to attempt to escape to Mexico while their white enemy were supposedly fighting their civil war. Exactly how many Anishinabek took part in the 1864-1865 exodus to Mexico, is quite difficult to ascertain, but it may have been between 3500 and 5000. The number of Confederate soldiers who fought in the Battle of Dove Creek was near 500, while the number of Indian soldiers who fought in the January 1865 battle may have been between 500 and 700. That alone suggests that the number of Indians fleeing to Mexico may have been near 5000. The Confederates did not want the fleeing Anishinabek to reach Mexico, for they knew that the war that the Mexican Anishinabek, Seminole, and blacks were already waging on Texas would only intensify, which it did after the Indians made it to Mexico successfully. Anyway, the battle started off well for the Confederates, as they captured nearly all the horses of the fleeing Indians, but the Indians regrouped then inflicted a horrible defeat on the Confederates. Around 80 or more Confederates were killed or wounded in the January 1865 battle, while the Indian casualties were near 40.