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The January 26, 1856 Battle of Seattle


In their desperation the Iron Confederation may have (there are two accounts for this battle at Seattle) agreed to send their brave warriors over the Cascade Mountains to attempt to destroy the American settlement of Seattle. This battle arose as a result of treaty’s made between the native Indians (the Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and Yakima tribes), which were made in 1855 which legally ceded their land to the United States, and set up Reservations for them. Did the Americans actually attempt to negotiate with the Iron Confederation? Probably! What followed after the treaty was signed, was approved of by the above mentioned tribes, but some Indian Nation (the Iron Confederation) refused to abide by the treaty agreements. The Battle of Seattle is mysterious, because one account says that the local natives of the Seattle region were responsible for the battle, while another says that the Indians of central and eastern Washington were responsible for fighting the battle. Since we have two accounts we will concentrate on the one account which claims that anywhere from 250 to 500 warriors from central and eastern Washington, crossed over the Cascade Mountains to attack the white American settlement of Seattle.
Before the warriors from the Iron Confederation reached the Seattle region they were snitched on by an native Indian of the Seattle region, which only helped the cause of the evil white race. After reaching the Seattle region they commenced to attack the white settlers, white soldiers and white sailors, and in fact, from reading the descriptions of the battle, the battle was fiercely fought but led to few casualties, which means both sides were using defensive protection. White casualties were only two killed, while the casualties of the Indians was unknown, but some estimated that as many as 108 with 28 of them killed. If that estimate for Indian casualties was correct, it means the whites were using their latest new guns against the Indian military force, as well as their howitzers. Great changes in firearms was occurring then, which the Indians eventually learned about and greatly feared.





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