In the Spring of 1882, approximately 400 Apaches deserted the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona and took flight south to seek refuge in the Sierra Occidental Mountains of Mexico with their friend and leader, Juh. They were well armed with Winchester carbines, horses and pack animals. Their leaders were Geronimo and Loco.
This group of men, women and children were pursued by General Philip Sheridan with 600 cavalry and infantry. The U.S. Army engaged in a running battle with the Apaches as they continued south toward the Mexican border.General Sheridan was in contact with Col. Lorenzo Garcia of the Mexican Army in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. Col. Garcia positioned himself with his 100 men of the 6th Battalion and 50 recruits from the State of Sonora at a point called “Arroyo de los Alizos”, close to Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, awaiting the fleeing Indians.
His orders to his troops were to hold their fire unless engaged. At 5:00 a.m. on April 29, 1882, the Apaches were sighted by Col. Garcia. An hour later, the Apaches continued advancing on the Mexican position and a 5 hour battle ensued. The Apache lost 78 killed (men, women and children), 33 prisoners and their remaining band was dispersed. The Mexican Army suffered 23 killed and 40 wounded.
Over the next year, the U.S. press from New York to San Francisco extended praise on Col. Garcia and the Mexican Army. “For the first time in many years, we are pleased to report that the U.S. press, inspired by noble sentiments of righteousness and justice, have accorded the Mexicans the cordiality and respect which they deserve” it was mentioned in the Mexican press.
The American ranchers in Sonora, who had long suffered the loss of cattle and horses to the Apaches in periodic raids, ordered a military saber of Damascus steel from England with gold inlay and the inscription: “The North American residents of the State of Sonora, in appreciation for the brilliant success of the Mexican Army in the fight against the Indian barbarians, have the honor to offer this well deserved gift to Coronel Lorenzo Garcia, Commander of the victorious soldiers at Arroyo de Los Alizos, Abril 29, 1882.”
General Philip Sheridan, in the Union Army, was a proponent of a scorched earth policy against the Confederacy in the U.S. Civil War. He was appointed by President Grant as the head of Indian Wars, 1867-1881, and pursued a policy of extermination of the buffalo to subdue the Indians. He is buried with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Geronimo was finally confined to the Indian reservations in the U.S. after several escapes. He was sent to reservations in Alabama and, in his final days, to a reservation in Oklahoma. It was common for politicians and the general public to have their photograph taken with him in his later years stating that he was the last of the Indian warriors. He atended Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration as President in 1905. He died in 1909.
Col. Lorenzo Garcia was 37 at the time of his victory at Arroyo Los Alizos. He was promoted to General and later entered into politics in Hermosillo, Sonora. Little is known of his later life.
Juh died in November of 1883 near Casas Grandes. It has variously been reported that he fell from his horse and broke his neck, but his son also reported that he suffered a heart attack and died before medical help arrived. He was a well respected leader of the Nde’indaai Apache, Enemy People, or Southern Chiricahua Apache for many years. He was an ally of Mangas Coloradas, Cochise and particularly of Geronimo. He was a childhood friend of Geronimo and may have been related by marriage. He is little known in the U.S., spending most of his time in the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Mexico.
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