Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (Blog Hike #824)

Trails: Lower and Upper Loops
Hike Location: Washita Battlefield National Historic Site
Geographic Location: north of Sayre, OK (35.61720, -99.70005)
Length: 1.5 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: July 2020
Overview: A double loop through an 1860's Cheyenne winter camp site and battlefield.
Site Information: https://www.nps.gov/waba/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=825735
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: From Sayre, take US 283 north 23 miles to the town of Cheyenne and an intersection with SR 47.  Turn left on SR 47.  Drive SR 47 west 0.9 miles to SR 47A and turn right on SR 47A.  The parking lot for the battlefield is 1.2 miles ahead on the right.  Park in the only parking lot.

The hike: When most people think of American wars of the 1860's, only the Civil War comes to mind.  Yet on the United States' western frontier another sequence of conflicts was raging that are collectively sometimes called the American Indian Wars.  In 1868, the focus of the American Indian Wars turned to the high southern plains when the US Cavalry attempted to displace Arapaho, Comanche, and Cheyenne settlements along the Saline, Solomon, and Washita Rivers of present-day western Kansas and Oklahoma.  The Cavalry's goal was to end the threat of guerilla-style attacks on American settlers.

            One of 1868's most decisive battles occurred on November 27 at a Cheyenne winter camp along western Oklahoma's Washita River.  The US Cavalry was led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, who would later endure the infamous defeat at Little Bighorn.  The Cheyenne camp's Chief was Black Kettle, who desired to make peace with the Americans in light of the Cheyenne warriors' inferior numbers and firepower.  Although Black Kettle realized Custer's cavalry threat, a foot of snow had fallen the previous day, and Black Kettle decided not to move his winter camp to a more secure location because he knew US Army convention was not to march in bad weather.

            Unfortunately for Black Kettle and the Cheyenne, Custer was not a conventional leader, and before dawn Custer's cavalry charged across the Washita River and ambushed the village while the Cheyenne still slept.  The "battle" that ensued was more a rout than a battle, and 30-60 Cheyenne were killed including Black Kettle while the US Cavalry sustained only 1 fatality.  Less than a year later, defeat at the Battle of Summit Springs in northeastern Colorado effectively ended the Cheyenne's ability to fight.

            Today the site of Black Kettle's winter camp along the Washita River is preserved within 315-acre Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, which was established only in 1996.  The historic site is jointly managed with and completely surrounded by Black Kettle National Grassland, which is named after the Cheyenne leader.  In terms of recreation, the historic site offers only a picnic area and the short hiking trail described here, but the trail is a good one that loops through the heart of the Cheyenne camp site.

Dedication stone

        

Gate at trailhead

             From the parking area, follow the concrete trail past the large dedication stone and picnic shelter as it curves left and passes through a gate in a wooden fence.  A box just past the gate contains some very informative trail guides that do an excellent job of describing the Cheyenne camp and the battle.  Unlike the paper pamphlets available at many parks, these trail guides are bound in plastic covers and designed to be reused.  Be sure to take a guide and then return it after your hike.

            The concrete trail winds gradually downhill through sunny grassland passing many numbered posts that correspond to the interpretive guide mentioned above.  This grassland was alive with grasshoppers and anthills on the warm cloudy late July afternoon that I hiked here, a reminder of this land's harsh environment.  At 0.3 miles, the concrete trail splits at a bench and a sign indicating Lower and Upper Trails.  Angle left to begin hiking the Lower Trail.

Hiking the Lower Trail

            The Lower Trail forms a nearly flat loop through the historic Cheyenne campsite in the Washita River's floodplain.  Like any prairie river, the Washita River has changed its course many times over the past 150 years, and thus the exact location of the camp is uncertain.  One of the numbered interpretive posts marks the camp's most probable location.  A few prairie wildflowers were in bloom on my visit, but thick vegetation precluded any Washita River views.

Hiking the Upper Trail

            The concrete ends about halfway around the Lower Trail's loop, and at 0.9 miles you reach the end of the Lower Trail only about 100 feet from the bench at its beginning.  Turn left here to begin the Upper Trail.  The Upper Trail climbs slowly but methodically out of the Washita River's floodplain, and it briefly follows what appears to be an old road or railroad grade during the ascent.  More grassland walking brings you back to the wooden fence and gate at this hike's trailhead.  Turn left and retrace your steps along the concrete path to complete the hike.