The Modoc War – The Only Indian War Which Resulted In The Death Of A U.S. Brigadier General

Kintpuash, Modoc for “Strikes the water brashly” was the leader of the Modocs who decided to disobey their chief and to leave the reservation in Oregon.

Modoc Indians, whom had a chief who agreed to relocate their tribe from the Tule Lake area in Northeastern California to a reservation in southern Oregon, were resentful of their ill treatment over the course of six years. Many young warriors, left the reservation, and theatended to fight settlers and the U.S. Military for their right to return to the land that they left. The Modoc War began when peace commissioners rejected a request to have the reservation moved back to Tule Lake, California. This rejection of peace terms promoted Kintpuash and other Modocs to kill Bridager General Edward Canby, and to kill and wound two other peace commissioners at the site of Canby Cross.