Editing Kit Carson (section)

=== First Battle of Adobe Walls ===
On November 25, 1864, Carson led his forces against the southwestern tribes at the [[First Battle of Adobe Walls]] in the [[Texas Panhandle]]. Adobe Walls was an abandoned trading post that had been blown up by its inhabitants to prevent a takeover by hostile Indians. Combatants at the First Battle were the US Army and Indian scouts against Kiowas, Comanches, and Plains Apaches. It was one of the largest engagements fought on the [[Great Plains]].

The battle was the result of General Carleton's belief that Indians were responsible for the continuing attacks on settlers along the Santa Fe Trail. He wanted to punish them and brought in Carson to do the job. With most of the army engaged elsewhere during the American Civil War, the protection that the settlers sought was almost nonexistent. Carson led 260 cavalry, 75 infantry, and 72 Ute and Jicarilla Apache Army scouts. In addition, he had two mountain howitzers which were fired at the cdr<ref name="Guild 255">Guild 255</ref>

On the morning of November 25, Carson discovered and attacked a Kiowa village of 176 lodges. After destroying the village, he moved forward to Adobe Walls. Carson found other Comanche villages in the area and realized he would face a very large force of Native Americans. A Captain Pettis estimated that 1,200 to 1,400 Comanche and Kiowa began to assemble. That number would swell, according to some accounts, to an implausible 3,000.<ref>Kavanagh, Thomas W. ''The Comanches'' Lincoln: U of NE Press, 1999, pp. 472–473. In 1869, five years later, the total population of the three tribes was estimated to be 6,565, of which not more than one fourth, or about 1,600, would be adult males. Also, it is unlikely that all potential fighters were present nearby or participated.</ref> Four to five hours of battle ensued. When Carson ran low on ammunition and howitzer shells, he ordered his men to retreat to a nearby Kiowa village, where they burned the village and many fine buffalo robes. His Indian scouts killed and mutilated four elderly and weak Kiowas.<ref name="Guild 255" />

First Adobe Walls, northeast of [[Stinnett, Texas|Stinnett]] in [[Hutchinson County, Texas|Hutchinson County]], [[Texas]], was Carson's last military engagement and ended inconclusively. Three of Carson's men died, and twenty-one were wounded. More than 100 warriors lost their lives, and 200 were wounded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20190601/caprock-chronicles-kit-carson-comanche-and-kiowa-on-caprock-first-battle-of-adobe-walls|title=Caprock Chronicles: Kit Carson, the Comanche and the Kiowa on the Caprock: The first battle of Adobe Walls|newspaper=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]]|author=Chuck Lanehart|date=June 1, 2019|access-date=June 22, 2019}}</ref>

The retreat to New Mexico then began with few deaths among Carson's men. General Carleton wrote to Carson: "This brilliant affair adds another green leaf to the laurel wreath which you have so nobly won in the service of your country."<ref name="Guild 255" />