9. Comanche
The Comanche viewed the Civil War as a battle between the encroaching white settlers and their soldiers. For them, the withdrawal of blue-coated American cavalry, as well as the Texas Rangers across much of what had been the lands they formerly roamed was an opportunity to reclaim them. During the American Civil War, the region once known as the Comancheria became the scene of destruction and death. Joined by the Kiowa and Kickapoo, the Comanche managed to push what had been the frontier back over 150 miles. White settlements were abandoned, farms raided and destroyed.
For the Comanche and their allies, it mattered not at all what were the political views of the settlers they attacked. During the war, they exacted revenge on the tribes which had supported the white settlers, fighting Texas militia and rangers, Indians supporting both the Confederacy and the Union, and volunteering US Army troops. They raided wagon trains bound for Santa Fe, and were involved in engagements both large and small. By 1863, territorial governors in the western plains responded to pleas from settlers and raised Union regiments in New Mexico and Colorado. Among their leaders were Christopher “Kit” Carson and General James H. Carleton.