Geronimo Surrenders: Apache Resistance Ends
Geronimo, the most feared Apache leader in the American Southwest, surrendered to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, on September 4, 1886, ending the last significant armed resistance by Native Americans against the United States government. Geronimo had been fighting since the 1850s, leading a band that never numbered more than 38 warriors but tied down 5,000 U.S. troops and 3,000 Mexican soldiers. His surrender marked the end of the Apache Wars and the Indian Wars more broadly. Geronimo and his followers were sent as prisoners of war to Florida, then Alabama, then Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was never allowed to return to Arizona. He died in 1909 at Fort Sill, still technically a prisoner of war.
September 4, 1886
140 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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