Modoc War Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lava Beds National Monument, National Park Service

Provencher, Shaun; Owens, Erica; Wilson, Doug

The Modoc War Historic District, located within Lava Beds National Monument, is set within a high elevation, semi‑arid grassland containing lava tube caves, cinder cones, spatter cones, and lava flows. The district encompasses approximately 16,764 acres within the northern half of the monument as well as three discontiguous locations: the Petroglyph Point Unit of the monument, the Caldwell Ice Caves, and Captain Jacks Ice Cave. The boundaries of the district are drawn to include a large portion of the lands where battles and events associated with the Modoc War occurred. The major battle sites encompassed by the district include the locations of the first and second Battles for Captain Jacks Stronghold and the Thomas‑Wright Battlefield. Also included are two important U.S. Army encampments, Gillems Camp and Hospital Rock, and the Modoc encampment, Captain Jacks Stronghold. The period of significance is 1872 ‑ 1873, beginning with the events at Lost River Camp that caused the Modocs to flee to the Stronghold and ending with the surrender of Captain Jack seven months later. Due to minimal development of the area since the war, the nature of the battlefield structures, and the sparse vegetation, the proposed district possesses historic integrity. The remaining landscape features are the hundreds of rock walls built during battle by both the U.S. Army and the Modocs, but also include natural rock outcroppings, caves, lava flows, and ravines that became critical defensive and offensive positions during battle. The Modoc War Cultural Landscape is nationally significant for the years 1872‑1873. The district is associated with the Modoc War of 1872‑1873, a nationally significant event in the history of Native American‑Anglo relationships, as well as the history of journalism in the United States. Sites dating to the period of significance include Gillems Camp, defensive and battle sites, and Captain Jacks Stronghold. The district is also nationally significant for its association with Captain Jack who was the principal Modoc leader during the Modoc War and a significant figure in the areas of American military history and Modoc ethnic heritage. Archeological sites in the proposed district have the potential to yield information important to the history and documentation of events associated with the Modoc War. The initial events of the Modoc War arose from U.S. Government attempts to relocate the Modocs to a reservation in southern Oregon, initially designated for the Klamaths, with whom the Modocs were unfriendly. Some of the Modocs, under the leadership of Captain Jack, resisted and fled south to the lava beds in November of 1872, where they were pursued by the U.S. Army, beginning the siege of the Modocs in Captain Jacks Stronghold‑a natural and easily defended lava‑rock formation. Arising from the period leading up to and following the five‑month “siege” of the Stronghold, 46 U.S. Army, 4 volunteers, 16 civilians, and at least 16 Modocs were killed in the hostilities.The hostilities culminated in the eventual relocation of the Modocs, the death of General Canby (the only regular Army general officer killed in the Indian Wars), and the execution of Captain Jack (and other prominent Modocs) following his capture. Considering the shortness of the war and the number of Native Americans involved, the Modoc War was the Army's most expensive “Indian War.”

Modoc War Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lava Beds National Monument, National Park Service

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