22 December 1856; West-central Texas: Lt. Richard W. Johnson, in command of a detachment of Company F, 2nd Cavalry, from Camp Cooper, found a band of Comanches near the source of the Concho River. Johnson separated the Indians from their horses and drove the animals into the chaparral. Dismounting his men, Johnson divided them into two squads, surrounded the Indians, and closed in.
In a sharp action amid dense brush, Johnson's men killed three Indians and wounded three. The Comanches killed two soldiers, bugler Ryan Campion and Pvt. Timothy Lamb-the first 2 nd Cavalrymen to die in battle-and wounded two. Johnson collared 34 horses and recovered a Mexican captive.
