May 23, 1859; Graham, Texas: With thefts and killings occurring around the northern Texas reservations, such as Garland's Massacre on 27 December 1858, it did not take much for local demagogues to stir up a mob. John R. Baylor publicly circulated charges that the Comanches of the Clear Fork Reservation had committed the murders. In late May, about 500 men gathered in Jacksboro, under the command of Baylor, Peter Garland, and Allison Nelson. They planned to first attack Camp Cooper and capture its artillery, then go after the Indians, killing them or driving them out of Texas.
Although their prime target was the upper (Clear Fork) agency, the volunteers had not gotten beyond the lower (Brazos) agency when they were confronted. Capt. Innis N. Palmer of the Second Cavalry informed them that it was his duty to defend the Indians on the reserve. Reluctant to take on federal forces, Baylor's men began to move on, but not before capturing one old Indian, whom they dragged away with a rope, then killed and scalped him.
The incident spurred an attack by fifty or sixty Indians who had been watching the Texans. Soon more warriors joined them, and a running fight exploded. Participant James "Buck" Barry wrote that the battle was "carried on in regular savage style by both parties, each putting to death all the prisoners taken." The fight lasted until dark. About five Texans were killed, while the Indians lost one or two. The old Tonkawa chief Placedo lamented that it was the first time he had ever fought the whites. Many took the battle as proof that there could be no peaceful coexistence between Indians and Texans on the frontier.
