TODAY IN HISTORY: 04 SEPTEMBER, 1886; General Nelson Miles accepts Geronimo’s surrender

Apache Geronimo

On 04 September, 1886, Geronimo surrendered to U.S. government troops and he became the last Native American warrior to formally surrender to U.S. forces which also signaled the end of the Indian Wars in the Southwest. For 30 years, the Native American warrior, Apache Geronimo had battled to protect his tribe’s homeland; however, by 1886 the Apaches were exhausted and outnumbered.

Born in 1829 and grew up in the present day Arizona and Mexico, Geronimo's tribe, the Chiricahua Apaches, clashed with non-Native settlers trying to take their land. In 1858, Geronimo’s family was murdered by Mexicans. Geronimo later led raids against Mexican and American settlers to Seek revenge for the gruesome murder of his family by Mexicans. In 1874, the U.S. government moved Geronimo and his people from their land to a reservation in east-central Arizona. Conditions on the reservation were restrictive and harsh and Geronimo and some of his followers escaped. 

For more than one decade, Geronimo and his people battled American troops and launched raids on white settlements. During this time, Geronimo and his supporters were forced back onto the reservation several times. In May 1885, Geronimo and approximately 150 followers fled one last time. They were pursued into Mexico by 5,000 U.S. troops. In March 1886, General George Crook (1829–90) forced Geronimo to surrender; however, Geronimo quickly escaped and continued his raids. General Nelson Miles (1839–1925) then took over the pursuit of Geronimo, eventually forcing him to surrender that September near Fort Bowie along the Arizona-New Mexico border. 

Geronimo and a band of Apaches were sent to Florida and then Alabama, eventually ending up at the Comanche and Kiowa reservation near Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory. There, Geronimo became a successful farmer and converted to Christianity. He participated in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in 1905. The Apache leader dictated his autobiography, published in 1906 as Geronimo’s Story of His Life.  He died on 17 February, 1909 at Fort Sill at a ripe age of 80 years.