Chatto was a Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 Apache

Apache

Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...

 subchief who later became an Apache Scout

Apache scouts

The Apache Scouts were part of the United States Army Indian Scouts, most of their service was during the Apache Wars up to 1886 though the last scout retired in 1947. The Apache scouts were the eyes and ears of the United States military and sometimes the cultural translators for the various...

. Following his service as a scout he was taken prisoner after being coerced to travel to Washington, D.C. Chatto was imprisoned in St. Augustine

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 along with almost 500 other Apache at Fort Marion

Castillo de San Marcos

The Castillo de San Marcos site is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. It is located in the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Construction was begun in 1672 by the Spanish when Florida was a Spanish territory. During the twenty year period of British possession from 1763 until 1784, the...

.

The McComas massacre was the name given to an incident which occurred in southwestern New Mexico Territory

New Mexico Territory

thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 on the afternoon of March 28, 1883. Former Union soldier and a prior judge, Hamilton C. McComas, his wife Juniatta and six-year-old son Charlie were attacked by a Chiricahua war party led by Chatto while on the road between Silver City

Silver City, New Mexico

Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

 and Lordsburg

Lordsburg, New Mexico

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 3,379 people, 1,220 households, and 854 families residing in the city. The population density was 403.1 people per square mile . There were 1,414 housing units at an average density of 168.7 per square mile...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. McComas died of gunshot wounds and his wife was killed by a blow to the head. The fate of Charlie was never ascertained as there were a variety of conflicting reports. The incident made national headlines at the time being reported in newspapers across the country.