First Battle of Pyramid Lake
Encyclopedia
The First Battle of Pyramid Lake took placed in 1860 as one of the opening engagements of the Paiute War
.
and Pony Express
. Chief Winnemucca
tried to discourage the other leaders from going to war. However, a mixed race Bannock
warrior named Mogoannoga circumvented the other leaders and attack a Pony Express station called Williams Station along the Carson River
near present day Lake Lahontan
. The raid was directly the result of two Paiute women being captured at the station. Nevertheless, five white settlers were killed in the attack and the Paiutes prepared for war.
at the time.
Ormsby marched to Williams Station, buried the dead, and continued north to Pyramid Lake following the Truckee River
. Two miles south of the lake 25 warriors ambushed Ormsby's men led by Numaga (Sarah Winnemucca's cousin). Ormsby retreated to a grove of cottonwoods only to find it filled with more warriors at which time the volunteer force panicked and fled. Ormsby was killed along with 76 others and nearly all of those who survived were wounded. It is possible Ormsby's men wounded 10 of the warriors.
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Paiute War
The Paiute War, also known as the Pyramid Lake War, Washoe Indian War and the Pah Ute War, was an armed conflict between Northern Paiutes allied with the Shoshone and the Bannock against the United States. It took place in 1860 in the vicinity of Pyramid Lake in the Utah Territory, now within...
.
Background
In April 1860 Paiute leaders held a council to decide a course of action over the increased settler traffic along the California TrailCalifornia Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
and Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
. Chief Winnemucca
Chief Winnemucca
Winnemucca, , was born a Shoshoni around 1820 in what would later become the Oregon Territory. He married a Kuyuidika woman, the daughter of Old Winnemucca, and thus was a Paiute himself by tribal rules...
tried to discourage the other leaders from going to war. However, a mixed race Bannock
Bannock
Bannock has more than one meaning:* Bannock , a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying* Bannock , a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon and western Idaho* Bannock County, Idaho* Bannock, Ohio...
warrior named Mogoannoga circumvented the other leaders and attack a Pony Express station called Williams Station along the Carson River
Carson River
The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long....
near present day Lake Lahontan
Lake Lahontan
Lake Lahontan was a large endorheic Pleistocene lake of modern northwestern Nevada that extended into northeastern California and southern Oregon...
. The raid was directly the result of two Paiute women being captured at the station. Nevertheless, five white settlers were killed in the attack and the Paiutes prepared for war.
Battle
William Ormsby assembled 105 armed civilians from Virginia City, Gold Hill, Carson City and Genoa to go after the Paiutes. Although Ormsby styled himself "major" the force was essentially a group of vigilantes as they had no official military organization. Ormsby had become friendly with many important Paiutes including Chief Truckee and was in fact educating Sarah WinnemuccaSarah Winnemucca
Sarah Winnemucca was a prominent female Native American activist and educator, and an influential figure in the United States' nineteenth-century Indian policies...
at the time.
Ormsby marched to Williams Station, buried the dead, and continued north to Pyramid Lake following the Truckee River
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a stream in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river is about long. Its endorheic drainage basin is about , of which about are in Nevada. The Truckee is the sole outlet of Lake Tahoe and drains part of the high Sierra Nevada, emptying into Pyramid Lake in the Great...
. Two miles south of the lake 25 warriors ambushed Ormsby's men led by Numaga (Sarah Winnemucca's cousin). Ormsby retreated to a grove of cottonwoods only to find it filled with more warriors at which time the volunteer force panicked and fled. Ormsby was killed along with 76 others and nearly all of those who survived were wounded. It is possible Ormsby's men wounded 10 of the warriors.
Aftermath
This defeat and the earlier action at Williams Station prompted area settlers to seek further help. John C. Hays came to Carson City to organize and train a volunteer army regiment. The U.S. Army also sent Regular troops from California. The U.S. Volunteers and Regulars defeated the Paiutes at the Second Battle of Pyramid LakeSecond Battle of Pyramid Lake
The Second Battle of Pyramid Lake took place in response to the U.S. defeat at the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. A well-organized force of militia and regulars, under the capable leadership of famed Texas Ranger Col. John C. “Jack” Hays, defeated the Paiute warriors under Chief Numaga...
.