The Texas Tonkawas

by Stanley S. McGowen Ph.D

Overview

This new study revolves around the Tonkawa tribe in the history of the Lone Star State and the greater Southwest. The chronological account allows readers to understand its triumphs and struggles over the course of a century or more, and places the story in a larger historical narrative of shifting alliances, cultural encounters and economic opportunity. From a coalition with the Lipan Apaches to the incorporation of Tonkawa scouts in the U.S. Army during the late nineteenth century, the author tells the story of these often overlooked people. 

By highlighting the role of the Tonkawas, Dr. McGowen provides a fresh appreciation of their influence in frontier history and renders their ultimate fate all the more heartbreaking.

This book made possible in part by a grant from Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781933337920
Publisher:	State House/McWhiney Foundation Press
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	238
Sales rank:	644,106
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

STANLEY S. McGOWEN received his Ph.D. in history from Texas Christian University. He is a retired U.S. Army officer and university professor. He is also the author of Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke: The First Texas Cavalry in the Civil War published by Texas A & M University Press.

Table of Contents

List of Images ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction xvii

1 Pre-Columbian Contact t0 1800 1

2 Tonkawa Customs and Society 15

3 Shifting Alliances, 1800-1836 29

4 Tonkawas and Texians, 1830-1845 40

5 Wards of the U.S. Government, Frontier Scouts, and First Removal, 1846-1859 56

6 The C.S.A., Massacre, and Return to Texas, 1860-1867 73

7 U.S. Army Scouts and Guides, 1867-1872 87

8 Frontier Scouts and the Red River Wars, 1873-1875 111

9 Destitution, A New Reservation, and a New Century 132

10 Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Tonkawas 157

Notes 165

Bibliography 191

Index 203