On the seventh day of a hard pursuit and with water running low, a unit of the Mounted Riflemen from Fort Bliss in Texas marched overnight to surprise a band of Mescalero Apache in their camp. The hostiles were alerted, however, and the fight went badly for the Army, with their commanding officer, Second Lieutenant Henry M. Lazelle, shot through the lungs. The troops were able to pull back but with the loss of three killed and seven wounded among the twenty-two attackers. Apache casualties were estimated as nine dead. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"The Army and the Indians," New York Times, November 18, 1859, p. 3.