The Battle of the Adobe Walls Presented by Luke Haag

This remarkable long shot, estimated to be at a distance on the order of 1300 yards, took place on the third day of an attack of 28 men and one woman by a combined group of Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians with an estimated strength of 700 warriors lead by Quanah Parker. The location was a remote group of adobe buildings in the Texas Panhandle. On the first day of the attack, June 27, 1874, the Indians killed all the defender’s horses and cut off their access to water. A number of the white men at “The Walls” were buffalo hunters armed with “Big Fifty” Sharps- the biggest, most powerful gun of the day. Billy Dixon’s long shot, witnessed by both participants, has been credited with bringing this one-sided battle to an end when the Indians realized they could be killed by shots fired at distances where the shooter was barely visible.

A few months later that same year, Billy Dixon, while employed as a scout for the U.S. Army and in the company of another scout along with 4 enlisted men, were attacked by a group of Comanche and Kiowa Indians estimated to number 125 to 150 warriors. They were on an open prairie in the Texas Panhandle with no immediate means of cover. Their only hope of survival was a shallow Buffalo wallow nearby. Billy Dixon’s personal courage and marksmanship skills with his Sharps rifle once again prevailed. He was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor as a result of this engagement.

Presenter Lucien C. “Luke” Haag is a former Criminalist and Technical Director of the Phoenix Crime Laboratory [1965-1982] with over 57 years’ experience in the field of criminalistics and forensic firearm examinations. Presently he is an independent forensic consultant with his own company, Forensic Science Services, Inc. in Carefree, Arizona. Luke Haag has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley with subsequent forensic training at California State University at Long Beach, Indiana University, Arizona State University, McCrone Research Institute, the FBI Laboratory and the FBI Forensic Training Facility at Quantico, VA.

Program Info:

Thursday, December 12 | 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
FREE for Museum Members (Members, click here to log-in and procure tickets)
FREE with Museum Admission
$8 for just the program