Cayuse War

Cayuse War
Part of the American Indian Wars
Date November 29, 1847 – June 9, 1855 Location Oregon Country and Oregon Territory Result United States victory
Belligerents
United States	Cayuse
Commanders and leaders
Cornelius Gilliam Henry A. G. Lee James Waters	Chief Five Crows War Eagle
Strength
500 militia

The Cayuse War (1847-1855) was an armed conflict between the Cayuse people of the Northwestern United States and settlers, backed by the U.S. government. The conflict was triggered by the Whitman massacre of 1847, where the Cayuse attacked a missionary outpost in response to a deadly measles epidemic that they believed was caused by Marcus Whitman. Over the next few years, the Provisional Government of Oregon and later the United States Army battled the Native Americans east of the Cascades. This was the first of several wars between the Native Americans and American settlers in that region that would lead to the negotiations between the United States and Native Americans of the Columbia Plateau, creating several Indian reservations.