The Ward Massacre

While doing my marker hunting around the Boise area, I stumbled across the relatively unknown story of the Ward Massacre. Nineteen members of the Ward party traveling on the Oregon Trail in 1854 were attacked and killed by Native Americans with only two young boys surviving. Even though I didn't know much about this event before, it is one that had a large impact on the Boise Valley where I live.

Ward Memorial State Park

Up until the 1850's, pioneers and trappers enjoyed somewhat peaceful trading relations with Indians in southern Idaho. Then a flood of emigrants came through on the Oregon Trail, and local bands blamed these pioneers for the loss of game and outbreaks of diseases. Relations quickly turned hostile, soon spilling into violence. Retaliations took place often, and by 1854, southern Idaho was a dangerous place for both wagon trains and native peoples.

The Ward Memorial

On August 20, 1854, Alexander Ward's party of 20 men, women and children were traveling on the Oregon Trail when they decided to look for a place to water their animals. They were approached by a party of whites and Native Americans. The trade turned ugly and one of the Indians was killed. In retribution, about 60 Indians camped across the river attacked the Ward party. A rescue party from Fort Boise later found and buried their bodies, with only two survivors.

In Sept. of 1854, a U.S. military force set out to avenge their deaths. Three men were subsequently found guilty and hanged, but the Ward Massacre changed the West forever. Soon afterward, the Hudson's Bay Company abandoned the trading posts of Fort Boise and Fort Hall, while the U.S. began to provide armed escorts for travelers. When the Civil War erupted in 1861, troops were pulled out and the use of the trail dropped. It took a large gold strike in the Boise Basin and the establishment of Fort Boise in 1863 to bring settlers back to southern Idaho.

The Ward Massacre was a tragic turn of events that affected the Boise Valley, but to me, the Ward Massacre was a symptom of an even greater tragedy. The treatment of Native Americans in this country by settlers is a shameful, dark stain on American history. History might have turned out differently but both sides resorted to violence. It continues to haunt this country in one way or another.

Links to Learn More:

• Ward Massacre Site - Oregon Trail in Idaho
  
• The Ward Massacre Marker