Question

Which factor contributed to the success of federal troops in the Red River War?

A.
the destruction of Plains villages
B.
the arrest of Big Tree and Satanta
C.
the death of Satank
D.
the extermination of the buffalo

Answer 1

I would say the extermination of the buffalo was a key factor in the routing of the Plains Indians from the Great Plains during the Red River War by the federal troops because these First Nations people depended very much on the buffalo for food, fuel, clothing and construction materials. Pemmican for example was made partly from buffalo meat.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. The factor that contributed to the success of federal troops in the Red River War was the destruction of native Plain villages

The Red River War was a military campaign led by the US Army in 1874 to repel Indian Comanche, Kiowa, South Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes from the southern Great Plains. This conflict ended in 1875, when the last group of Comanche warriors offered his surrender to Fort Sill. Until then, they were the last free Indians in the southwestern United States.

The war began when white hunters, backed by the federal government, practically exterminated the buffalo, which was the main source of food for the natives of the area. This, added to continuous incursions of the whites into their territories, was taken as an affront by the native tribes.

The determining factor that gave the victory to the federal forces was the devastation of the native villages, which cut the already scarce supplies that the tribes had as a result of the practice extinction of the buffalo in the area. This made it impossible for the tribes to stay in battle against well-supplied troops.