Tulelake in Siskiyou County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Last Meeting of the Peace Commission
Lava Beds National Monument
— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —
Photographed By Syd Whittle, April 10, 2008
1. Last Meeting of the Peace Commission Marker
Photo caption below General Canby’s photo:
Though warned that the Modoc might engage treachery, General Canby agreed to lead the peace talks. He became the only general killed in an Indian War.
Photo caption below Captain Jack’s photo:
Though Captain Jack disagreed with the plan to attack the commissioners, several other Modoc shamed him into agreeing to kill Canby himself.
Though warned that the Modoc might engage treachery, General Canby agreed to lead the peace talks. He became the only general killed in an Indian War.
Photo caption below Captain Jack’s photo:
Though Captain Jack disagreed with the plan to attack the commissioners, several other Modoc shamed him into agreeing to kill Canby himself.
By April 1873, months of peace talks to end the Modoc War had gone nowhere. General E.R.S. Canby found himself caught between President Grant’s Indian Peace Policy and the desire of some settlers to have the Army eliminate the Modoc band. The Modoc leader, Captain Jack, was also caught between peace and war factions. Some Modoc argued that - as in their own tradition - once the leaders of an army were killed, the soldiers would retreat. They pressured Captain Jack to act.
Within minutes of a similar attack at Hospital Rock, eight Modoc attacked the commissioners with hidden weapons. When it was over, General Canby and Reverend Eleazar Thomas were dead, and Indian Agent Alfred Meacham lay seriously wounded. The Peace Policy came to an end.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: Wars, US Indian. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #18 Ulysses S. Grant series list.
Location. 41° 49.091′ N, 121° 32.605′ W. Marker is in Tulelake, California, in Siskiyou County. Memorial is on Hill Road. Marker is located at the Canby's Cross site within the boundaries of the Lava Beds National
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Canby Cross (within shouting distance of this marker); Attracted to Water (approx. ¾ mile away); War in the Lava Beds (approx. 0.8 miles away); Modoc War Casualties (approx. 0.8 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps (approx. 2 miles away); The Road to the Stronghold (approx. 2.2 miles away); Lava Fortress (approx. 2.3 miles away); Shore of Tule Lake (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tulelake.
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. Canby's Cross at the site of the Peace Commission killings.
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 2, 2009
2. Photo Displayed on the Marker
Photo caption:
Photographer Edward (sic, Eadweard) Muybridge, one of the numerous members of the press stationed in the lava beds, took this photo of the Peace Commission tent. Word of the killings spread quickly, and the effect was the opposite of what the Modoc had intended - public sentiment swiftly turned against them.
Photographer Edward (sic, Eadweard) Muybridge, one of the numerous members of the press stationed in the lava beds, took this photo of the Peace Commission tent. Word of the killings spread quickly, and the effect was the opposite of what the Modoc had intended - public sentiment swiftly turned against them.
Photographed By Douglass Halvorsen, October 6, 2012
3. Last Meeting of the Peace Commission Marker
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 2, 2009
4. Display at the Visitor's Center
A Slain Soldier’s Possessions
When Modoc warriors waving a white flag approached the US Army encampment at Hospital Rock on April 11, 1873, Lieutenant William Sherwood and another officer walked out to talk. Moments later, the Modocs opened fire and Sherwood fell mortally wounded. The slain lieutenant’s personal effects provide a rare glimpse of the equipment and accessories carried by Army officers in the Modoc War. (Photo taken inside the Visitors Center of the Lava Beds National Monument)
When Modoc warriors waving a white flag approached the US Army encampment at Hospital Rock on April 11, 1873, Lieutenant William Sherwood and another officer walked out to talk. Moments later, the Modocs opened fire and Sherwood fell mortally wounded. The slain lieutenant’s personal effects provide a rare glimpse of the equipment and accessories carried by Army officers in the Modoc War. (Photo taken inside the Visitors Center of the Lava Beds National Monument)
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 2, 2009
5. Lt. Williams Personal Belongings on Display at the Lava Beds National Monument Visitor Center
Photographed By Don Morfe, July 2, 2009
6. Entrance to the Visitor Center
GPS coordinates are N41.7147 W121.5098
Credits. This page was last revised on August 2, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 776 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on February 22, 2013, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 2. submitted on February 10, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 3. submitted on January 27, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 13, 2013, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
