#Comanche chief series

The three chiefs, who were at the head of all the bands of the Comanches roaming the frontiers of the settlements in Texas looked very dignified and grave. Ferdinand von Roemer was present at those treaty talks, which resulted in the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty, and left an enduring and vivid portrait of Santa Anna: In May 1846, he was one of the Comanche chiefs who signed a treaty promising peace between his people and American citizens in Texas. Convinced that his people could simply not defeat or long resist the numbers and weapons of the Whites, he began advocating peace. Santa Anna, more than any other Native American of the Plains during this time, was influenced by what he had seen.

In the latter part of 1845, though, he was finally convinced to attend treaty negotiations conducted by United States officials, where he was first exposed to the true numbers and weaponry of the Whites. He appeared during this time to be even more militant than Buffalo Hump, who had met with Sam Houston in 1843–44, often taking sides with Yellow Wolf. In point of fact, no record has been found of his ever meeting with officials representing the government of the Republic of Texas. Before 1845, he was firmly identified with the militant faction of his tribe that opposed accommodation with Whites. Santa Anna became a proponent of accommodation and peace with the Whites following his involvement with treaty talks with the Army, and a later visit to Washington, DC, in 1847. Main articles: Great Raid of 1840 and Battle of Plum Creek Prior to 1845, he was firmly identified with the faction of his tribe that opposed accommodation with Whites. Though tracing his direct involvement with any sort of precision is today impossible, Santa Anna probably took part in the raids on Linnville and Victoria in 1840, and may have been present at the Battle of Plum Creek.

#Comanche chief series

For approximately the next five years he joined Buffalo Hump and a number of other war chiefs in conducting a series of raids and attacks on Anglo settlements, including the Great Raid of 1840, during which the Comanche burned two cities, and raided all the way to the sea. Santa Anna advocated armed and bitter resistance to the white invasion of the Comancheria, and gained prominence after the Council House Fight in San Antonio in 1840. Following the Council House Fight įollowing the deadly Council House Fight, where the Comanche felt that the Whites had slaughtered their envoys despite the promise of the white treaty flag, conflict between Comanches and migrating Anglo-Texans had become increasingly frequent. He described the three Comanche chiefs present as 'serene and dignified', characterizing Old Owl as 'the political chief' and Santa Anna as an affable and lively-looking 'war chief'. Ferdinand Roemer, a noted German scientist who was traveling in the Americas at the time of the meetings in the mid- and late 1840s, attended the council between the chiefs and White representatives. Santa Anna, 'a large, fine-looking man with an affable and lively countenance,' rose to prominence in the years following the Texas Revolution. He was the father of Carne Muerto, later a war chief of the Quahadi tribe of Comanche.

He was the first member of his nation to visit Washington, DC. Eventually, he would rise to their levels of prominence during the 1830s and 1840s as a leader of Comanche resistance to Anglo settlement in Texas, especially during the period following the Council House Fight. Santa Anna was a member of the Penateka division of the Comanche tribe in the same area as the war chiefs Buffalo Hump and Yellow Wolf.