The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.

The Camp Grant massacre, which occurred on April 30, 1871, is one of the darker episodes in the history of the American West, particularly in the Arizona Territory. It involved the brutal killing of 144 Aravaipa and Pinal Apache men, women, and children.

During the late 19th century, tensions between Native American tribes and settlers, as well as the U.S. military, were high. The Apache tribes, including the Aravaipa and Pinal groups, were often in conflict with American settlers and the military due to territorial disputes, resource competition, and retaliatory attacks.

The massacre took place near the site of Camp Grant, an army post located along the San Pedro River. The Aravaipa and Pinal Apaches had surrendered to U.S. Army authorities at Camp Grant and were placed on a reservation near the camp as part of a peace initiative led by Lieutenant Royal Whitman.

Despite their peaceful intentions, a group composed of about 100 Tohono O’odham (Papago) warriors, joined by some Anglo-American settlers and Mexican-Americans from Tucson, coordinated an attack on the Apache camp. The attackers killed approximately 144 Apache, mostly women and children, as most of the Apache men were away from the camp. Only eight Apache children were spared, as they were taken to be sold into slavery.

The massacre sparked outrage when it became public knowledge. Public opinion was divided, with many in the Tucson area justifying the attack as a necessary action against Apache raids, while others in different parts of the country condemned it as a horrific and unjust massacre.

The federal government held a trial in Tucson to address the massacre. Despite the evidence, the jury, composed primarily of settlers sympathetic to the attackers, acquitted all defendants involved in the incident.