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First Battle of the Stronghold

When: 17 January 1873
Where: Captain Jack's Stronghold
Part of: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold

US Army forces under Lieutenant Colonel Frank Wheaton attempted to dislodge Modoc fighters from the Stronghold in the Lava Beds on January 17, 1873.

Approximately 400 troops advanced on the Stronghold. The western force took fire from the Modoc, who attacked from the lava beds. Bernard's force in the east charged after advancing 500 yards. The Army's defeat strengthened the Modoc position, leaving killed soldiers on the field as a source of additional weapons.

Sources

First Battle of the Stronghold Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
Modoc War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.