The Modoc War: 53 Warriors vs

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]53 Modoc warriors held off 1,000 US Army soldiers for 5 months inside a volcanic cave system in northern California, and California never put it in the textbooks. Lava Beds National Monument, Siskiyou County, northeastern California, 1872. The Modoc people had lived around Tule Lake for thousands of years. In 1864, the federal government forced them onto a reservation in Oregon, shared with their enemies, the Klamath [music] tribe. No food, no resources, no respect. In 1870, a Modoc leader named Kintpuash, the US Army called him Captain Jack, led his people back to their California homeland. The government sent soldiers to force them back.

[00:00:43]On November 29th, 1872, the soldiers came to disarm the Modoc camp. Someone fired a shot. The Modoc War began.

[00:00:53]Captain Jack led 53 warriors and their families into the Lava Beds, a volcanic maze of tunnels, caves, and natural fortresses carved by ancient eruptions.

[00:01:04]The army had no idea how to fight inside them. For 5 months, 53 Modoc fighters held off over 1,000 US Army soldiers.

[00:01:13]The army lost 40 men in a single battle trying to cross 300 yards of open lava field. The Modoc lost none. It became the costliest Indian War per soldier in US history. The federal government spent half a million dollars trying to remove 53 people from their own homeland.

[00:01:29]Captain Jack was eventually captured, tried, and hanged in October 1873. Four Modoc leaders executed. The remaining 153 Modoc people were exiled to Oklahoma. Their California homeland became a monument. Today, Lava Beds National Monument is open year-round, free with America the Beautiful Pass, over 800 caves to explore. The battlefield is still there.

[00:01:54]>> [music] >> The cave fortresses are still there.

[00:01:57]Captain Jack's stronghold is still there.

[00:02:00]Drive Highway 139 north from Susanville or south from Klamath Falls. No cell [music] service. Bring water and a headlamp. Drop a comment if you knew California had the costliest Indian war per soldier in US history. Follow California history because the textbooks left this one out.