He had tried every avenue of political recourse available to him.

When those efforts were exhausted — when it became clear that the government would not permit the Warm Springs Apache to live in their homeland, and that the alternatives being offered were unacceptable — he led his people off the reservation and into the mountains.

This was the beginning of what became known as the Victorio War.

The military campaign that followed was one of the most sustained and challenging operations the United States Army conducted during the entire period of the Apache Wars.

Victorio’s band — which numbered at different times between several dozen and several hundred fighters, with a larger group of women, children, and elders who had to be protected and moved with the fighting force — evaded multiple Army columns, fought a series of engagements that inflicted significant casualties on the pursuing forces, and maintained themselves in the field for more than a year against opponents with vastly greater numbers and resources.