On April 11, 1873, in the middle of the Modoc War, restless soldiers who had waited through the winter while peace talks dragged on moved to Hospital Rock and Gillems Camp, much closer to the Modoc, after Modoc warriors had easily defeated the Army in the first battle for the Stronghold in January despite being greatly outnumbered. At midday, soldiers spotted three Modoc crossing the lava beds in front of them waving a white flag, but when two officers approached, the Modoc opened fire. The movement of the camps had driven the Modoc to act, and this offensive sparked the second battle for the Stronghold. At the time of the attack, the Modoc had been living for months in the Stronghold caves instead of their usual warm winter dwellings, and when they saw the Army camps moving closer in spring, some grew concerned and called for an end to negotiations because it seemed apparent that the whites would never grant their wish to be left alone in their homeland. Lieutenant William Sherwood was mortally wounded and died several days later at the crude field hospital that gave Hospital Rock its name. An urgent message warning of treachery was sent to the peace commissioners meeting nearby, but it arrived too late, as they too had been attacked.