The Battle of Blanco Canyon was regarded as one of the most decisive clashes in the United States Army’s campaigns against the Comanches in Texas. Indians had inhabited the canyons and plains for as long as 12,000 years, and various bands and tribes lived in what is now Floyd County because of the area’s abundant resources. In 1720, the Comanche moved into north Texas, driving the Apache and other tribes south. They maintained strong diplomatic and military power over Texas, and by 1790 had become powerful trading figures in the region. On Aug. 12, 1871, Indian agent Lawrie Tatum asked Gen. Benjamin Grierson and Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie to lead an expedition against the Kotsoteka and Quahadi Comanche bands, who had refused relocation to a reservation. On Oct. 3, the command departed Camp Cooper in Throckmorton County with Tonkawa scouts to find Chief Quanah Parker and the accompanying Indians. During the Battle of Blanco Canyon, Parker’s forces launched a preemptive attack against the cavalry on Oct. 10 and drove off many cavalry horses, while Mackenzie’s men suffered one fatality. In response, Mackenzie and Lt. Robert G. Carter pursued the Comanches. During the expedition, Carter’s leg was crushed when his horse slipped, and Mackenzie was shot in the leg while returning to Blanco Canyon. The expedition ended soon afterward when the wounded and sick retreated on Oct. 24. The command marched 509 miles in total, and although the expedition discouraged Mackenzie, the cavalry destroyed Comanche resources and disrupted regional Comanche dominance.