On April 11, 1873, at Fort Clark, General Philip H. Sheridan told Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie to proceed on his own plan of action with the assurance that his authority would be Sheridan and General Grant. Mackenzie’s action with the 4th Cavalry at Remolino, Mexico, became perhaps the single most nationally significant event in Fort Clark history, drawing considerable national attention and bringing Fort Clark into the public eye for the first time. On Saturday, May 17, 1873, six companies of the 4th Cavalry, joined by the Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts under Lieutenant John L. Bullis, rendezvoused on Las Moras Creek south of Fort Clark. The force of 267 enlisted men, 18 officers, 34 scouts, 4 civilians, and a two dozen mule pack train followed Las Moras Creek to the Rio Grande, crossed under cover of darkness, and marched 33 miles to the site of the Kickapoo-Lipan villages. Attacking soon after first light on May 18, 1873, Mackenzie achieved complete surprise. The villages were destroyed and 19 Indians killed. U.S. casualties were three troopers wounded, one mortally, and Private William Pair’s amputated arm was left behind on the battlefield. The command captured 65 ponies and took Lipan Chief Costilietos along with 40 women and children prisoner. The return march began that same afternoon, and the unit safely returned to U.S. soil early the next day. The total distance traveled was 159 miles in 32 hours. Mortally wounded Private Peter Carrigan died at Fort Clark five days after the battle and was buried in the post cemetery. The raid was later ranked as perhaps the most successful U.S. Army combat action of the Indian Wars, and on May 25, 1873, the Texas Legislature formally thanked General Mackenzie and the troops under his command for their prompt action and gallant conduct.