On This Day In History: Spanish Villasur Expedition Wiped Out By Pawnee And Otoe Warriors – On August 14, 1720

AncientPages.com - On August 14, 1720, the Spanish Villasur expedition was wiped out by Pawnee and Otoe warriors near present-day Columbus, Nebraska.

In June 1720, a Spanish military force led by Sir Pedro de Villasur left Santa Fe, New Mexico, to gather information on French activities near the Missouri River.

Villasur Expedition. The Pawnee and their French allies surrounded and defeated the Villasur expedition. Painting on buffalo hides, unknown artist, c. 1720. image credit: Palace of the Governors Collections, Museum of New Mexico

Indian trader Juan L'Archeveque, and Jose Naranjo, a black explorer who had reconnoitered Nebraska's Platte River, accompanied the expedition that included 45 veteran soldiers and 60 Pueblo Indian allies, Apache scouts, and a priest.

In the vicinity of the present Schuyler, Nebraska, the Villasur expedition encountered large numbers of Pawnee and Oto Indians who were allies of the French.

The Spanish withdrew to approximately this spot and camped. Early in the morning on this day, the Indians attacked. Villasur, L'Archeveque, Naranjo, 3l soldiers, 11 Pueblo Indians, and the priest lay dead in only minutes.

The survivors escaped across the prairie and reached Santa Fe on September 6. Spanish losses were the greatest suffered by white men in any battle with Indians on Nebraska soil.

The Villasur expedition was Spanish explorers' deepest official penetration of the Great Plains. Villasur's defeat ended Spanish exploration of the Nebraska country until the 1806 Melgares expedition visited the Pawnee village on the Republican River.

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