The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 24, 2025
Plate 658: Story of the Washita
1927
(American, 1868–1952)
Overall: 43.2 x 35.6 cm (17 x 14 in.)
Gift of Dr. Terence and Joyce Isakov 2022.302
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Edward S. Curtis tracked down, interviewed, and photographed many Native Americans who had fought alongside and against General Custer in the Indian Wars of the 1860s and 1870s.Description
Curtis described this photograph as “an Old Cheyenne warrior” recounting “the famous battle of the Washita in 1868, when the tribe was severely defeated by General Custer.” Custer led the attack on a Cheyenne encampment at the Washita River. He took credit for killing 103 warriors plus some women and children; the battle was seen as the first major victory in the government’s war on the Southern Plains Indigenous peoples. Cheyennes estimated their casualties at 11 warriors and 19 women and children.- ?-2022Dr. Terence D. Isakov and Joyce Isakov, Moreland Hills, OH, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OHDecember 5, 2022-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- {{cite web|title=Plate 658: Story of the Washita|url=false|author=Edward S. Curtis|year=1927|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.302