Here in the predawn of November 27, 1868, Lt. Col. George A. Custer, leading the 7th Cavalry, attacked the sleeping Southern Cheyenne village of Peace Chief Black Kettle. The chief and more than 100 Indians, many of them women and children, were killed. The controversial attack was hailed by the military and many civilians as a significant military victory aimed at reducing Indian raids on frontier settlements. Washita was also viewed by many whites and Indian participants as a massacre. Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, located in .