The Battle of Seven Fingers was fought in 1873 between the United States and Chief Scar's band of Nawyecka Comanches amid the Plains Indian Wars.
From 1868 to 1873, Scar's band wrought havoc across the Southwest, resulting in an abortive effort by the Texas Rangers to hunt Scar down in 1868, as well as to a US Army manhunt. In 1873, Mose Harper tracked Scar down to the Seven Fingers of the Brazos, and Colonel Clifton Greenhill of the US 5th Cavalry Regiment immediately issued orders for Captain Samuel Johnston Clayton to assemble a company of Rangers for a joint punitive expedition against Scar. Clayton brought together 14 unpaid posse members to meet the Army at Seven Fingers and assault the Comanche camp.
Clayton allowed the Ranger Martin Pawley to quietly infiltrate the camp and rescue the captive Debbie Edwards before the cavalry would charge in and slaughter Scar's warriors. Scar heard Debbie scream when Pawley woke her up, resulting in a brief confrontation that ended with Pawley shooting Scar dead. On hearing the gunshots, Clayton ordered the Texas Rangers to charge in; Greenhill's cavalry was still 10 miles away. The ensuing battle saw the Texas Rangers ride down the dismounted Comanches, forcing their women to flee into the Llano Estacado as the warriors were massacred. Scar's death and the destruction of his band helped bring an end to the Comanche menace in West Texas.
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