BATTLE OF TWIN VILLAGES—SPANISH ATTACK YOJUANE
Late in 1758, bands of Wichita warriors attacked the Spanish mission at San Sabá while searching for Apaches. They killed 2 Spanish priests and several Indians and burned the mission. Spanish officials demanded retribution. Colonel Ortiz Parrilla led a force of over 600 toward the Red River. Parrilla refused French offers to mediate. Nearing the suspected enemy base at Twin Villages (current Jefferson County, Oklahoma), the Spanish force attacked a camp of Yojuane Indians killing 55 and capturing 149. Finally, at the Twin Villages encampment, the Spanish were shocked to see a French flag flying above the settlements as well as the fortress-like appearance of the village. The Spanish were decisively repelled in every assault. Due to desertions and enemy reinforcements, Parrilla’s force withdrew abandoning their supply train and both cannons. The defeat of the Spaniards at the Battle of the Twin Villages injured Spanish honor in the region, although the two warring sides would eventually make peace.
Source: Chad Williams, “Twin Villages, Battle of the,” Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved 7/15/2019, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TW005
Painting: Jose de Paez (1720-1790), attributed, 1765. Public Domain in the US: Pre-1/1/1925. Public Domain elsewhere where copyright term is author’s life plus 100 years or less.