Geronimo

Geronimo (Chiricahua: Goyaałé, "one who yawns") (1829–1909) was a prominent leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States and their expansion into Apache tribal lands from 1858-1886. He took up arms after an attack by the Mexican army killed his wife and children. When traditional Apache lands became party of the United States, he fought the Americans just as fervently. He was skilled at hit and run attacks, but eventually persistance of the U.S. Army paid off. Gernomio and a very small band of troops were capture in 1887.

His last years were spent as a prisoner of the U.S. government. However, Geronimo attained a level of celebrity in his last years, appearing at fairs, selling souvenirs, and even appearing in the 1904 inaugural parade of Theodore Roosevelt. He died in 1909 of pneumonia.

Geronimo in Days of Infamy
On his way to the Pensacola Florida Naval Flight School, Joe Crosetti was shown Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Islands. The bus driver told him that the fort had held Geronimo for a while after they caught him.

Geronimo in Southern Victory
When the Second Mexican War began in response to the Confederate States' acquisition of Chihuahua and Sonora, Geronimo led a band of his warriors into an alliance with the CS Trans-Mississippi Department under Jeb Stuart.

Immediately after the war, old rivaries with Mexico led Geronimo to rebel against the Confederate forces. One of Geronimo's men killed Stuart.