Scarface Charlie
Scarface Charlie, also known as Chikchikam Lupatkue-latko, was a prominent figure in the Modoc War (1872-1873) and is notable for both his military prowess and his commitment to peace. He earned his nickname after a childhood accident involving a stagecoach that left him with a distinctive scar on his cheek. As a young man, he witnessed violence against his people, which influenced his later involvement in the conflict with white settlers and the U.S. Army. Scarface Charlie served as a trusted field commander and tactician, particularly during key battles such as the Battle of Hardin Butte, where he executed a strategic ambush against a larger military force, ultimately showing restraint by halting further attacks.
Despite his military role, Scarface Charlie was known for his inclination towards conciliation and his reluctance to shed blood. After the war, he was appointed chief of the Modocs but later stepped down when he refused to interfere with traditional customs. Following Captain Jack's execution, he became a symbol of Modoc resilience and was eventually pardoned after the war. Scarface Charlie later toured to educate others about the Modoc experience and ultimately converted to Christianity before passing away in 1896 from tuberculosis on the Quapaw reservation. His life reflects the complex interplay of warfare, leadership, and cultural identity within Native American history.
Scarface Charlie
- Born: c. 1837
- Birthplace: Near the Rogue River, California
- Died: December 3, 1896
- Place of death: Seneca Station, Indian Territory (now in Oklahoma)
Category: Warrior
Tribal affiliation: Modoc
Significance: Scarface Charlie was the chief adviser, interpreter, and battlefield tactician to Modoc chief Captain Jack; he performed honorably and brilliantly during the Modoc War of 1872-1873
Scarface Charlie acquired his name when, as a child, he hitched a ride on the back of a stagecoach and fell off. He received a deep and prominent scar on his right cheek either from hitting a sharp rock or from the rim of a wheel of the stagecoach. His involvement in the Modoc conflict with white settlers and the army began around 1851, when as about a sixteen-year-old youth he witnessed the murder by Modoc warriors of an emigrant party that had gotten lost.
Scarface Charlie is most known for his participation in the Modoc War of 1872-1873. He was involved in all the major battles of that war, serving as the most trusted friend, field commander, tactician, and interpreter for the Modoc leader, Captain Jack. Scarface Charlie was a man of peace and conciliation who opposed shedding blood at every meeting with his people. He was also a loyal warrior, brilliant field commander, and tactician who was forced into a tragic war by the depredations of the whites. These two sides of him manifested themselves in many instances but are perhaps best seen in his performance during the Battle of Hardin Butte (Thomas-Wright Massacre) in 1873. Scarface Charlie fought what Richard Dillon referred to in Burnt-Out Fires (1973) as “perhaps the classic, most perfect battle in Indian war history.” With only twenty-two warriors, he ambushed eighty military men. After killing twenty-seven and wounding seventeen, unable to annihilate the rest, he abruptly called a halt to further killing, telling the survivors that “all you fellows that ain’t dead had better go home. We don’t want to kill you all in one day.” Under his command, the Modocs never lost a battle. The only battle the Modocs lost, which caused their defeat and surrender, occurred when Captain Jack displaced Scarface Charlie as commander.
Several Modocs, including Captain Jack, were executed for their role in the war, but Scarface Charlie was spared, according to one observer because he was “the Bismarck of the band . . . a warrior in arms against our troops and today there are no regrets that he should be pardoned and at large.”
Scarface Charlie was appointed Modoc chief after Captain Jack’s execution, and he and the remaining Modocs were sent to the Quapaw reservation in Indian Territory. Scarface Charlie refused to interfere with the customs of the Modocs, and he was removed as chief. From 1874 to 1876, he appeared in a tour organized by one of the white principals in the Modoc War to familiarize people of the Midwest and East with the war. Scarface Charlie converted to Christianity and died on the reservation (of tuberculosis) in 1896.