The Camp Grant massacre took place when around 100 armed settlers, mostly from Tucson, attacked a peaceful Apache village near Camp Grant, which had sought refuge. The settler group, spurred by anger over previous Apache raids, believed they were retaliating against the tribe's actions. The attack occurred in the early morning as the community was unprepared, leading to significant casualties. The settlement, primarily composed of women and children from the Apache tribe, was overwhelmed, and estimates of the death toll range from 75 to 144, making it one of the deadliest attacks on Native Americans in the region.

Post-massacre, the attack incited widespread outrage among various groups, including some military personnel who saw the act as an excessive response to the settlers' grievances. The local military garrison at Camp Grant had been warned about tensions but did not intervene in time. The massacre highlighted the fraught relations between Anglo settlers and Native American tribes during a time when the U.S. government was striving to establish greater control over the southwest territories, often at the expense of Indigenous populations.

The aftermath of the massacre led to a call for a stronger military presence in the area and further displaced Apache tribes from their homelands as the U.S. government continued its policy of containment and removal.