The battle ended Victorio's War, a 14-month long odyssey of fight and flight by the Apaches in southern New Mexico, western Texas, and Chihuahua.

[4] Victorio's Achilles heel was that he needed to resupply himself regularly with ammunition and to get it he had to trade stolen cattle and horses or steal it from Americans and Mexicans.

[6] In May 1880, Victorio suffered his first defeat and it was at the hands of his fellow Apaches at the Palomas River in the Black Range of New Mexico near the hamlet of Chloride.

Rather than chasing him, as previous army commanders had done, Grierson adopted a defensive strategy, guarding springs, river crossings, and mountain passes.

Plus, Grierson cooperated with Mexican troops who had crossed the Rio Grande River into Texas to join the hunt for Victorio.

[7] Retreating to Mexico again about August 13, 1880, Victorio's fortunes were in decline, his force reduced by desertions of supporters who found the hardships of the campaign unbearable[8] Rather than the usual mountain strongholds he sought, Victorio chose to rest and refit on a remote desert plain with a small lake and three rockpiles called the Tres Castillos (Three Castles).

[9] Victorio and his diminished supporters had a respite of peace in the austere Chihuahua Desert, reaching Tres Castillos in early October.

He also declined help from an American force of 13 Texas Rangers commanded by George W. Baylor, and told them to return to the U.S. On October 13 Terrazas found fresh tracks indicating that Victorio was at Tres Castillos.

They are a prominent landmark of the area and in October, the end of the rainy season, the ephemeral lakes and streams nearby contained water and Tres Castillos was an oasis.

Terrazas and Mata Ortiz captured the Apache's horse herd and forced the Indians to retreat to the southernmost of the Tres Castillos.

[17] Scholar Dan L. Thrapp called Tres Castillos a "massacre, rather than a battle" due to the Apaches' shortage of ammunition.

Nana led the survivors to a refuge in the Sierra Madre Occidental and in 1881 undertook a long and successful raid into the United States.

[20] The city of Chihuahua feted Terrazas, Mata Ortiz, and Mauricio Corredor, the Tarahumara who reputably killed Victorio.