Puget Sound War The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855 – 56 , between the United States Military , local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually , Muckleshoot , Puyallup , and Klickitat . Another component of the war , however , were raiders from the Haida and Tlingit who came into conflict with the United States Navy during contemporaneous raids on the native peoples of Puget Sound . Although limited in its magnitude , territorial impact and losses in terms of lives , the conflict is often remembered in connection to the 1856 Battle of Seattle and to the execution of a central figure of the war , Nisqually Chief Leschi . The contemporaneous Yakima War may have been responsible for some events of the Puget Sound War , such as the Battle of Seattle , and it is not clear that the people of the time made a strong distinction between the two conflicts . The war . The Puget Sound War began over land rights and ended in a cloud of controversy surrounding the hanging of Leschi . The catalyst of the war was the Treaty of Medicine Creek of 1854 . Negotiated by Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens , the treaty preserved Indian fishing rights , but took away prime Nisqually farm land . Leschi , chosen to negotiate the treaty with Stevens , was outraged and chose to fight rather than give up his land . The fighting commenced in October 1855 , when “ Eaton ’ s Rangers , ” a citizen militia under Captain Charles Eaton , were involved in a clash with Nisqually tribesmen . Two militiamen , Joseph Miller and Abram Benton Moses , were killed . Upon hearing the news , Governor Stevens immediately dispatched a company to locate Leschi and “ escort ” him back to Olympia . The war itself consisted of a series of short skirmishes with relatively few deaths on either side . Notable battles occurred in present - day Tacoma , Seattle , and even as far east as Walla Walla . In particular , on October 28 , 1855 , a party of Muckleshoot killed eight settlers in what was later called the " White River Massacre " . Three children fled on foot to Seattle , but one five - year old boy was kidnapped and held by the Muckleshoot for six months before being released . Leschi was captured in November 1856 and was forced to stand trial for the murder of Abram Benton Moses . His first trial resulted in a hung jury because of the question of the legitimacy of murder during wartime ; the jury of twelve voted ten in favor , two opposed to conviction . Leschi was tried again in 1857 . Despite vague witness accounts and issues over whether Leschi was actually at the scene of the incident , he was found guilty of murder . Leschi was hanged on February 19 , 1858 . Exoneration . On December 10 , 2004 an Historical Court convened in Pierce County , Washington ruled “ as a legal combatant of the Indian War … Leschi should not have been held accountable under law for the death of an enemy soldier , ” thereby exonerating him of any wrongdoing . The ruling , while having no legal status , was considered a definitive trial in absentia that provided closure for the Nisqually people , who fought for years to clear the name of their legendary chief . Today , a Seattle neighborhood and a Puyallup school bear Leschi ’ s name .