Battle of the Powder River
Part of the Black Hills War
Crook's column returning to Fort Fetterman. Leslie's Illustrated News, 1876.
Date March 17, 1876 Location Montana Territory Result Tactical U.S. victory
Combatants
Lakota Cheyenne	United States Army Shoshone Crow
Commanders
Crazy Horse Little Wolf	Col. J. J. Reynolds
Strength
225	300
Casualties
4 killed 6 wounded	unknown unknown

The Battle of Powder River occurred March 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Sioux Native Americans during Crook's Big Horn Expedition in the Black Hills War. The Black Hills War was a United States civil war between the Lakota Native American tribe and the United States government from 1876 until 1877. ... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Montana Territory was an organized territory of the United States that existed between 1864 and 1889. ... Eddie Plenty Holes, a Sioux Indian photographed about 1899. ... The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Shoshone around their tipi, probably taken around 1890 Shoshone Indians at Ft. ... The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a tribe of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone river valley and now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana. ... Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tasunka Witko, pronounced tashúnka uitko), (December 4, 1849 – September 5, 1877) was a respected member of the Oglala Sioux Native American tribe. ... Little Wolf circa 1904 Little Wolf (c. ... The Black Hills War was a United States civil war between the Lakota Native American tribe and the United States government from 1876 until 1877. ... The Battle of the Rosebud (also known the Battle of the Rosebud Creek) occurred June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Amerind Native Americans during the Black Hills War. ... Combatants Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho United States Commanders Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse George Armstrong Custer â€  Strength 949 lodges (probably 950-1200 warriors) 31 officers, 566 troopers, 15 civilians, ~35-40 scouts Casualties ~200 killed (according to Yellow Horse, Red Horse and Little Buck Elk), 40 killed per the National Park... Battle of Warbonnet Creek Conflict Black Hills War, Indian Wars Date July 17, 1876 Place Nebraska Result U.S. victory The Battle of Warbonnet Creek was at most a skirmish characterised by the duel between Buffalo Bill Cody and Yellow Hand and the battle is often referred to as the... Combatants Lakota United States Commanders Crazy Horse Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} The Battle of Slim Buttes was fought on January 8, 1877, between United States cavalry and Lakota Sioux forces. ... Combatants Lakota United States Army Shoshone Crow Commanders Sitting Bull Nelson A. Miles Strength ~300 warriors 398 Casualties 5 dead unknown wounded 0 dead 2 wounded The Battle of Cedar Creek (also called Big Dry Creek or Big Dry River) occurred on October 21, 1876, in the Montana Territory between... Combatants Cheyenne United States Pawnee Commanders Dull Knife Little Wolf Ranald S. Mackenzie Strength 400 1,000 Casualties 40 killed ? wounded 6 killed 26 wounded The Dull Knife Fight was given its name from Chief Dull Knife, who led the Cheyenne warriors during the battle. ... Combatants Lakota Cheyenne United States Army Shoshone Crow Commanders Crazy Horse Two Moons Nelson A. Miles Strength ~500 436 Casualties 3 dead unknown wounded 2 dead 7 wounded The Battle of Wolf Mountain (also known the Battle of the Wolf Mountains, Miless Battle on the Tongue River, and the... March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Montana Territory was an organized territory of the United States that existed between 1864 and 1889. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Eddie Plenty Holes, a Sioux Indian photographed about 1899. ... The Sioux (also: Lakota) are a Native American people. ... American Indian and Alaskan Natives[1] (term preferred by the majority of people included) are the indigenous peoples within the territory that is now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska down to their descendants in modern times. ... The Black Hills War was a United States civil war between the Lakota Native American tribe and the United States government from 1876 until 1877. ...

Maj. Gen. George Crook, commander of the Department of the Platte, had been ordered to locate the camps of several bands of Sioux and Cheyenne that had left their reservations and appeared to be preparing to go on the warpath. The camps of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were thought to be located in the region of the headwaters of the Powder, Tongue, and Rosebud rivers. Crook was concerned that as spring progressed and the weather improved, hundreds more Indians might leave the reservations to join the war bands, and he wanted to locate and destroy the camps and villages as soon as possible. Insignia of a United States Air Force Major General German Generalmajor Insignia Major General is a military rank used in many countries. ... Portrait of George Crook George Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career U.S. Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. ... The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. ... Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Monument, Fort Yates, North Dakota. ... Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tasunka Witko, pronounced tashúnka uitko), (December 4, 1849 – September 5, 1877) was a respected member of the Oglala Sioux Native American tribe. ... Powder River The Powder River is a a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately 375 mi (603 km) long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United States. ... The Tongue River The Tongue River is a tributary of the Yellowstone, approximately 265 mi (426 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wyoming and Montana. ...

Accompanied by a handful of newspaper reporters, Crook left Fort Fetterman on March 1 with 883 men from a variety of cavalry regiments, along with civilian and friendly Indian scouts and a herd of 45 beef cattle. A blizzard on March 5 deposited over a foot of snow and significantly delayed Crook's progress. Temperatures fell so low that the thermometers of the day could not record the cold. The soldiers had to heat their forks in the coals of their fires to prevent the tines from freezing to their tongues. Crook's column slowly followed old Bozeman Trail to the head of Otter Creek, where on March 16, Crook divided his command. At 5 p.m., in freezing weather, he sent Col. Joseph J. Reynolds (a West Point classmate of President Ulysses S. Grant and a combat veteran of both the Mexican-American War and Civil War) on a night march with about 300 men with rations for one day, following the trail of two Indians southeast toward the Powder River. Fort Fetterman, located approximately eleven miles northwest of Douglas, Wyoming, is situated on a plateau above the valleys of LaPrele Creek and the North Platte River. ... March 1 is the 60th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (61st in leap years). ... Blizzards are characterized by high winds and blinding precipitation Sudden blizzards can cause terrible damage to infrastructure as well as danger to human life. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... A thermometer is a device used to measure temperatures or temperature changes. ... The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the Oregon Trail to the gold rush territory of Montana. ... March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in Leap years). ... Colonel (IPA: or ) is a military rank of a commissioned officer, with the corresponding ranks existing in nearly every country in the world. ... Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ... Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was an American soldier and politician who was elected the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877). ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia Strength 7,000 - 43,000 18,000 - 40,000 Casualties KIA: 1,733 Total dead: 13,283 Wounded: 4,152 25,000 killed or wounded (Mexican government... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert Edward Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

Shortly before dawn on March 17, scouts located a large Indian village on the west bank of Powder River. The camp was 600 to 1,000 feet below the soldiers, who were on a high plateau. It proved to be Crazy Horse's village of 105 lodges, containing about 600 Miniconjou Sioux and Northern Cheynne, with perhaps 225 warriors and an immense pony herd (estimated at 800 to 1,500 in number). However, gaining access to the hostile village proved problematic, as the ground was snow covered and icy, and broken up by numerous steep ravines and coulees. With great difficulty, Reynolds led his men and horses down the bluffs. He ordered Company K to make a pistol charge through the village. However, he failed to support this attack with the rest of his command, and the warriors quickly escaped. Crazy Horse led them from the danger and occupied the bluffs to the north, where his warriors retaliated with a galling fire. From positions on ledges and behind rocks, the Indians held the soldiers at bay until all the women and children escaped across the river, and Crazy Horse withdrew to safety. March 17 is the 76th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (77th in Leap years). ... Miniconjou are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota Sioux, who formerly inhabited an area from the Black Hills in South Dakota to the Platte River, with a present-day population in west-central South Dakota. ... A coulee (or coulée) is a deep steep-sided ravine formed by erosion, commonly found in the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. ...

By 9:00 a.m., Reynolds had full possession of the abandoned village, which proved to be full of guns, ammunition, war supplies, and vast stores of food, confirming military fears that Crazy Horse planned to go on the warpath. The colonel gave orders for his men to destroy it and then withdraw twenty miles southward to the mouth of Lodge Pole Creek, where he was to rejoin General Crook. The village and supplies proved difficult to burn, and the resulting exploding ammunition was hazardous to the troopers. By 2:30 p.m., Reynolds had finally accomplished that task and his men withdrew to Lodge Pole Creek, arriving at 9:00 p.m., in a greatly exhausted condition. However, Crook was not there, as he had camped ten miles to the northeast and had failed to inform Reynolds of his new location. In Reynolds's premature haste to withdraw, he left behind three dead soldiers, as well as a badly wounded private who was subsequently "cut limb to limb" by vengeful Indians.

Reynolds had captured a large portion of Crazy Horse's ponies. However, Indians soon recaptured them during another snowstorm early on the morning of March 18, as the exhausted guards were negligent and sleepy. It was not until noon that day that Reynolds finally rendezvoused with General Crook. The reunited column finally arrived back at Fort Fetterman on March 26. March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ...

Colonel Reynolds was accused of dereliction of duty for failing to properly support the first charge with his whole command; for burning the captured supplies, food, blankets, buffalo robes, and ammunition instead of keeping them for army use; and most of all, for losing the 800 captured ponies. In January 1877, he was court-martialled at Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, and found guilty. He was sentenced to suspension from rank and command for one year for his conduct. His friend, President Grant, remitted the sentence, but Reynolds never served again. He was retired on disability leave on June 25, 1877, exactly one year after the Battle of Little Bighorn. Crook's and Reynolds's failed Big Horn Expedition and their inability to destroy Crazy Horse's fighting ability at Powder River had contributed to that embarrassing defeat. A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Political Statistics Founded 1867 Incorporated Laramie County Mayor Jack R. Spiker Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 57. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custers Last Stand, was an engagement between a Lakota-Cheyenne combined force and the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army that took place on June 25, 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in the eastern Montana Territory. ...

The Powder River battle site is near present-day Broadus, Montana. Broadus is a town located in Powder River County, Montana. ...

In 1951, Hollywood produced a fictional movie loosely based upon the historical battle, starring Van Heflin, Yvonne De Carlo, Jack Oakie, and Rock Hudson. The movie was released in the United States under the name Tomahawk, and entitled Battle of Powder River in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The cinema of the United States, sometimes simply referred to as Hollywood, is typically used in reference to the larger, studio-produced cinema within the U.S.. Much like American popular music, the American film industry has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th... Actors Arlene Dahl and Van Heflin in Womans World Emmett Evan Heflin Jr. ... Yvonne De Carlo Yvonne De Carlo (born September 1, 1922) is a Canadian-born American film and television actress. ... Jack Oakie (November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) is an actor. ... Rock Hudson (November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was a popular American film and television actor, noted for his good looks, and most remembered as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

Order of Battle

U.S. Army (Col J. J. Reynolds, 3rd U.S. Cav., in command)

• Troops A, B, E, I, and K, 2nd U.S. Cavalry
• Troops A, D, E, F, and M, 3rd U.S. Cavalry

Sioux and Cheyenne (Crazy Horse and Little Wolf in command)

• war band of approximately 225 warriors

References

• Dillon, Richard H., North American Indian Wars 1893.
• Greene, Jerome A. (editor), Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877: The Military View, University of Oklahoma Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8061-2535-7.
• Voices from the Western Frontier