Indian Wars of Montana
Indian Education for All
Grade 5
Battle of the Rosebud


One of the largest confrontations of the
Montana Indian Wars
1876
– Army trying to round up Sioux and Cheyenne
tribes to place on the reservation
Battle of the
Little Bighorn
– Custer
 Has 1050 soldiers
 Has 260 Crow and Shoshone scouts
 Is in Montana Territory in Rosebud Valley
 Scouts report a large concentration of
Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne tribes
 Crook led one of three columns of soldiers
Battle of the Rosebud

June 17, 1876
– Crazy Horse and Crook
 Have equal number of fighters
 Fight battle over uneven ground
 Separate into three skirmishes
 Brave deeds were witnessed on both sides
– Cheyenne girl saves her brother after his horse
is shot out from under him
– Skirmishes last 6 hours
 Lakota and Cheyenne call off fight
 Battle has come to a standstill
 Crook’s army
– 10 killed; 21 wounded
 Indians suffer similar losses
Battle of the Rosebud

Crook withdraws to Goose Creek
– Near Sheridan, Wyoming
– His troops are out of any further campaigns
for two months

Different views of the battle
– Crook blamed for the defeat 8 days later of
Custer because he didn’t route the Indians at
Rosebud
– Crook felt victorious because Indians left
battlefield
– Lakota and Sioux felt victorious because
they defended their land
– Crow and Shoshone (scouts) felt victorious
because they helped fight the Lakota and
Cheyenne who were encroaching on their
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Known as “Custer’s Last Stand”
 1874

– Discovery of gold in Black Hills
– Prospectors entering Native American
Territory
– Lakota Sioux
– Chiefs Sitting Bull,
Crazy Horse and Gall
 Led assaults on
prospectors
Battle of the Little Bighorn

1875
– U.S. tries and fails to acquire Black Hills
Territory
– Indians refused to sell because they
considered it sacred ground
Battle of the Little Bighorn

1876
– Army launches expedition against
Lakota and Cheyenne

1876
– Army plans to gather Sioux and
Cheyenne tribes and force them onto
reservations
– Custer joins the expedition
– Commander is General Alfred Terry
Battle of the Little Bighorn

George A. Custer
– Chief army officer in battle
– One of the youngest general in U.S.
army
– After Civil War was given the rank of
captain
– 1866 Custer joins the 7th Calvary and
becomes a Lieutenant Colonel
– Acquired fame as an Indian fighter in
the Southwest, Dakota and Montana
territories
Battle of the Little Bighorn

Soldiers enter Montana Territory
– Scouts see
 Campfire smoke
 Signs of Indians encampments

Custer
– Ignores orders from Terry
– Decides to attack Indian encampment before
infantry and support arrive
– June 25, 1876 spies Indian village 15 miles in
the distance on Little Bighorn River
– Believes there are 1000 Indians
 Scouts say signs point to much larger
population of Indians in the village
Battle of the Little Bighorn

Custer
– Feels his 647 men could easily defeat 1000
Indians
 (Actually Indian village has 2,500 to 5,000
people instead of 1000 as Custer thought)
 This village was the largest assembly of
tribes in Western history
– Custer orders immediate attack on village

He splits his regiment into 3 columns:
– Captain Benteen
– Major Reno
– General Custer
Eyewitness Battle
Account


ONE BULL
Minneconjou Sioux, Nephew of Sitting Bull,
Describing Reno's Charge on the Indian
Village
"I was sitting in my teepee combing my
hair....I saw a man named Fat Bear come
running into camp and he said soldiers were
coming on the other side of the river....We
could hear lots of shooting. I went to [the]
teepee of my uncle, Sitting Bull, and said I
was going to take part in the battle."
Battle of the Little Bighorn

Captain Benteen
– Ordered to search the valleys for Indians

Major Reno
– Ordered to charge across the river and attack
the village

General Custer
– Will advance to the higher ground to the right
and attack the village from the rear
Battle of the Little Bighorn

Major Reno
– Encountered bloody fighting in the
valley
– Retreats across the river and up the
bluffs
– Joins Captain Benteen’s men and take
up defensive positions
– Benteen and Reno hold this position
for two days until General Terry arrives
on June 27
Battle of the Little Bighorn

General Custer
– Is 5 miles away attacking the village
– Troops are completely wiped out by Chief
Crazy Horse and Chief Gall’s warriors
– Not one of Custer’s men survived

U.S. Army retaliated swiftly
– Lakota Sioux scattered
– Crazy Horse capture

Murdered while in army custody
Nez Perce War of 1877

Five bands of Nez Perce begin 1700 mile
trek to try to reach Canada
– Tribe hopes to have peaceful trip
– Trying to avoid going to reservation


General Howard has orders to bring the
Nez Perce Tribe to a reservation in Idaho
Nez Perce Tribe
– Arrives in Big Hole Valley on August 7
Nez Perce War of 1877

Nez Perce
– Chief Looking Glass
 Is a trail chief for tribe
 Sets up camp using an old camp site
 Doesn’t place guards
 Feels safe
Eyewitness Account of
the Battle

"We came to that place in the afternoon,
towards evening. We stayed that night and
next day. Evening came on again, and it was
after sundown — not too late — lots of us
children were playing. It was below the
camp towards the creek that we ... boys
played the stick or bone game. They were
noisy, having lots of fun, and I was with
them. We were only having a good time."
White Bird
Nez Perce Child
Nez Perce War of 1877

Colonel Gibbon
– Is in charge of secondary army force
– Has 163 men
– Have orders to catch up to Nez Perce
– Attacks Nez Perce camp
 Shoot
women and children along with
warriors
 60 to 90 people killed
– Mostly women, children and old people
Eyewitness Account of
Battle

"The women, all scared when the soldiers
charged the camp, ran into the water, the
brush. Any place where they could hide
themselves and children. Many were killed
as they ran. They had no guns. Those two
brave women must have run for shelter, but
seeing so many women and children falling,
got guns, maybe from dead soldiers, and
helped drive the enemies from the camp."
Red Wolf
Nez Perce Warrior
Nez Perce War of 1877
 Nez
Perce Indians
– Divide tribe into 3 bands
 One
band withdraw to help Chief
Joseph
 One band stays to care for injured
and bury the dead
 One band keeps battle going with
soldiers so tribe members can go
south
Nez Perce War of 1877

Nez Perce
– Indians continue to fight until August
10
– Remaining warriors slip away to rejoin
the main part of tribe
– September 30
 Near
Bear Paw Mountains of Montana
 40 miles south of Canadian border
 Nez Perce are surprised by Colonel Miles
 Battle lasts five days
 Tribe hungry and cold
Nez Perce War of 1877
 Four
major chiefs of the tribe are killed
including Looking Glass
– Looking Glass
• Is Chief Joseph’s brother
• Is killed in this battle
 Tribe
has no reserve food supply of food
 Old people are dying of cold and hunger
Nez Perce War of 1877
 Chief
Joseph surrenders
 Nez Perce tribe is sent to Oklahoma
Nez Perce War of 1877

Chief Joseph’s Surrender Speech
“I am tired of fighting.
Our chiefs are killed…..The old men are all
dead. He who led the young men is dead.
It is cold and we have no blankets.
The little children are freezing to death.
My people—some of them have run away to the
hills and have no blankets and no food.
No one knows where they are—perhaps
freezing to death.
I want to have time to look for my children and
see how many of them I can find.
Maybe I shall find them among the dead.
Hear me, my chiefs, my heart is sick and sad…
From where the sun now stands I will fight no
Directions for Jeopardy Game


The following slide is a review of facts done in a Jeopardy
game format.
Divide the class into teams.
– The teams will take turns selecting a question


The first team contestant will pick a category and an amount
– Make sure to click in the center of the button when you
select.
 The question appears
– When you want to check the answer, select anywhere on
the screen.
– Push the home button to get another question.
Keep track of the team scores
Battle of the
Rosebud
Battle of the
Little
Bighorn
Nez Perce
Battle of
1877
Battles and
their
Leaders
Battles and
their
Outcomes
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