Red Cloud’s War, also called the Powder River War or Bozeman War, occurred between 1866 and 1868 in an area called Powder River Country, located in present-day Wyoming and Montana. The Bozeman Trail, created in 1863, ran through Native American land, specifically the Lakota, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho. This trail became heavily traveled and due to the influx of settlers, traditional resources available to the Native Americans dwindled steadily.

Colonel Henry B. Carrington, in 1866, led a battalion into the area to construct forts and protect settlers as well as protect the shorter rout to gold fields. Although treaties were in place, the incursion of Colonel Carrington occurred before all chiefs agreed to sign the treaty. With the depleted resources of Native Americans as well as the continued encroachment of settlers along the trail, the Native Americans launched a series of attacks on three forts along the trail. Led by Red Cloud, a Lakota chief who aligned himself with the Arapaho and Cheyenne, the attacks took place over two years and were intended to wear down the garrisons.[1]

Of the battles, the two most prominent battles of this war were the Battle of the Hundred-in-the Hands and the Fetterman Fight. Both battles took place in December 1866. The Battle of the Hundred-in-the the Hands consisted of a well-organized and coordinated attack by a large force of Native Americans. This attack demonstrated the ability of the Native Americans to coordinate and resist any counterattacks by the U.S. Military.

In the Fetterman Fight, also known as Fetterman’s Massacre, Captain William J. Fetterman and a detail of 80 soldiers believed they could ambush the Native Americans. Protecting Ford Kearny, a recently built garrison, Fetterman overestimated his ability to easily defeat the Native Americans. Red Cloud and the Native Americans were able to lure the U.S. Military away from the garrison where they were attacked. The resulting slaughter of all 80 soldiers, including Captain William J. Fetterman became the worst defeat of the U.S. Army in the Western territory. Alternatively, the Wagon Box Fight and the Hayfield fights in 1867 saw U.S. Military Victories, albeit only in protecting garrisons.

Eventually, the United States changed policy and agreed to abandon all forts on the Bozeman Trail, doing so in 1868 with the Treaty of Fort Laramie. This treaty also recognized the area as belonging to the Sioux, grating the Black Hills to the Lakota. Expansion of settlers was temporarily halted. With the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Native Americans were able to achieve a victory against the U.S. Military, one of the few instances the Native Americans were successful. The increased desire for gold in the Black Hills eventually resulted in the Great Sioux War.

Olson, James C. Red Cloud and the Sioux problem. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Pr, 1978.

[1] James C Olson. Red Cloud and the Sioux problem. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Pr, 1978.