Battle of Powder River

The Battle of Powder River occurred March 17, 1876, in Montana Territory, United States. The attack on a Cheyenne Indian encampment by Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds initiated the Great Sioux War of 1876. Although destroying a large amount of Indian property, the attack was poorly carried out and probably solidified Lakota Sioux and northern Cheyenne resistance to the U.S. attempt to force them to sell the Black Hills and live on a reservation.

Background
The Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) granted the Lakota Sioux and their northern Cheyenne allies a reservation, including the Black Hills, in Dakota Territory and a large area of "unceded territory" in what became Montana and Wyoming. Both areas were for the exclusive use of the Indians and whites, except for government officials, were forbidden to trespass. In 1874, the discovery of gold in the Black Hills caused the U.S. to attempt to buy the Black Hills from the Sioux. The U.S. ordered all bands of Lakota and Cheyenne to come to the Indian agencies on the reservation by January 31, 1876 to negotiate the sale. A few bands did not comply and when the deadline of January 31 passed, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Q. Smith, wrote that "without the receipt of any news of Sitting Bull's submission, I see no reason why...military operations against him should not commence at once." On February 8, 1876, General Sheridan telegraphed Generals Crook and Terry, ordering them to undertake winter campaigns against the "hostiles".

In bitterly cold weather, Major General Crook, commander of the Department of the Platte, marched north from Fort Fetterman, near Douglas, Wyoming on March 1. Crook's objective was to strike against the Indians while they were at their most vulnerable in their winter camps. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and their followers were thought to be on the Powder, Tongue, or Rosebud rivers. Crook's force consisted of 883 men, including in addition to cavalry and infantry, civilian packers, scouts, guides, and a newspaper reporter. Crook's highly valued chief scout was Frank Grouard, who had lived among the Lakota and spoke their language

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. On March 16, the scouts saw two Indian warriors observing the soldiers. They identified the Indians as Oglala Lakota and believed that the camp of Crazy Horse might be nearby. Crook affected indifference to the Oglala, but at 5 p.m. he divided his command and sent Colonel 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 320 men with rations for one day, following the trail of the two Oglala southeast toward the Powder River.That night Grouard and the scouts, leading the soldiers, found an Indian village, which they described as containing more than 100 lodges, on the west bank of the Powder River.

The Battle
In frigid weather, Reynolds' plan was for one battalion of two companies of cavalry to descend steep bluffs on the south to the valley floor; one company was to attack the village, the other company was to capture the Indian's large horse herd, estimated at about 1,000 animals, which was grazing along the river. Another battalion was to attack the village simultaneously from the west and the third battalion was to occupy the ridge tops northwest of the village to prevent the Indians from escaping. The village, however, was a mile further distant than anticipated with the result that only Captain Teddy Egan's company of 47 men, including Lt. Bourke, charged into the village from the south while the other battalions were delayed by the distance and rough terrain.

The Indians, now identified as Cheyenne and a few Oglala, were surprised, but quickly rallied, sheltering their women and children while retreating northward out of the village, and then taking up positions on the bluffs (which were supposed to be occupied by soldiers, but were not) overlooking the village and directing fire toward the soldiers in the camp. Several soldiers and their horses were killed and wounded. Egan was slowly reinforced as other units arrived. When Reynolds arrived at the village, the soldiers were still under fire. He ordered everything in the village destroyed, including tons of dried buffalo meat that the hungry soldiers on half rations could have eaten. The village and supplies proved difficult to burn, and the resulting exploding ammunition in the tipis was hazardous to the troopers. Bourke commented on the richness of the goods in the village -- the bales of fur, buffalo robes, and hides decorated with porcupine quills. The burning buffalo robes would also have been useful as the soldiers were freezing. Bourke estimated that 66 men suffered from frostbite, including himself.

The soldiers were under fire for five hours when, at 2:30 pm, the destruction of the village completed, Reynolds ordered his soldiers to withdraw. They marched 20 miles that afternoon up the Powder River to Lodge Pole Creek, arriving at 9:00 p.m., in 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 the bodies of three dead soldiers, as well as a badly wounded private who was subsequently "cut limb to limb" by vengeful Indians.

The Cheyenne recaptured all but 100 of their horses 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 returned to Fort Fetterman, arriving on March 26.

Although the Cheyenne had only one man killed and one wounded in the battle, they lost most of their property and, in the words of a Cheyenne, were "rendered very poor." The women and children walked three days to reach the village of Crazy Horse where they were given shelter and food. Several may have frozen to death. Although the army stated that the village consisted of more than 100 lodges, Cheyenne accounts said the village had about 65 lodges. The number of warriors the army faced was probably fewer than 150.

Aftermath
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 hundreds of the captured horses. 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 expedition and their inability to seriously damage the Lakota and Cheyenne at Powder River probably encouraged Indian resistance to the demands of the U.S.

The Powder River battle site is near present-day Broadus, 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.

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 (Chief: Old Bear)


 * 100 to 150 warriors