Battle of a Hundred-in-the hands

                                  

Red Cloud     John Bozeman                 Jim Bridger               William J. Fetterman

Humans have inhabited the Great Plains of North America for at least 9,000 years living a subsistence lifestyle chasing game from Canada to Mexico unheeded. Red Cloud, a Lakota warrior, was descended from these early inhabitants. At the age of 19 Red Cloud slain his father’s opponent, rescued an opposing warrior from drowning in a river and scalped them on the riverbank. By the 1860s Red Cloud had participated in over 80 battles and was a battle worn leader.

In 1863 Gold was struck in Montana Territory’s Alder Gulch and soon Virginia City swelled to 10,000 hungry gold seekers. John Bozeman, who struck out on his Montana claim, decided to mine the miners by building the Bozeman trail. The trail started along the California Oregon trail heading north along the Platte river in Central Wyoming for 530 miles to arrive in the new Montana goldfields and cutting  through prime Indian hunting grounds. Soon wagon trains came under attack as 1000 emigrants a year traveled on foot, horseback and wagon trains called Prairie schooners. 

To protect travelers on the Bozeman trail the US Government built 3 Forts; Conner, Reno and Phil Kearney. The Forts were also intended to quell intertribal Indian wars and take pressure off the Transcontinental railroad under construction in southern Wyoming. Near Fort Phil Kearney the Bozeman trail ran East of the Big Horn Mountains then headed West to cross the Yellowstone river where John Bozeman followed the path of legendary Mountain Man Jim Bridger.  Bridger had also blazed a wagon trail to the goldfields having spent 40 years in the West and rendered a topographic map on an animal hide from memory. Cartographers who discovered Bridger’s map covering 5 western states found it to be accurate to within 4 degrees. Bridger was also a scout stationed at Fort Phil Kearney in 1866 and stated  "These soldiers don't know anything about fighting Indians".

Present Day Fort Phil Kearney National Historic site near Buffalo Wyoming. Big Horn Mountains in background

Fort Phil Kearney was established in 1866 at the forks of Big and Little Piney creeks by Colonel Henry Carrington, a stockade fortress with eight foot high walls 1496 feet in length built with 4,000 logs and 130,00 bricks. I visited Fort Phil Kearney in October 2021 and a foot of snow had recently fallen closing the mountain passes. There is a small museum onsite and a scale model of the Fort from 1866. The attendant was adamant about going up the road to Fetterman’s site which is 3 miles north of the Fort along the old Bozeman Trail, 'It's like another world up there’ they said. On the way there I ended up in a valley down by a creek where a pair of Chukars, a herd of white tail deer and a bald Eagle circling overhead in a clear blue Wyoming sky all seemed to know I had missed the cutoff to Fetterman’s. Back on the black top and ascending  up to the site you are taken back in time to wagon trails and a huge monument at the end of the road to Captain William Fetterman and his troops.

Monument on site of  Fetterman fight where 3 officers, 76 privates of the 18th US Infantry, 2nd Cavalry and 4 civilians were killed by an overwhelming force of Sioux, under command of Red Cloud.

Fetterman was a distinguished Civil War veteran earning a brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel for his service. December 21st 1866 was a bitter cold and clear day when Fetterman pulled his rank to lead a column of Infantry and the 2nd Cavalry up the Bozeman trail to rescue a wagon train under attack. The Fort’s Commander Colonel Carrington had been instructed to start taking the offensive against the Lakota tribe and also warned the rescue party not to venture out past the Lodge Ridge which was out of visibility from the Fort. When Fetterman’s forces arrived they were greeted by a lone rider on a crippled horse limping up the trail. The 27 men of the 2nd Cavalry took chase over the ridge. It was actually Crazy Horse, who led them over the lodge ridge and into an overwhelming force of 2,000 Cherokee, Oglala and Lakota warriors. Some reports say as many as 40,000 arrows rained on them that day from Lakota and Cherokee warriors flanking their positions. The tribes were armed with bow and arrow, clubs, hatchets and a few guns. Fetterman’s infantry was armed with Springfield single shot muskets and the Cavalry with 7 shot Spencer carbines although with no cover the battle lasted less than 30 minutes with no survivors. 

A day before the battle Lakota elders summoned a spiritual leader, a Winkte two spirit, who rode a sorrel mare four times across the lodge ridge faster each time. At the end of the ride the Winkte’s vision was hundreds of blue coat soldiers in each hand and too many to hold. Based on this vision the tribes went ahead with the battle plan and referred to this as the Battle of a Hundred-in-the-Hands.

Looking North along the Old Bozeman trail at Lodge Ridge cutouts from wagon trains are still visible. 

In 1868 the transcontinental railroad was completed and the Forts and Bozeman trail were abandoned. The lands were ceded to the Indian tribes and soon after Fort Phil Kearney was burned to the ground by the Cheyenne. John Bozeman died at the age of 32 in a suspicious manner and Red Cloud lived to 87 years of age as an elder statesman consulting President Grant on Indian affairs. Captain Fetterman was 33 years old at the time of his death and is buried in the National Cemetery at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument 104 miles north of his battle site.