Battle of Killdeer Mountain
The Battle of Killdeer Mountain was a battle between the US Army and Sioux - Indians on July 28, 1864 Dakota Territory in the United States , which ended in victory for the US Army.
Historical background
During the American Civil War (1861-1865) the Sioux uprising broke out in Minnesota . The Dakota left their reservation and attacked white settlers, 450 of whom lost their lives. A hastily assembled militia under Colonel Henry Sibley was finally able to defeat the insurgent Dakota on September 23, 1862, four weeks after the start of the conflict, at Wood Lake . 2,000 Indians surrendered to the Americans, who tried 392 warriors and sentenced 307 of them to death in a fast-track trial. Minnesota Bishop Henry B. Whipple then traveled to Washington to seek mercy from President Abraham Lincoln . After scrutiny, Lincoln commuted most of the death sentences to prison terms. The death penalty remained in place in only 38 cases of proven murder or rape . Part of the Dakota had fled west and was taken in by the Lakota living there. The US Army pursued the fugitives and sent Brigade General Alfred Sully to Dakota Territory in September 1863. There he put the rebellious Sioux at Whitestone Hill and taught them defeat. The Sioux resistance was not broken. Then Sully wintered with his troops on the Missouri River . Major General John Pope , Sully's supervisor, devised a plan to resolve the ongoing problems with the Sioux. In June 1864, Sully left the fort with 2,500 cavalrymen, followed by infantry to build forts in Indian land. In addition, Minnesota militia were deployed to meet Sully at the confluence of Burdache Creek in the upper Missouri.
The battle
The two columns united on June 30th and moved to the mouth of the Cannonball River , where they built Fort Rice. The united Sioux tribes, Dakota and Lakota, under the chief Inkpaduta had a force of about 5,000 to 6,000 warriors and awaited the US troops on the Little Missouri River in a rugged, forested area. Sully met with some Sioux chiefs, but the negotiations were fruitless. Thereupon he ordered the attack and a fierce battle broke out. The US troops had an advantage because they had artillery and long-range rifles. After some losses, the Indians began to flee, leaving all their equipment behind. The US cavalry pursued the fleeing Sioux over a distance of almost 12 kilometers. The Indians lost about 30 warriors, while the American casualties were put at 15. Then the US troops destroyed the Indian tipis and the winter supplies of the Sioux and moved further west through the Badlands to Fort Union at the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers . During this march, they repeatedly encountered warriors who had fled the battle, from whom they were involved in several skirmishes. The battle at Killdeer Mountain worsened the already strained relationship between the northern Plains tribes and the US government.
The site of the battle in North Dakota is now known as the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Killdeer Mountain
- ↑ Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
See also
Indian wars , time table of the Indian wars