Battle of the Clearwater

The Battle of the Clearwater was a battle between the Nez Perce and the United States army. Retreating from the battlefield, the Nez Percé (under the leadership of Chief Joseph) began the long trek across Idaho and Montana before surrendering to Oliver Otis Howard near the Canadian border.

Background

After the defeat of United States soldiers at the Battle of White Bird Canyon, General Oliver Otis Howard took personal command of the army. Howard dispatched a small force to capture the neutral Chief Looking Glass, but instead dispersed his camp and allowed him to join with Joseph. Howard moved forward to attack Joseph and Looking Glass near the Clearwater River.

The battle

On July 10, 1877, Howard attacked Joseph's and Looking Glass' combined forces along the Clearwater River. Howard's men charged into Joseph's force which had surrounded a village of civilians at the bottom of a ravine. The U.S. attack faltered and soon Howard's men were on the defensive. Joseph's men flanked the U.S. position and began to push the soldiers back from the canyon onto an open prairie. The fighting on the prairie lasted for several hours. The army brought up howitzer artillery pieces and devastated the warriors. Even though Joseph's men managed to capture a few of the Howitzer's they were recaptured when General Charles F. Humphrey charged the position regaining control of the Guns, an act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Joseph's warriors could not hold up in the pitched battle and began the give way and were forced from the field.

Aftermath

The Battle of the Clearwater had been costly for the United States Army, but it forced the Nez Perce to retreat from Idaho into Montana. They turned south near Fort Missoula and finally stopped to rest in the Big Hole Basin after almost a month of fleeing. Howard's army was too bloodied to immediately pick up the pursuit and Howard telegraphed ahead to Colonel John Gibbon who would intercept the Nez Percé at the Battle of the Big Hole.

Sources

• Dillon, Richard H. North American Indian Wars (1983)
• Greene, Jerome A. Nez Perce Summer, 1877 (2000)