Battle of Powder River (1865)
| Battle of Powder River | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Powder River Expedition, Sioux Wars | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United States | Cheyenne | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Frank North | Yellow Woman† | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| ~45 soldiers and Pawnee scouts | 27 men, women and children | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 4 horses killed | 27 killed, 18 horses and 17 mules captured | ||||||||
| ||||||
The Battle of Powder River, part of the Powder River Expedition, was fought on August 16, 1865, by United States soldiers, and scouts, against the Cheyenne. The battle occurred near the Powder River, in Dakota Territory, in present day Johnson County, Wyoming, United States.[1]
The battle
In August, 1865, Captain Frank North, and about 45 of his Pawnee Scouts were keeping up a vigilant search for "Hostile Indians" in Dakota Territory. For two days, they trailed a band of Cheyenne, who were heading north. The trail showed that the Cheyenne had about 35-40 horses and mules, along with one travois. At 2:00 a.m. on August 16, the Captain and his Scouts caught up with the group, on the Powder River, about 60 miles north of Fort Connor. The small group of either 24 or 27 Cheyennes and 35-40 horses and mules had made their camp for the night, and were asleep. North decided to wait until dawn to attack. In the morning, Captain Frank North's group closed on the camp. Spotting the scouts, the Cheyenne thought the approaching Indians were not the Pawnee Scouts, but friendly Cheyenne, and made no hostile moves. However, the Pawnee suddenly charged in on the Cheyenne, surprising them and killing all 27, including Yellow Woman, who was the stepmother of George Bent. In the battle, North's scouts lost 4 horses killed, but captured two stolen government saddles, a quantity of women's and children's clothing, two U.S. Infantry coats issued by Colonel Moonlight to the Indians in the spring of 1865, 18 horses, and 17 mules, making a total of 35 animals. Four of these animals had U.S. government brands showing they had recently been captured in the Battle's of Red Buttes, or Platte Bridge Station, that had both occurred on July 26, 1865, near present-day Casper, Wyoming. One captured horse also belonged to the Overland Stage company. There is no Cheyenne narrative history for the battle because every Native American present was killed by Captain North's men. In his 1915 book, The Fighting Cheyennes, George Bird Grinnell remarked on the Southern Cheyennes he interviewed about the engagement that "The Southern Cheyennes do not appear to know of any fight in which twenty-four or twenty-seven Cheyennes were killed. It seems, probable, therefore, that this whole party of twenty-four was killed and that the Southern Cheyenne knew nothing of it."[2]
Aftermath
After the skirmish, Brigadier General Patrick E. Connor, issued an official report on the action dated August 19, 1865. It read as follows:
Headquarters, Major-General G. M. Dodge: Powder River, August 19th, 1865.
A detachment of my Pawnee scouts on the 16th inst. discovered and pursued a party of 24 Cheyennes returning from the mail road with scalps and plunder. They overtook them about sixty miles northeast of here on Powder River, and after a short en-gagement killed the whole party. Loss on our side, 4 horses killed. We captured 29 animals, among which were 4 Government and one overland stage line horse, besides two Government saddles and a quantity of women's and children clothing, and two of the infantry coats issued by Col. Moonlight last Spring to the Indians, who subsequently killed Capt. Fouts and four soldiers of the Seventh Iowa.— P. Edw. Connor, Brigadier-General.
Order of battle
United States Army, Captain Frank Joshua North, Commanding.
- Pawnee Scouts, about 45 men.[3]
| United States | Companies and Others | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Pawnee Scouts |
| |
Native Americans, Yellow Woman†
| Native Americans | Tribe | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne
|
| |
References
- ↑ Frank Joshua North, 1840-1885, Nebraska State Historical Society
- ↑ Grinnell, George Bird (1915). The Fighting Cheyennes. Norman and London University of Oklahoma Press. p. 207.
- ↑ Sheldon's History and Stories of Nebraska - Major Frank North and the Pawnee Scouts.