Jump to content

List of battles fought in Montana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an incomplete list of military and other armed confrontations that have occurred within the boundaries of the modern US State of Montana since European contact. The region was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1679, New France from 1679 to 1803, and part of the United States of America from 1803–present.

The Plains Indian Wars directly affected the region during westward expansion.

Battles

[edit]
Former US Army Crow Scouts at the Little Bighorn battlefield in Montana, circa 1913. (Left to right) White Man Runs Him, Hairy Moccasin, Curly and Goes Ahead
Big Hole Battlefield
Bear Paw Battlefield
Name Date Location War Campaign Dead Belligerents
Battle of Alkali Creek September 1, 1865 along Powder River near modern Powderville Sioux Wars Powder River Expedition 8 United States of America vs Sioux
Battle of Dry Creek September 8, 1865 along Powder River near modern Broadus Sioux Wars Powder River Expedition 2 United States of America vs Cheyenne, Sioux & Arapaho
Hayfield Fight August 1, 1867 near Fort C. F. Smith Sioux Wars Red Cloud's War 26[1] United States of America & civilian workers vs Cheyenne & Sioux
Battle of Sixteenmile Creek April 7, 1869 near modern Ringling 10 United States of America & civilians vs Blackfoot Confederacy
Marias Massacre January 23, 1870 along Marias River[2] 218 United States of America vs Piegan
Battle of Bighorn River August 11, 1873 along Yellowstone River near modern Custer Sioux Wars Yellowstone Expedition of 1873 7 United States of America vs Sioux
Battle of Powder River March 17, 1876 along Powder River near modern Moorhead Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 6 United States of America vs Cheyenne & Lakota
Battle of the Rosebud June 17, 1876 modern Big Horn County Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 42 United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne
Battle of the Little Bighorn June 25–26, 1876 modern Big Horn County Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 404[3] United States of America vs Lakota, Cheyenne, & Arapaho
Battle of the Cedar Creek October 21, 1876 near modern Terry Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 8 United States of America, Shoshone, & Crow vs Lakota
Battle of Wolf Mountain January 8, 1877 near modern Birney Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 11 United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne
Battle of Little Muddy Creek May 7, 1877 near modern Lame Deer Sioux Wars Great Sioux War of 1876 18 United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne
Battle of the Big Hole August 9–10, 1877 Beaverhead County Nez Perce War 118[4] United States of America vs Nez Perce & Palouse
Battle of Canyon Creek September 13, 1877 near Billings Nez Perce War 7 United States of America & Crow vs Nez Perce
Battle of Bear Paw September 30 - October 5, 1877 near modern Chinook Nez Perce War 49 United States of America vs Nez Perce
Battle of Pumpkin Creek February 7, 1880 near modern Volborg Sioux Wars 3 United States of America vs Lakota
Battle of Milk River July 17, 1879 near modern Saco Sioux Wars 6 United States of America vs Lakota
Battle of Poplar River January 2, 1881 near Camp Poplar River Sioux Wars 8 United States of America vs Lakota
Battle of Crow Agency November 5, 1887 near Crow Agency Crow War 8 United States of America vs Crow

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Reports of Native Americans killed in action vary from 8 to 23.
  2. ^ Although the exact location of the massacre site was possibly identified by researchers in the 1960s, the state of Montana claims that the massacre site has been destroyed.
  3. ^ The number Native Americans killed in the battle vary considerably, from 36 to 136. An exact number is unlikely to ever be known.
  4. ^ "Big Hole National Battlefield". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2013-01-12.

See also

[edit]