The Battle of Little Muddy Creek, also known as the Lame Deer Fight, was fought on May 7–8, 1877, by United States soldiers and scouts against a village of Miniconjou Lakota and

Northern Cheyenne The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation ( chy, Tsėhéstáno; formerly named the Tongue River) is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately ...

. The battle occurred near Little Muddy Creek in

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

, near present-day

Lame Deer Lame Deer (1821-1877), also called "The Elk that Whistles Running," was a first chief of the Miniconjou Lakota (trans. "They who plant by the water") and vice chief of the Wakpokinyan (trans. "To Fly along the river") band. Biography Lame Deer ...

, Rosebud County.

Background

On May 1, 1877, Colonel

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

led a mixed force of his own 5th Regiment, the 22nd Regiment, and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment out of

Fort Keogh Fort Keogh is a former United States Army post located at the western edge of modern Miles City, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is situated on the south bank of the Yellowstone River, at the mouth of the Tongue River. Colonel Nelson A. Miles, ...

in search of Miniconjou Lakota under

. On the Tongue River, Indian scouts found a trail heading west to Rosebud Creek, and Miles followed with his command of 471 officers and enlisted men.

Battle

Spotting a camp of 61 lodges on Little Muddy Creek, Colonel Miles left his infantry and moved in with cavalry under Captain Edward Ball and mounted infantry under Lieutenant Edward W. Casey. The mounted force reached Lame Deer's sleeping village before dawn at 4:30 a.m. Company H of the 2nd Cavalry under Lieutenant Lovell H. Jerome and the mounted infantry under Casey began the fight with a mounted charge into the village. One of the army's Indian scouts, Hump, called to the Lakota and Cheyenne that Miles wanted to negotiate with them. Lame Deer approached Miles accompanied by his nephew Iron Star and two others. Miles told Lame Deer to lay down his rifle, which he did, but cocked and facing forward. When White Bull, one of Miles's scouts, tried to take Iron Star's rifle, he fired, with the bullet going through White Bull's coat. Lame Deer grabbed his weapon on the ground and fired it at Miles, the bullet just missing him and killing his orderly, Private Charles Shrenger. Chaos ensued. Several soldiers and Lakota were hit in the gunfire. Lame Deer was shot down by a volley of 17 bullets fired by men of Company L, 2nd Cavalry. Companies F, G, and L of the 2nd Cavalry then attacked the small and defenseless Indian village, destroying it and capturing about 450 horses, killing half of them.

Aftermath

The army had four men killed and ten wounded in the engagement, while the Lakota suffered from 5–14 killed, and about 20 wounded and 40 captured. Five Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to soldiers for their actions during the battle: #

Henry Wilkens Henry Wilkens (1855 – August 2, 1895) was a German-born soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 2nd U.S. Cavalry during the Nez Perce War. In the summer of 1877, he received the Medal of Honor for two separate engagements, Little Muddy ...

– first sergeant, Company L, 2nd Cavalry # William H. Jones – sergeant, Company L, 2nd Cavalry #

Harry Garland Harry T. Garland (born 1947) is a scientist, engineer, author, and entrepreneur who co-founded Cromemco Inc., one of the earliest and most successful microcomputer companies. He received the B.A. degree in mathematics from Kalamazoo College, and ...

– corporal, Company L, 2nd Cavalry # William Leonard – private, Company L, 2nd Cavalry # Samuel D. Phillips – private, Company H, 2nd Cavalry A

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

was awarded to

David L. Brainard David Legge Brainard (December 21, 1856 – March 22, 1946) was a career officer in the United States Army. He enlisted in 1876, received his officer's commission in 1886, and served until 1919. Brainard attained the rank of brigadier genera ...

on January 27, 1933; one of only 12 awarded for the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Order of battle

United States Army, Colonel

* 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Companies F, G, H, L, Captain Edward Ball * 5th Infantry Regiment, Companies B, H * 22nd Infantry Regiment, Companies E, F, G, H * Indian Scouts Native Americans, Chief

* Miniconjou Lakota *

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Muddy Creek, Battle of 1877 in the United States Battles involving the Sioux Indian wars of the American Old West May 1877 events Montana Territory