The Battle of the Big Hole was fought 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
T ...
, August 9–10, 1877, between the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
and the
Nez Perce
The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...
tribe of
Native Americans during the
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the ''Palus people, Palo ...
. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Nez Perce withdrew in good order from the battlefield and continued their long fighting retreat that would result in their attempt to reach
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and asylum.
Located in
Beaverhead County
Beaverhead County is the largest county by area in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,371. Its county seat is Dillon. The county was founded in 1865.
Much of the perimeter of the county is the Continental Di ...
, the
battle site is between the
continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
at
Chief Joseph Pass
Chief Joseph Pass ( elev. ) is a mountain pass on the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern United States joining Lemhi County, Idaho, and Beaverhead County, Montana. The pass is in the Bitterroot Mountains and is trav ...
and the town of
Wisdom
Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to contemplate and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, ...
.
Background
![Nez Perce route](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Nez_Perce_route.png)
After the
Battle of the Clearwater
The Battle of the Clearwater (July 11–12, 1877) was a battle in the Idaho Territory between the Nez Perce under Chief Joseph and the United States Army. Under General O. O. Howard, the army surprised a Nez Perce village; the Nez Perce counter- ...
in
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho.
History
1860s
The territory w ...
on July 11–12, the Nez Perce leaders led their people on an extensive trek to escape the soldiers of Brigadier General
Oliver Otis Howard
Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...
. The Nez Perce crossed into Montana Territory via rugged
Lolo Pass, and after a brief confrontation at
Fort Fizzle
The "Battle of Fort Fizzle" (also called the Holmes County Draft Riots and the Holmes County Rebellion) was a skirmish fought on June 17, 1863, which took place during the American Civil War in the village of Glenmont (then known as Napoleon) i ...
on July 28, they entered the
Bitterroot Valley
The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana, along the Bitterroot River between the Bitterroot Range and Sapphire Mountains, in the Northwestern United States.
Geography
The valley extends approximately from Lost Trail Pass in Id ...
and proceeded southward.
Looking Glass
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
seems to have taken over leadership from
Chief Joseph
''Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt'' (or ''Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it'' in Americanist orthography), popularly known as Chief Joseph, Young Joseph, or Joseph the Younger (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904), was a leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain (Wallowa ...
; he pledged to the white settlers in the Bitterroot Valley that the Nez Perce would pass through their valley without violence and they did so, even trading and purchasing supplies from white merchants.
Looking Glass persuaded the Nez Perce that Howard was far behind and that the citizens of Montana did not want war with them. Thus, their progress was leisurely and they took few precautions for defense, not sending out scouts or setting pickets to guard their encampments. They left the Bitterroot Valley, crossed a mountain range, and camped in the Big Hole Basin, pausing to replenish their
tipi
A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan languages, Siouan, and in use in Dakot ...
poles from the surrounding forest.
The Nez Perce numbered about 750 persons in all with about 200 warriors.
Unknown to the Nez Perce, Colonel
John Gibbon
John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Early life
Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the fourt ...
had left
Fort Shaw
Fort Shaw (originally named Camp Reynolds) was a United States Army fort located on the Sun River 24 miles west of Great Falls, Montana, in the United States. It was founded on June 30, 1867, and abandoned by the Army in July 1891. It later serv ...
with 161 officers and men and one howitzer. Following the trail of the Nez Perce he collected 45 civilian volunteers in the Bitterroot Valley.
On August 8, a detachment led by Lieutenant James Bradley discovered the Nez Perce camp along the North Fork of the Big Hole River. That night Gibbon marched overland to the Nez Perce camp, reaching it at dawn, leaving his
howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
and a pack train to follow behind with a guard of twenty men. He had come to fight: his orders were no prisoners and no negotiations.
[ ]
Battle
![Battle of the Big Hole-map-1877](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Battle_of_the_Big_Hole-map-1877.jpg)
Between Gibbon's position and the Nez Perce encampment, which consisted of 89 tipis in a ''V''-shaped pattern, was the waist-deep and
willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
-lined North Fork of the
Big Hole River
The Big Hole River is a tributary of the Jefferson River, approximately long, in Beaverhead County, in southwestern Montana, United States. It is the last habitat in the contiguous United States for native fluvial Arctic grayling and is a h ...
. Approaching the Nez Perce encampment on foot at dawn, Gibbon's men encountered an old Nez Perce man and killed him. The soldiers crossed the river and rushed into the village and began firing into the tipis where most of the Nez Perce were still sleeping. The Indians were taken by surprise and fled in all directions. Gibbon's men fired indiscriminately at men, women, and children – although some of the women were said to have been armed and shooting back at the soldiers. Lieutenant James H. Bradley, leading Gibbon's left wing, was killed early in the battle. Leaderless, his men did not continue their advance and left the northern part of the village unoccupied, giving a refuge and a rallying point to the Nez Perce.
Gibbon halted his men in their pursuit, not wishing his force to be scattered, and ordered them to burn the tipis. This proved difficult to do and the pause gave the Nez Perce time to regroup. The voices of
White Bird and Looking Glass rallying their men from the opposite end of the village were heard by the soldiers.
From sheltered positions the Nez Perce began to return fire. Gibbon's horse was hit and he was wounded in the leg and several other soldiers were killed. As usual, the Nez Perce's marksmanship was excellent – although, according to the warrior
Yellow Wolf, most of the Nez Perce warriors had fled without their weapons and only a few were armed.
Twenty minutes after his entry into the village, Gibbon, realizing that he was in an "untenable position", ordered a retreat across the river to a timbered area 300 or 400 yards distant and out of view of the village. The soldiers dug rifle pits and constructed rock and log barriers. At this point Gibbon's howitzer appeared on the battlefield and fired two or three ineffectual rounds. The Nez Perce killed or wounded most of the howitzer crew, who abandoned the gun, but not before dismantling it.
Gibbon feared that the Nez Perce, who he believed outnumbered him, although they probably did not, would overrun his position, but instead the battle settled down into a sniping duel between about 60 Nez Perce under
Ollokot
Ollokot (Ollikut álok'at) (born 1840s – died 30 September 1877), was a war leader of the Wallowa band of Nez Perce Indians and a leader of the young warriors in the Nez Perce War in 1877.
Early life
Ollokot was the son of Tuekakas or Old ...
and the soldiers. The Nez Perce had collected arms and ammunition left behind by the soldiers in their retreat. At one point the Nez Perce set fires and attempted to burn the soldiers out of their position, but the wind shifted and the fire burned itself out. That afternoon the Nez Perce continued sniping at the soldiers while their women packed up, gathered the horse herd, and moved out south, going about 18 miles to Lake Creek where they made camp – this time with defensive works.
Gibbon had serious problems that night. His men had no food, save a dead horse, no water, and many seriously wounded men to tend to. A little water was obtained from the river by volunteers who crept through the Indian lines. Several of the civilian volunteers had had enough of the battle and slipped away. Gibbon sent out messengers to search for the much larger force of Howard, who was following him, and request immediate relief.
The next day, August 10, twenty to thirty Nez Perce sharpshooters kept the soldiers holed up in their fortifications all day. The Nez Perce warriors left that night, leaving Gibbon and his soldiers alone but immobile on the battlefield. Howard, and an advance party of 29 cavalrymen and 17
Bannock
Bannock may mean:
* Bannock (food), a kind of bread, cooked on a stone or griddle
* Bannock (Indigenous American), various types of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying
* Bannock people, a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon ...
scouts, found Gibbon the next morning after a ride in a day and a night.
Casualties
![Chief Joseph and Col](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Chief_Joseph_and_Col._John_Gibbon.jpg)
The battle was costly for both sides. Gibbon's force was unfit to pursue the Nez Perce. Gibbon suffered 29 dead (23 soldiers and six civilian volunteers) and 40 wounded (36 soldiers and four civilians) of whom two later died. His casualties amounted to more than 30 percent of his force. No precise estimate of Nez Perce casualties exists although their total dead probably amounted to between 70 and 90, of whom less than 33 were warriors and most were women and children.
Yellow Wolf claimed that only 12 "real fighters, but our best" died in the battle. Chief Joseph and his brother Ollokot's wives were wounded.
Aftermath
Gibbon's success in surprising the Nez Perce caused Looking Glass's prestige as a leader to plummet. He had promised them they would be safe in Montana and instead nearly every Nez Perce family had suffered a loss in the battle. Chief Joseph seems to have resumed his role as the principal leader of the Nez Perce although Looking Glass would continue to be a battlefield leader.
For the Nez Perce the losses in the battle were grievous. They had anticipated that, by leaving
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
, they might leave the war behind them and live peacefully. Now, they knew that they could expect no quarter in future battles.
Howard's forces, newly arrived on the battlefield, took up the pursuit and followed Joseph toward
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
. The Nez Perce again clashed with the army ten days later on August 20 at the
Battle of Camas Meadows
The Battle of Camas Creek, August 20, 1877, was a raid by the Nez Perce people on a United States Army encampment in Idaho Territory and a subsequent battle during the Nez Perce War. The Nez Perce defeated three companies of U.S. cavalry and cont ...
.
The battlefield is preserved in the
Big Hole National Battlefield
Big Hole National Battlefield preserves a battlefield in the western United States, located in Beaverhead County, Montana. In 1877, the Nez Perce fought a delaying action against the U.S. Army's 7th Infantry Regiment here on August 9 and 10, durin ...
unit of the
Nez Perce National Historical Park
The Nez Perce National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park comprising 38 sites located across the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, which include traditional aboriginal lands of the Nez Perce people. The sit ...
,
located along
State Highway 43.
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Big Hole National BattlefieldNez Perce National Historic TrailNez Perce Trail Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Hole, Battle Of The
Conflicts in 1877
1877 in Montana Territory
1877 in the United States
Battles of the Nez Perce War
August 1877 events
Battles in Montana