526:. 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.
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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.
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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
534:
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
477:
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
493:
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
588:
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
597:
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
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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
555:
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
551:
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
605:, 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
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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
529:
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
474:; 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.
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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.
552:
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.
399:. 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
1004:
438:
The route of the Nez Perce (red) and the U.S. Army (purple) to the Battle of the Big Hole. General Howard's route is shown as a solid line, Gibbon's as a dotted line.
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slipped away. Gibbon sent out messengers to search for the much larger force of Howard, who was following him, and request immediate relief.
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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.
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on July 11–12, the Nez Perce leaders led their people on an extensive trek to escape the soldiers of
Brigadier General
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Annual Report of the
Secretary of War on the Operations of the Department for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1877
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poles from the surrounding forest. The Nez Perce numbered about 750 people in all with about 200 warriors.
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marched overland to the Nez Perce camp, reaching it at dawn, leaving his twelve-pound (5.4 kg)
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For the Nez Perce the losses in the battle were grievous. They had anticipated that, by leaving
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Valley, crossed a mountain range, and camped in the Big Hole Basin, pausing to replenish their
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scouts, found Gibbon the next morning after a 71-mile (114 km) ride in a day and a night.
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leader of the Nez Perce although
Looking Glass would continue to be a battlefield leader.
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographic Names Information System: Big Hole National Battlefield
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Between Gibbon's position and the Nez Perce encampment, which consisted of 89 tipis in a
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658:(Report). Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1877. p. 72.
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609:. The Nez Perce again clashed with the army ten days later on August 20 at the
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978:
The Nez Perce
Battles Friends of Bear Paw, Big Hole & Canyon Creek Battlefields
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739:"Lt. James H. Bradley: The Literary Legacy of Montana's Frontier Soldier-Historian"
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Chief Joseph and Col. John Gibbon met again on the Big Hole Battle site in 1889
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Josephy Jr., Alvin M. (1965). "This Most Wonderful of Indian Wars".
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876:"I Will Fight no More Forever." Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce War
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Nez Perce summer, 1877: The U.S. Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis
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Nez Perce Summer 1877: The U.S. Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis
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878:. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. p. 128.
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454:. The Nez Perce crossed into Montana Territory via rugged
678:. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 573–633.
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The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest
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716:. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 246–267.
186:70–90 killed of whom perhaps thirty were warriors.
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788:. Helena, MT: Montana Historical Society Press.
535:excellent – although, according to the warrior
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1030:Flight of the Nez Perce and key battle sites.
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941:. Helena: Montana Historical Society Press.
840:. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p.
836:Children of Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877
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1402:Timeline of pre-statehood Montana history
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470:seems to have taken over leadership from
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712:Brown, Mark H. (1967). "Death at Dawn".
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518:-shaped pattern, was the waist-deep and
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743:Montana The Magazine of Western History
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1144:Nez Perce National Historical Park
894:Nez Perce National Historical Park
813:McWorter, Lucullus Virgil (1940).
622:Nez Perce National Historical Park
485:Unknown to the Nez Perce, Colonel
462:on July 28, they entered the
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782:Greene, Jerome A. (2000). "6".
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963:Big Hole National Battlefield
737:James, Jon G. (Winter 2009).
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618:Big Hole National Battlefield
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510:Map of Battle of the Big Hole
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223:Show map of the United States
1436:Battles of the Nez Perce War
1053:Attack on Looking Glass camp
815:"Yellow Wolf: His Own Story"
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571:Big Hole Battlegrounds, 2003
359:Attack on Looking Glass camp
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1041:Battle of White Bird Canyon
922:. New York: Facts on File.
918:Dillon, Richard H. (1983).
714:The Flight of the Nez Perce
10:
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1020:Battles and Events of the
973:Nez Perce Trail Foundation
937:Greene, Jerome A. (2000).
920:North American Indian Wars
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1426:1877 in Montana Territory
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522:-lined North Fork of the
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444:Battle of the Clearwater
896:. National Park Service
832:Hampton, Bruce (1994).
611:Battle of Camas Meadows
1095:Nez Perce at Cow Creek
1089:Battle of Canyon Creek
1085:(August 20 and Sept 7)
1071:Battle of the Big Hole
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88:45.64750°N 113.65083°W
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1077:Battle of Camas Creek
819:Caxton Printers, Ltd.
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176:Casualties and losses
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1047:Battle of Cottonwood
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1274:Second Powder River
259:Show map of Montana
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1446:Battles in Montana
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1322:Little Muddy Creek
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1101:Battle of Bear Paw
983:2015-04-22 at the
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1129:Chief Joseph
1070:
1061:(July 11–12)
938:
919:
898:. Retrieved
893:
884:
875:
869:
860:
835:
827:
821:p. 114.
808:
800:the original
784:
758:. Retrieved
746:
742:
732:
713:
675:
650:
639:
620:unit of the
615:
600:
596:
587:
558:
554:
545:
541:
528:
515:
513:
484:
476:
472:Chief Joseph
441:
405:
403:and asylum.
376:
374:
349:Canyon Creek
333:
253:Location in
171:200 warriors
153:Chief Joseph
116:Belligerents
107:Inconclusive
27:Part of the
1306:Cedar Creek
1217:(1876–1877)
1209:(1866–1868)
1134:Yellow Wolf
1079:(August 20)
1065:Fort Fizzle
900:18 February
537:Yellow Wolf
487:John Gibbon
460:Fort Fizzle
412:battle site
406:Located in
395:during the
339:Camas Creek
329:Fort Fizzle
147:John Gibbon
91: /
79:113°39′03″W
1415:Categories
1049:(July 3–5)
760:8 February
632:References
576:Casualties
532:White Bird
442:After the
430:Background
324:Clearwater
319:Cottonwood
183:38 wounded
76:45°38′51″N
1373:Massacres
1067:(July 28)
1043:(June 17)
749:(4): 55.
593:Aftermath
491:Fort Shaw
489:had left
456:Lolo Pass
391:tribe of
389:Nez Perce
354:Cow Creek
181:31 killed
149:(Colonel)
135:Nez Perce
1346:Bear Paw
1330:Big Hole
1258:Hayfield
1231:Crow War
1055:(July 1)
981:Archived
755:40544016
496:howitzer
387:and the
364:Bear Paw
334:Big Hole
163:Strength
58:Location
1282:Rosebud
1242:Battles
912:Sources
890:"Hours"
562:Bannock
549:Ollokot
1391:(1908)
1383:(1870)
1364:(1880)
1356:(1879)
1348:(1877)
1340:(1877)
1332:(1877)
1324:(1877)
1316:(1877)
1308:(1876)
1300:(1876)
1292:(1876)
1284:(1876)
1276:(1876)
1268:(1873)
1260:(1867)
1252:(1865)
1233:(1887)
1225:(1877)
1201:(1865)
945:
926:
848:
792:
753:
720:
682:
520:willow
502:Battle
424:Wisdom
410:, the
401:Canada
127:
104:Result
751:JSTOR
603:Idaho
1191:Wars
943:ISBN
924:ISBN
902:2017
846:ISBN
790:ISBN
762:2021
718:ISBN
680:ISBN
480:tipi
375:The
50:Date
446:in
418:at
168:206
1417::
892:.
844:.
842:71
770:^
747:59
745:.
741:.
694:^
664:^
628:.
613:.
426:.
65:,
1178:e
1171:t
1164:v
1013:e
1006:t
999:v
951:.
932:.
904:.
854:.
764:.
726:.
688:.
516:V
293:e
286:t
279:v
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