Fetterman Fight

Fetterman Fight
	Part of Red Cloud's War and the Sioux Wars
	; The Bozeman trail and the location of the Fetterman Fight
Date	December 21, 1866
Location	4 miles north of Fort Phil Kearny, near Story and Banner Wyoming, North America44°34′15″N 106°50′21″W / 44.570782°N 106.839233°W
Result	Native American victory
Belligerents
United States	Lakota; Cheyenne; Arapaho
Commanders and leaders
William Fetterman †; Frederick Brown †; George W. Grummond †	Red Cloud; High Backbone (Hump); Crazy Horse; They Fear Even His Horses
Strength
81	1,000
Casualties and losses
81 killed	Between 13 and 60 killed

The Fetterman Fight, also known as the Fetterman Massacre or the Battle of the Hundred-in-the-Hands or the Battle of a Hundred Slain,^[1] was a battle during Red Cloud's War on December 21, 1866, between a confederation of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and a detachment of the United States Army, based at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. The U.S. military mission was intended to protect travelers on the Bozeman Trail. A group of ten warriors, including Crazy Horse, acted to lure a detachment of U.S. soldiers into an ambush. All 81 men under the command of Captain William J. Fetterman were then killed by the Native American warriors. At the time, it was the worst military disaster ever suffered by the U.S. Army on the Great Plains.

The Lakota alliance emerged victorious and the remaining U.S. forces withdrew from the area. The Fetterman Fight took place on Crow Indian land that was guaranteed to them by a treaty signed with the U.S. government.^[2] The Lakota and their allies were operating without the consent of the Crow.^[3]

^ Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (2013). The Heart of Everything that Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 346. ISBN 978-1451654660.
^ Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, p. 594.
^ See e.g. Papers relating to Talks and Councils held with the Indians in Dakota and Montana Territories in the Years 1866-1869. Washington, 1910, p. 69. Dunlay, Thomas W.: Wolves for the Blue Soldiers. Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860-90. Lincoln and London, 1982, pp. 39-40.

[:0-1] Bob Drury and Tom Clavin (2013). The Heart of Everything that Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 346. ISBN 978-1451654660.

[2] Kappler, Charles J.: Indian Affairs. Laws and Treaties. Washington, 1904. Vol. 2, p. 594.

[3] See e.g. Papers relating to Talks and Councils held with the Indians in Dakota and Montana Territories in the Years 1866-1869. Washington, 1910, p. 69. Dunlay, Thomas W.: Wolves for the Blue Soldiers. Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860-90. Lincoln and London, 1982, pp. 39-40.

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