64. Big Hole National Battlefield

Wisdom, Montana

Site of the August 9-10, 1877 battle between the US Army and the non-treaty Nez Perce people 10 miles west of Wisdom, Montana.

History:

In 1877, facing the demands of the US Army and immigrants wanting access to their land, approximately 750 of the Nez Perce people fled their native Idaho homeland instead of being forced onto a smaller reservation. In early August of that year, after crossing the border of Montana, they camped for several days on the banks of the North Fork of the Big Hole River. Soldiers and civilian volunteers, under the command of Col. John Gibbon, mounted an early morning attack on the Nez Perce village. The startled villagers took heavy casualties early on but the Nez Perce warriors quickly mounted a defense and were able to drive back and hold the soldiers into fortified hills above the camp. This allowed the other Nez Perce in the village to bury their dead and flee while the warriors followed behind. Approximately 90 Nez Perce died in the battle, mostly women, children and elderly, with the US army losing about 70 soldiers and volunteers.

For months after the Battle of the Big Hole, the US military under the command of General Oliver Otis Howard and General Nelson Miles continued their pursuit of the Nez Perce people who were attempting to cross the state of Montana towards freedom at the Canadian border. In October, with freezing cold weather and little to no food, the Nez Perce under the leadership of Chief Joseph, fought a last-ditch battle against the US soldiers at the Battle of Bear Paw. The fight lasted for 5 days before Joseph finally surrendered to General Miles, only 40 miles from the border of Canada. Only 50 of the original 750 Nez Perce people were able to escape into freedom in Canada.