View source for Battle of Canyon Creek

{{Infobox military conflict|
conflict=Battle of Canyon Creek
|colour_scheme=background:#cccccc
| image= Chief.Joseph.Band.1877.jpg
| image_size = 280
|caption=''Chief Joseph and his band in the spring of 1877.''
|partof=the [[Nez Perce War]]
|date=September 13, 1877
|place=Canyon Creek, [[Yellowstone County, Montana|Yellowstone County]],<br>[[Montana Territory]], [[United States]]
|map_type    = USA#Montana
|map_relief  = yes 
|map_size    = 270
|map_marksize= 
|map_caption = Location in the [[United States]]##Location in [[Montana Territory]]
|map_label   = 
|result= Nez Perce victory
|combatant1={{flag|United States|1877}}<br>[[Crow Indians]]
|combatant2=[[Nez Perce]]
|commander1=[[Samuel D. Sturgis]]<br>[[Lewis Merrill]]<br />[[Frederick Benteen]]
|commander2=[[Chief Joseph]]<br>[[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass]]
|strength1=425 soldiers<br>about 100 White and Indian scouts
|strength2=<200
|casualties1=4 killed<br>11 wounded
|casualties2=3 killed <br>3 wounded
<!--|coordinates={{coord|45|43|14|N|108|35|34|W|display=inline|name=Canyon Creek}}<ref>{{cite gnis |id=769574 |name=Canyon Creek|2012-04-15}}</ref> These are coord of mouth of Canyon Creek-->
|coordinates={{coord|45|46|09|N|108|48|49|W|display=inline, title |name=Calamity Jane Horse Cache Butte}}<ref>{{cite gnis |id=769499 |name=Calamity Jane Horse Cache}}</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Nez Perce Campaign}}
[[File:Canyon creek battlefield.jpg|thumb|240px|The U.S. army and cavalry fought on the ridges bordering Canyon Creek while the women, children, and horse herd of the Nez Perce escaped via the valley floor.]]
The '''Battle of Canyon Creek''' was a military engagement in [[Montana Territory]] between the [[Nez Perce]] Indians and the [[United States Army]]'s [[7th Cavalry Regiment|7th Cavalry]]. The battle was part of the larger [[Indian Wars]] of the latter 19th century and the immediate [[Nez Perce War]]. It took place on September 13, 1877, west of present-day [[Billings, Montana|Billings]] in [[Yellowstone County, Montana|Yellowstone County]], in the canyons and benches around Canyon Creek.<ref name=greene>{{cite book|last=Greene |first=Jerome A. |title=Nez Perce Summer 1877: The U.S. Army and the Nee-Me-Poo Crisis|publisher=Montana Historical Society Press|location=Helena, MT|chapter=9 |year=2000|chapter-url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/biho/greene/chap9a.htm|isbn=0-917298-68-3}}</ref>

==Background==
[[File:Yellowstone route Nez Perce.png|thumb|270px|The Nez Perce route (red) from [[Yellowstone National Park|Yellowstone Park]] to Canyon Creek and the route of General [[Oliver Otis Howard|Howard]] (purple) and Colonel Sturgis (dotted purple).]]
In June 1877, several bands of the Nez Perce, resisting relocation from their native lands on the [[Wallowa River]] in northeast [[Oregon]] to a reservation in [[North Central Idaho|north-central]] [[Idaho Territory]] on the [[Clearwater River (Idaho)|Clearwater River]], attempted to escape to the east through Idaho, Montana, and [[Wyoming Territory|Wyoming]] territories, over the [[Rocky Mountains]] into the [[Great Plains]]. By September, the Nez Perce had traveled nearly {{convert|1000|mi|spell=in}} and fought several battles in which they defeated or held off the U.S. Army forces pursuing them. The Nez Perce had the mistaken notion that after crossing the next mountain range or defeating the latest army sent to oppose them they would find a peaceful new home.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hampton |first=Bruce|title=Children of Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877|url=https://archive.org/details/childrenofgracen00hamp |url-access=registration |publisher=Henry Holt and Company|location=New York|year=1994|pages=[https://archive.org/details/childrenofgracen00hamp/page/224 224–242]|isbn=9780805019919 }}</ref>

After [[Nez Perce in Yellowstone Park|passing through]] [[Yellowstone National Park]], the Nez Perce eluded the forces of Colonel [[Samuel D. Sturgis]] and followed the [[Clarks Fork Yellowstone River|Clark's Fork]] of the [[Yellowstone River]] north out of Wyoming into Montana. Brigadier General [[Oliver Otis Howard|Oliver Howard]], who had chased the Nez Perce unsuccessfully for three months, ordered Sturgis to continue the pursuit. Sturgis had 360 men in six cavalry companies, divided into two battalions, one commanded by Major [[Lewis Merrill]] and the second by Captain [[Frederick Benteen]]. Howard reinforced Sturgis's 360 men with 50 additional cavalrymen, two mountain howitzers, twenty-five white scouts, and a few [[Bannock people|Bannock]] and [[Crow Scouts|Crow scouts]].<ref name=Brown>{{cite book|last=Brown|first=Mark H.|title=The Flight of the Nez Perce|publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons|location=New York|year=1967|chapter=Canyon Creek and the Prairies Beyond |pages=355–368}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Friends of Bear Paw, Big Hole & Canyon Creek Battlefields|url=http://friendsnezpercebattlefields.org/battlecanyoncreekphototour.htm|publisher=Friends of Nez Perce Battlefields|accessdate=April 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806024158/http://www.friendsnezpercebattlefields.org/battlecanyoncreekphototour.htm|archive-date=2012-08-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> Howard and his soldiers, whose horses were worn out, would rest and follow a couple of days behind Sturgis.

The route of the Nez Perce had been predicated on the belief, especially by [[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass]], that they would find asylum and safety among their friends, the [[Crow people|Crow]] who lived near the Yellowstone River. Looking Glass met with representatives of both bands of the Crow on the Clark's Fork. The Crow, realizing that helping the Nez Perce would lead to retaliation on them by the U.S. army, rejected the appeal of the Nez Perce for help. Moreover, a few Crow warriors would join the army as scouts with an eye on capturing the large Nez Perce horse herd.<ref>Hampton, pp. 261-263</ref>  At this point, the Nez Perce realized that their one hope for safety was to join the [[Sioux]] leader [[Sitting Bull]] in [[Canada]], {{convert|250|mi}} to their north.<ref name=greene/>

In their journey down the Clark's Fork, the Nez Perce killed several prospectors and ranchers.<ref>Hampton, pp 260-261</ref>

==The battle==
The Yellowstone River, above and below the mouth of Clark's Fork, is bounded on the north bank by cliffs about {{convert|400|ft}} high. The one passage through the cliffs was Canyon Creek. Following the creek upstream through open country, about {{convert|5|mi|0|spell=in}} from the Yellowstone the cliffs close in on either side and the creek splits into three forks, each running through a canyon only a few hundred feet wide with smaller side canyons. The canyons are separated by steep flat-topped ridges {{convert|300|to|500|ft|round=5}} high. The narrow canyons are about {{convert|6|mi|0|spell=in}} long and lead to open prairie above.<ref name=Brown/>  It&nbsp;was among these multiple canyons and the ridges surmounting them that the battle took place.

The Nez Perce camped on September&nbsp;12 near the entrance to the narrow canyons of Canyon Creek. On the morning of September&nbsp;13, many of the warriors were raiding ranches for supplies and horses up and down the Yellowstone River when they suddenly became aware that Sturgis was nearby. They had not expected him to catch them so quickly. Sturgis's men were exhausted and anticipated a rest after they crossed the Yellowstone River that morning, but Crow scouts reported the Nez Perce were moving up Canyon Creek six miles away. Seeing an opportunity, Sturgis sent [[Major (rank)|Major]] [[Lewis Merrill]] and his battalion ahead atop a long ridge to head off the Nez Perce traversing the shallow canyon below. Benteen's battalion followed, while Sturgis stationed himself with the rear guard. Merrill was halted on the ridge by a scattering of rifle shots from Nez Perce warriors. In the words of his civilian scout, Stanton G. Fisher, Merrill's battalion dismounted and deployed "instead of charging which they should have done."<ref name=Brown/>  According to [[Yellow Wolf (Nez Perce)|Yellow Wolf]], a single Nez Perce, Teeto Hoonod, held up the advance for a crucial ten minutes, firing 40 well-aimed shots at the cavalry from behind a rock.<ref>{{cite web|last=McWorter|first=Lucullus Virgil|title=Yellow Wolf: His Own Story|publisher=[[Caxton Press (United States)|Caxton Printers, Ltd.]]|location=Caldwell, ID|year=1940|page=185|url=https://archive.org/stream/yellowwolfhisown002070mbp/yellowwolfhisown002070mbp_djvu.txt}}</ref>  The caution of the soldiers was perhaps due to the formidable reputation of the Nez Perce for military prowess and marksmanship. Gale-force winds impacted marksmanship, a factor explaining low casualties on both sides.<ref name=Brown/>

When Sturgis arrived at the battleground, he perceived that his troops still had the possibility of capturing the Nez Perce horse herd. He sent Captain Benteen and his men on a swing to the left to plug the exits from the canyon and trap the women, children, and horses.<ref name=greene/> Merrill was told to advance into the canyon to threaten the rear of the Nez Perce column, but he was held up by an increasing number of Nez Perce warriors firing at long distance at his soldiers. He succeeded only in capturing a few horses. Benteen also ran into opposition and was unable to head off the horse herd, the Nez Perce occupying high ground and firing at the soldiers. A rearguard of the Nez Perce held off the soldiers until nightfall. Most of their horse herd and their women and children reached the plains and continued north.<ref name=greene/>

Fisher, among others, was "disgusted" with Sturgis's cautious management of the fight. Fisher was further disgusted when he returned to camp and found that the Crow scouts had stolen his pack animals, clothing, and bedding.<ref name=Brown/>

==Pursuit==
The next day Sturgis's men were joined by an additional large number of Crow, variously estimated at between 50 and 200, riding fresh horses. They were sent ahead with Bannock scouts and, in a skirmish, succeeded in stealing about 400 of the Nez Perce horses.   Sturgis and the cavalry followed behind and journeyed {{convert|37|mi}} that day, but at the cost of wearing their horses down and putting themselves on foot, the Crow and Bannock declining to share their captured horses with the soldiers. After another long day of travel, but unable to catch up with the Nez Perce, Sturgis was forced to halt on the banks of the [[Musselshell River]] to await supplies and General Howard and his men who arrived there two days later.<ref name=Brown/>

==Aftermath==
Without much difficulty the Nez Perce held off and escaped from a cavalry force outnumbering them at least two to one. However, the loss of about 400 horses to the Crow scouts was a blow as it placed an additional burden on their remaining and increasingly worn-out horses and slowed their flight toward Canada. They had also expended much of their scarce ammunition. The betrayal of them by the Crow was a psychological blow and after three months of a fighting retreat they were physically exhausted.<ref name=greene/>

Sturgis's casualties in the long-range battle were three killed and eleven wounded, one of them mortally. Martha Jane Cannary, better known as "[[Calamity Jane]]," accompanied the wounded by boat down the Yellowstone River as a nurse.<ref name=greene/>  Sturgis claimed to have killed sixteen Nez Perce, but Yellow Wolf said that the Nez Perce had only one warrior and two old men killed, and those by the Crow. He said that three Nez Perce were wounded by the soldiers.<ref>McWhorter, pp. 186, 188</ref>

1st Cavalry soldiers praised the valor of 7th Cavalry lieutenants [[William Jones Nicholson]], George D. Wallace, and [[John Chowning Gresham]], which led to Benteen officially commending them in his written report.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://armyatwoundedknee.com/2013/10/13/lieutenant-william-jones-nicholson-adjutant-1st-battalion-7th-cavalry/ |title=Lieutenant William Jones Nicholson, Adjutant, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry |last=Russell |first=Sam |date=October 13, 2013 |website=Army at Wounded Knee |publisher=Samuel L. Russell |location=Carlisle, PA |access-date=October 26, 2019 |ref={{sfnRef|"Lieutenant William Jones Nicholson"}}}}</ref>

==Order of battle==
'''Nez Perce'''
{| class="wikitable"
! width=25% |Tribal nation
! width=25% |Leaders
! Fighters
|-
| rowspan=1 |
[[Nez Perce people|Nez Perce]]
|  [[Chief Joseph]] (diplomatic leader)<br> [[Looking Glass (Native American leader)|Looking Glass]] (war leader),<br> others
|150-200 Fighters
|-
|}

'''United States Army'''

September 13, 1877, [[Colonel]] [[Samuel D. Sturgis]], commanding.
{| class="wikitable"
! width=25% | Expedition
! width=25% | Regiment
! Companies and Others
|-
| rowspan=4 |
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
[[Colonel]] [[Samuel D. Sturgis]], commanding
| Merrill's Battalion, 7th Cavalry
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;
[[Major (rank)|Major]] [[Lewis Merrill]]
|
* Company F, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] [[James M. Bell (U.S. Army brigadier general)|James M. Bell]]
* Company I, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] Henry J. Nowlan
* Company L, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[First Lieutenant (United States)|First Lieutenant]] John W. Wilkinson
|-
| Benteen's Battalion, 7th Cavalry
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;
[[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] [[Frederick Benteen]]
|
* Company G, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[First Lieutenant (United States)|First Lieutenant]] George D. Wallace
* Company H, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[Second Lieutenant (United States)|Second Lieutenant]] Ezra B. Fuller
* Company M, [[7th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|7th United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] Thomas H. French
|-
| Scouts and Guides
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;
About 100 men
|
*  [[Bannock people|Bannock]] scouts
*  [[Crow people|Crow]] scouts
*  About 25 white scouts
|-
| Reinforcements
<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;
[[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] [[Charles Bendire]]
|
* Company C, [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st United States Cavalry Regiment]] (detachment): Attached to Company K
* Company K, [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st United States Cavalry Regiment]]: [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]] [[Charles Bendire]]
* Detachment (1 howitzer), [[4th Artillery Regiment (United States)|4th United States Artillery Regiment]]:
|-
|
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [http://www.friendsnezpercebattlefields.org/Canyon-creek-battlefield.htm The Battle of Canyon Creek, by Bill Price], ''Friends of Bear Paw, Big Hole & Canyon Creek Battlefields'', Retrieved on 2007-11-25
* [http://www.billingsguide.com/Visguide16.html Canyon Creek Battlefield], ''Billingsguide.com'', Retrieved on 2007-11-25
{{Nez Perce War}}
{{Montana Indian Battles}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Canyon Creek}}
[[Category:Battles of the Nez Perce War|Canyon Creek, Battle of]]
[[Category:1877 in the United States]]
[[Category:Montana Territory]]
[[Category:Nez Perce National Historical Park]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Yellowstone County, Montana]]
[[Category:September 1877 events]]