Battle of Powder River | |||||||
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Part of the Big Horn Expedition, Great Sioux War of 1876 | |||||||
![]() The Powder River looking north on the battlefield | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Northern Cheyenne Oglala Lakota Sioux |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Two Moon He Dog Little Wolf Wooden Leg |
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Strength | |||||||
100–250 | 383 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
3 killed, several people later died of exposure 3 wounded |
4 killed 6 wounded 66 frostbitten[3] |
The Battle of Powder River, also known as the Reynolds Battle, occurred on March 17, 1876, in Montana Territory, United States, as part of the Big Horn Expedition. The attack on a Northern Cheyenne and Oglala Lakota Indian encampment by Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds initiated the Great Sioux War of 1876. Although destroying a large amount of Indian property, the attack was poorly carried out and solidified Northern Cheyenne and Lakota Sioux resistance to the U.S. attempt to force them to sell the Black Hills and live on a reservation.[4]