Battle of the Big Hole

Battle of the Big Hole
Part of the Nez Perce War

Big Hole battlefield
Date9–10 August 1877
Location
Beaverhead County, Montana Territory
45°38′51″N 113°39′03″W / 45.64750°N 113.65083°W / 45.64750; -113.65083[1]
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
 United States Nez Perce
Commanders and leaders
John Gibbon (Colonel) Chief Joseph
Looking Glass
Strength
206 200 warriors
Casualties and losses
31 killed
38 wounded[2]		 70–90 killed of whom perhaps thirty were warriors.
Battle of the Big Hole is located in the United States
Battle of the Big Hole
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Location in the United States
Battle of the Big Hole is located in Montana
Battle of the Big Hole
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Location in Montana Territory

The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana Territory, August 9–10, 1877, between the United States Army and the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans during the Nez Perce War. 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 Canada and asylum.

Located in Beaverhead County, the battle site is between the continental divide at Chief Joseph Pass and the town of Wisdom.

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Big Hole National Battlefield
  2. ^ Annual Report of the Secretary of War on the Operations of the Department for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1877 (Report). Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1877. p. 72.