History & Culture

The Big Hole National Battlefield is the location of the battle that took place on August 9th and 10th during Nez Perce Flight of 1877. By early August, over 800 nımí·pu· (Nez Perce) and over 2,000 horses were passing peacefully through the Bitterroot Valley after crossing Lolo Pass into Montana. Their leaders believed the military would not pursue them even though many had premonitions warning otherwise. When the nımí·pu· arrived at ?ıckumcılé.lıkpe (known today as Big Hole National Battlefield) on August 7th, they did not know the military was close behind them. On the morning of August 9, 1877, U.S. troops surprised the sleeping nımí·pu· with a dawn attack on the encampent.

 
A map showcasing the different movements and events during the battle.
 

1. Nez Perce Camp

hímı.n maqsmáqs (Yellow Wolf) described that night: “The warriors paraded about camp, singing, all making a good time. It was the first since war started. Everyone with good feeling. Going to buffalo country! . . . War was quit. All Montana citizens our friends.” Meanwhile Colonel John Gibbon reported “All laid down to rest until eleven o’clock. At that hour the command . . . of 17 officers, 132 men and 34 citizens, started down the trail on foot, each man being provided with 90 rounds of ammunition. The howitzer [cannon] could not accompany the column. . . . Orders were given . . . that at early daylight it should start after us with a pack mule loaded with 2,000 rounds of extra [rifle] ammunition.”

 

2. U.S. Military Attacks

hú.sus ? ewyí.n (Wounded Head) told what happened before dawn August 9: “A man . . . got up early, before the daylight. Mounting his horse, he . . . crossed the creek, when soldiers were surrounding the camp . . . he was shot down. The sound of the gun awoke most of the band and immediately the battle took place.” Corporal Charles Loynes recalled, “We received orders to give three volleys [low into the tipis], then charge—we did so. That act would hit anyone, old as well as young, but what any individual soldier did while in the camp, he did so as a brute, and not because he had any orders to commit such acts.”

hímı.n ? ılpílp (Red Wolf) described the chaos: “The women, all scared when the soldiers charged the camp, ran into the water, the brush. Any place where they could hide themselves and children. Many were killed as they ran.” pıná.?wınonmay (Helping Another) explained what she did: “I hid under some willow brush, lying like this [flat on side]. A little girl lay close, my arm over her. Bullets cut twigs down on us like rain. The little girl was killed. Killed under my arm.” The soldiers were then given the order to burn the tipis.

 

3. Warriors Drive U.S. Military Back

“These soldiers came on rapidly. They mixed up part of our village. I now saw [tipis] on fire. I grew hot with anger,” recalled hímı.n maqsmáqs (Yellow Wolf). “Those soldiers did not last long. . . . Scared, they ran back across the river. We followed the soldiers across the stream. . . . the soldiers hurried up the bluff.” Amos Buck, a civilian volunteer, told: “Here we began to throw up entrenchments. The Indians quickly surrounded us and were firing from every side, while we were digging and firing.”

 

4. Warriors Capture Army Howitzer

Colonel Gibbon recalled: “Just as we took up our position in the timber two shots from our howitzer on the trail above us we heard, and we afterwards learned that the gun and pack mule with ammunition were . . . intercepted by Indians.” wewúkıye?ılpílp (Red Elk) also described the capture: “We saw the warriors closing in on the cannon. Three men, one from above and two below . . . None of the three stopped from dodging, running forward. The big gun did not roar again.”

 

5. Warriors Besiege Soldiers

Some warriors kept the soldiers and volunteers besieged while others raced back to camp. “I started back with others to our camp,” explained hímı.n maqsmáqs (Yellow Wolf). “I wanted to see what had been done. It was not good to see women and children lying dead and wounded. . . . The air was heavy with sorrow. I would not want to hear, I would not want to see again.”

 

6. Surviving Nez Perce Familes Flee

The nımí·pu· buried their dead and prepared to move. Most warriors went with the camp to protect it. The battle continued and some warriors stayed behind, including hímı.n maqsmáqs (Yellow Wolf), who told: “The night grew old and the firing faded away. Soldiers would not shoot. . . . We did not charge. If we killed one soldier, a thousand would take his place. If we lost one warrior, there was none to take his place.” Near dawn they saw a man ride up to the soldiers. “We did not try to kill him. . . . The soldiers made loud cheering. We understood! Ammunition had arrived or more soldiers were coming. . . . We gave those trenched soldiers two volleys as a ‘Good-by!’ Then we mounted and rode swiftly away.”

Aftermath

The battle at Big Hole was a turning point in the Flight of 1877, for the nimí·pu· no longer considered "all Montana citizens our friends." Between 60 and 90 nımí·pu· men, women, and children were killed during the battle, with an unknown number wounded, some killed or injured by Bitterroot civilians who the nımí·pu· recognized. Of the military and civilian volunteers, 31 were killed, 38 wounded.

After the battle, the nımí·pu· fled south, crossing back into Idaho over Bannock Pass before heading east towards Yellowstone National Park. They attempted to avoid towns and ranches, but when they did encounter settlers, the nımí·pu· no longer trusted them. The military caught up to the nımí·pu· for the first time after this battle on August 20 at Camas Meadow, west of Yellowstone National Park.

Learn more about what happened next by following the links below.

 
Three silhouette statues of Nez Perce on horseback in the distance.
Camas Meadows History

The Nez Perce were able to steal more than 200 of the Army's pack horses and mules, halting the Army's advance during the Flight of 1877.

Painting depicting soldiers and Nez Perce warriors during battle.
The Nez Perce Flight of 1877

In 1877, the non-treaty Nez Perce were forced on a 126-day journey that spanned over 1,170 miles and through four different states.

Blue camas bloom in the foreground and the tipi frames from the Nez Perce encampment
Directions to Big Hole

Directions to the Big Hole National Battlefield.

 

For More Information

Official Big Hole National Battlefield Map and Brochure

The official brochure and map for Big Hole National Battlefield is available for download below.

Last updated: March 9, 2024

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Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 237
Wisdom, MT 59761

Phone:

406 689-3155

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