Battle Canyon – Last Battle Between Northern Cheyenne and US Army in Kansas
Battle Canyon was the site of the last battle between the Northern Cheyenne and the US Army. The Battle Canyon site was also the last battle in which a US military officer was mortally wounded.
Northern Cheyenne Driven onto Reservations
The Northern Cheyennes were from Montana and South Dakota. Following the defeat of General Custer at Little Big Horn near Montana’s southern border, the US Army increased their presence in the Northern Plains and drove nearly all the Native Americans in the area onto reservations.
Northern Cheyenne Allies with Lakota Sioux
The Northern Cheyennes struck a close alliance with the Lakota Sioux, so the US Army decided to separate them in order to better maintain control of them.
Cheyenne Removed to Indian Territories of Oklahoma
In late 1877, the Northern Cheyenne were forced from their homelands in Montana and sent to the Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
During that year, the Cheyenne suffered a great loss of life on the reservation. The living conditions were deplorable, there was a malaria outbreak, and the infant mortality rate was huge. Many of the Cheyenne suffered from starvation and disease.
Escape from Fort El Reno, Oklahoma
In September of 1878, a year after they had arrived on the reservations, a group totaling 353 Northern Cheyenne, decided they had had enough and were going home to Montana. They were lead by two chiefs, Dull Knife and Little Wolf.
Chief Dull Knife
Chief Little Wolf
Word of Their Escape
So, this group, roughly a third of the Cheyenne in Indian Territory left the reservation, some on horses, some walking. There were 92 warriors, 120 women, and 141 children.
The group left Oklahoma and traveled into Kansas. There were few US troops in the area. When the band crossed into Kansas, and word of their escape and skirmishes along the way reached Fort Dodge.
Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Lewis Dispatched
A commander at Fort Dodge, Lieutenant-Colonel William H. Lewis, was dispatched to capture the group of Northen Cheyenne that had escaped the reservation in Oklahoma.
Cheyenne Make it to Battle Canyon
The Cheyenne hid out during the day and traveled by night, eluding the US troops. On Sept 25, 1878, the reached the Valley of Punished Woman’s Fork and took refuge there. They spent the next two days resting, hunting to replenish their food supply, and fortifying their position in what is now called Battle Canyon.
Punished Woman Valley
Squaw’s Den Cave
US Troop Catch Up to the Northern Cheyenne
Late in the afternoon of Sept 27, just before dark, Lieutenant-Colonel William H Lewis and his army discovered the Cheyenne’s horses in Battle Canyon and shot them. The women, elderly, and children hid in a cave now known as Squaw’s Den Cave, while the warriors fought the soldiers. Lt-Col William H Lewis was wounded in the battle. The battle lasted about 2 hours before it got dark. Lt-Col Lewis was wounded in the thigh.
The next morning Lt-Col William Lewis died on his way to Fort Wallace, making him the last US military casualty of the Indian Wars in Kansas.
Dull Knife and Little Wolf
Northern Cheyenne Escape
The Northern Cheyenne escaped during the night and traveled to Nebraska. The group divided under each chief.
Chief Dull Knife’s group, mostly the elderly, wounded and children, eventually surrendered to the US Army at Ft Robinson Nebraska.
Little Wolf’s group made it to Montana but surrendered to the army in the spring of 1879.
Historic Site
Battle Canyon battle site is located about a mile southeast of Lake Scott State Park in Scott Co Kansas.
The Battle Canyon site is a State and National Historic Site. The Scott Co Historical Society maintains the site and erected a monument overlooking Squaw’s Den Cave.
We enjoyed this site so much that we visited it several times while in Kansas. If you find yourself in West Kansas, it definitely worth the visit.
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