Battle of the Hundred Slain

Fetterman Fight
Part of Red Cloud's War, Sioux Wars, American Indian Wars
The Bozeman trail and the location of the Fetterman Fight.
Date December 21, 1866 Location 4 miles north of Fort Phil Kearny in Crow Indian treaty guaranteed land, near Story and Banner 44°34′15″N 106°50′21″W / 44.570782°N 106.839233°W / 44.570782; -106.839233Coordinates: 44°34′15″N 106°50′21″W / 44.570782°N 106.839233°W / 44.570782; -106.839233 Result Indian victory
Belligerents
United States	Lakota Northern Cheyenne Northern Arapaho
Commanders and leaders
William J. Fetterman† Frederick Brown† George W. Grummond†	Red Cloud High Backbone (Hump) Crazy Horse Man Afraid Of His Horses
Strength
79 soldiers, 2 civilians	~1,000
Casualties and losses
81 killed	Probably between 13 and 60 killed

The Fetterman Fight, also known as the Fetterman Massacre or Battle of the Hundred-in-the-Hands, was a battle during Red Cloud's War on December 21, 1866, between the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians and soldiers of the United States Army, based at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming. The U.S. military mission was to protect travelers on the Bozeman Trail.

A group of ten warriors, including the later-legendary Crazy Horse, acted to lure a detachment of soldiers into an ambush. All 81 men under the command of Captain William J. Fetterman were killed by the Indians. At the time, it was the worst military disaster ever suffered by the U.S. Army on the Great Plains.

The Lakota alliance were victorious and the U.S. forces withdrew from the area. The Fetterman Fight took place in Crow Indian treaty-guaranteed land, where the Lakota and their Indian allies were operating without the consent of the Crow.

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 had this territory designated as Crow Indian land. The Lakota, the Cheyenne and the Arapaho accepted it as such. Tracking the dwindling herds of buffalo, the three tribes soon "ignored" the treaty boundaries agreed upon and invaded the Crow land. By 1860, these traditional enemies of the Crow had taken control of their hunting grounds west of Powder River.

In June 1866, United States Colonel Henry B. Carrington advanced from Fort Laramie into the Powder River country, now the hunting grounds of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho. His orders were to protect European-American emigrants traveling west along the Bozeman Trail. Carrington had 700 soldiers and 300 civilians in his command. He established three forts along the trail, including his headquarters at Fort Phil Kearny, near present-day Buffalo, Wyoming. All three forts were located in Crow territory. The army used a treaty right to "establish roads, military and other post". About 400 of his soldiers and most of the civilians were stationed at Fort Kearny.

...
Wikipedia