Fort Robinson massacre

Fort Robinson Massacre
Part of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus
"The Pit". Painting by Frederic Remington, 1897
Date January 9,-22, 1879 Location Fort Robinson, Nebraska, United States Result United States Victory
Belligerents
Northern Cheyenne	United States
Commanders and leaders
Dull Knife Little Finger Nail † Left Hand † Tangle Hair	Andrew W. Evans Henry W. Wessells Peter D. Vroom John B. Johnson
Strength
148 people	~150 soldiers and civilians
Casualties and losses
64 Killed, 23 Wounded, 78 Captured	12 Killed, 14 Wounded

The Fort Robinson tragedy (winter 1878-1879) refers to a series of events which occurred during the winter of 1878-1879 at Fort Robinson in northwestern Nebraska. After having been forced to relocate south to the Darlington Agency in the Southern Cheyenne Reservation, a band of Northern Cheyenne fled back north in September 1878 because of the terrible conditions. The US Army intercepted part of the Northern Cheyenne Exodus and took a band of nearly 150 Cheyenne to Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

In January, after the Cheyenne had refused an earlier order to return to the south, the soldiers began to treat them more harshly to try to force them south: they were confined to a barracks without rations or wood for heat. Most of the band escaped on January 9, but the US Army hunted them down. They quickly returned 65 to the fort, and by January 22 cornered and killed most of the last 32 escapees, as they were poorly armed and greatly outnumbered by 150 soldiers.

In September 1878, a band of nearly 300 Northern Cheyenne, under the leadership of Little Wolf and Dull Knife, fled from the Indian Territory north through Kansas to return to their traditional lands in the Powder River country of Wyoming and Montana. They were pursued by US Army troops, but the warriors successfully fought the soldiers off as they crossed Kansas. They lived off the land, sometimes raiding settlers and cattlemen along the way to obtain horses and food.

In the fall of 1878 beyond the North Platte River, after crossing into Nebraska, the Cheyenne held council. They realized that 34 of the original 297 were missing; most had been killed but a few had decided to take other paths to the north. The Cheyenne decided to split into two groups. Those who wished to stop running, including Wild Hog and Left Hand, planned to go with Dull Knife to the Red Cloud Agency, where the Lakota were located. The Cheyenne who wanted to return to the Powder River country went with Little Wolf.

On October 23, 1878 in a blinding snowstorm, Dull Knife's band found they were surrounded by the US army; the encounter was accidental, as neither party saw the other due to the snow. Dull Knife convinced his warriors not to attack the soldiers; likewise, the army troops stood down. Representatives held a short parley, and the two groups camped overnight. By morning a foot of snow covered the ground. The soldiers offered some food and a few spare blankets to the Cheyenne, and suggested a move to a better camp nearby. The army confiscated the Cheyenne ponies but distributed more rations, including sugar and coffee. The next morning after a two-hour council, the Cheyenne agreed to surrender their weapons. They turned over only the older ones and concealed many. After learning that Red Cloud and Spotted Tail had been relocated to Pine Ridge, Dull Knife decided, due to the weather and his people's condition, to go to Fort Robinson. That night they took apart their best guns to hide the pieces: women hid the barrels under their clothing, and the smaller pieces were attached to clothes and moccasins as ornaments.

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Wikipedia