List of battles fought in Montana
This is an incomplete list of military and other armed confrontations that have occurred within the boundaries of the modern US State of Montana since European contact. The region was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1679, New France from 1679 to 1803, and part of the United States of America from 1803–present.
The Plains Indian Wars directly affected the region during westward expansion.
Battles[edit]
| Name | Date | Location | War | Campaign | Dead | Belligerents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Alkali Creek | September 1, 1865 | along Powder River near modern Powderville | Sioux Wars | Powder River Expedition | 8 | United States of America vs Sioux |
| Battle of Dry Creek | September 8, 1865 | along Powder River near modern Broadus | Sioux Wars | Powder River Expedition | 2 | United States of America vs Cheyenne, Sioux & Arapaho |
| Hayfield Fight | August 1, 1867 | near Fort C. F. Smith | Sioux Wars | Red Cloud's War | 26[1] | United States of America & civilian workers vs Cheyenne & Sioux |
| Battle of Sixteenmile Creek | April 7, 1869 | near modern Ringling | 10 | United States of America & civilians vs Blackfoot Confederacy | ||
| Marias Massacre | January 23, 1870 | along Marias River[2] | 218 | United States of America vs Piegan | ||
| Battle of Bighorn River | August 11, 1873 | along Yellowstone River near modern Custer | Sioux Wars | Yellowstone Expedition of 1873 | 7 | United States of America vs Sioux |
| Battle of Powder River | March 17, 1876 | along Powder River near modern Moorhead | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 6 | United States of America vs Cheyenne & Lakota |
| Battle of the Rosebud | June 17, 1876 | modern Big Horn County | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 42 | United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne |
| Battle of the Little Bighorn | June 25–26, 1876 | modern Big Horn County | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 404[3] | United States of America vs Lakota, Cheyenne, & Arapaho |
| Battle of the Cedar Creek | October 21, 1876 | near modern Terry | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 8 | United States of America, Shoshone, & Crow vs Lakota |
| Battle of Wolf Mountain | January 8, 1877 | near modern Birney | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 11 | United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne |
| Battle of Little Muddy Creek | May 7, 1877 | near modern Lame Deer | Sioux Wars | Great Sioux War of 1876 | 18 | United States of America vs Lakota & Cheyenne |
| Battle of the Big Hole | August 9–10, 1877 | Beaverhead County | Nez Perce War | 118[4] | United States of America vs Nez Perce & Palouse | |
| Battle of Canyon Creek | September 13, 1877 | near Billings | Nez Perce War | 7 | United States of America & Crow vs Nez Perce | |
| Battle of Bear Paw | September 30 - October 5, 1877 | near modern Chinook | Nez Perce War | 49 | United States of America vs Nez Perce | |
| Battle of Pumpkin Creek | February 7, 1880 | near modern Volborg | Sioux Wars | 3 | United States of America vs Lakota | |
| Battle of Milk River | July 17, 1879 | near modern Saco | Sioux Wars | 6 | United States of America vs Lakota | |
| Battle of Poplar River | January 2, 1881 | near Camp Poplar River | Sioux Wars | 8 | United States of America vs Lakota | |
| Battle of Crow Agency | November 5, 1887 | near Crow Agency | Crow War | 8 | United States of America vs Crow |
Notes[edit]
- ^ Reports of Native Americans killed in action vary from 8 to 23.
- ^ Although the exact location of the massacre site was possibly identified by researchers in the 1960s, the state of Montana claims that the massacre site has been destroyed.
- ^ The number Native Americans killed in the battle vary considerably, from 36 to 136. An exact number is unlikely to ever be known.
- ^ "Big Hole National Battlefield". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2013-01-12.