Battle of Bear Paw - Background

Background

In June 1877, several bands of the Nez Perce, resisting relocation from their traditional lands to a reservation in west-central Idaho, attempted to escape to the east through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming over the Rocky Mountains onto the Great Plains. The Nez Perce began their journey with the mistaken notion that after crossing the next mountain range or defeating the latest army sent to oppose them they would find a peaceful new home. They came to realize, however, that the only sanctuary available to them was in Saskatchewan Canada with the Lakota led by Sitting Bull. After passing through Yellowstone National Park they headed north through Montana toward Canada.

By late September, the Nez Perce, numbering less than 800, including 200 warriors, had travelled more than one thousand miles and fought several battles in which they defeated or held off the U.S. army forces pursuing them. In the most recent of those battles, on September 13, the Nez Perce eluded the attempt of Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis to capture them at the Battle of Canyon Creek near present-day Billings, Montana. However, the Crow and Bannock scouts of Sturgis captured about 400 of the Nez Perce horses which slowed them in their race for the Canadian border.

Meeting up with Sturgis after the battle, General Howard continued the pursuit, following the Nez Perce trail northward.

On September 12, Howard sent a message to Colonel Nelson A. Miles stationed at Fort Keogh (then called the Tongue River Encampment) requesting his assistance. On September 17, Miles received the message and replied that he would move diagonally north with his soldiers to attempt to intercept the Nez Perce and to prevent what both officers feared: an alliance between the Nez Perce and the Lakota of Sitting Bull. To permit Miles the time he needed to get into position between the Nez Perce and the Canadian border, Howard slowed down his pursuit. The Nez Perce, exhausted by their long ordeal, also slowed down their flight, believing themselves a safe distance ahead of Howard’s forces. They were not aware of Miles and his approach toward them.

On their journey north from Canyon Creek and through the Judith Basin near the present town of Lewistown, Montana the Nez Perce raided several ranches for horses and food and reportedly killed one sheepherder.

The flight of the Nez Perce had incited sympathy among large segments in the American public, and even in the U.S. army. After the Canyon Creek fight, an army surgeon said of the Nez Perce, “I am actually beginning to admire their bravery and endurance in the face of so many well-equipped enemies.” Nevertheless, although they spoke favorably of the Nez Perce, Army commanders William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan were determined to punish them severely to discourage other Indians who might consider rebelling against the rule of the United States.