The Dull Knife Fight, or the Battle of Bates Creek, was a Great Plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

 battle in the Wyoming Territory

Wyoming Territory

The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital...

 between the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and the Northern Cheyenne

Cheyenne

Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...

 as part of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77

Great Sioux War of 1876-77

The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations which occurred between 1876 and 1877 involving the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, against the United States...

. The battle essentially ended the Cheyennes' ability to wage war.

After the battles of the Rosebud

Battle of the Rosebud

The Battle of the Rosebud occurred June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Native Americans during the Black Hills War...

 and Little Bighorn

Battle of the Little Bighorn

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...

, Brig. Gen.

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 George Crook

George Crook

George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...

 received reinforcements and began to move up the Bozeman Trail

Bozeman Trail

The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...

 against Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...

. After learning of a Cheyenne war party, he sent Col.

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Ranald S. Mackenzie

Ranald S. Mackenzie

Ranald Slidell Mackenzie was a career United States Army officer and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, described by General Ulysses S. Grant as its most promising young officer...

 into the Wyoming Territory to find it.

In October 1876, Colonel Mackenzie departed Camp Robinson

Fort Robinson

Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and a present-day state park. Located in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska, it is west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20.- History :...

 with about 1,000 troopers of the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment

The 2nd Cavalry Regiment , also known as the Second Dragoons, is an active mechanized infantry and cavalry regiment of the United States Army. The Second Dragoons is a component of V Corps and United States Army Europe, with its garrison at the Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany...

, U.S. 3rd Cavalry Regiment, U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 4th Cavalry Regiment

The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against Indians on the Texas frontier. Today the regiment exists as separate squadrons within the U.S. Army...

, and U.S. 5th Cavalry Regiment

U.S. 5th Cavalry Regiment

The 5th Cavalry Regiment is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service in the decade prior to the American Civil War and continues in modified organizational format in the U.S. Army.-Nineteenth century:...

. He also had a large contingent of Indian scouts, including Pawnee, Arapaho and Lakota
. Eventually he found the camp

Dull Knife Battlefield

The Dull Knife Battlefield is located on the eastern slope of the Bighorn Mountains in Johnson County, Wyoming near Barnum, Wyoming. It was the scene of the Dull Knife Fight on November 25, 1876, in which the Fourth Cavalry under General Ranald S...

 of Dull Knife and Little Wolf

Little Wolf

Little Wolf was a Northern Cheyenne Chief...

 along Bates Creek near the North Fork of the Powder River

Powder River (Montana)

Powder River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United States. It drains an area historically known as the Powder River Country on the high plains east of the Bighorn Mountains.It rises in three forks in eastern...

. The Cheyenne warriors were having a celebration because of a recent victory over the Shoshone

Shoshone

The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....

 Indians. Mackenzie waited until dawn, then attacked and drove the warriors from the village. Some were forced to leave their clothes, blankets and buffalo robes behind and flee into the frozen countryside. Dull Knife began to offer stiff resistance, and savage fighting continued. The Pawnee warriors fought with exceptional ability, and the Cheyennes finally gave way and retreated from their village. The Indian village of 173 lodges and all its contents were entirely destroyed. About 500 ponies were captured. Lieut. J. A. McKinney, U.S. 4th Cavalry, was killed, along with five enlisted men.

The battle ended Cheyenne resistance for all practical purposes. Dull Knife's followers were left in the freezing weather without sufficient clothing, and many soon froze to death. Most surrendered shortly after, although several holdouts eventually joined the camp of Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...

.

Order of battle

U.S. Army (Col. Ranald S. Mackenzie, 4th U.S. Cavalry, in command)

• Company K, 2nd U.S. Cavalry
• Company H and K, 3rd U.S. Cavalry
• Company B, D, E, F, I, and M, 4th U.S. Cavalry
• Company H and L, 5th U.S. Cavalry
• Indian Scouts, Arapaho and Lakota

Cheyenne

• Warbands under Dull Knife and Little Wolf (400 warriors)