Powder River Massacre

Powder River Massacre
Part of the Powder River Expedition, Sioux Wars
Date August 16, 1865 Location Powder River, Dakota Territory, present-day Johnson County, Wyoming Result United States Victory
Belligerents
United States	Cheyenne
Commanders and leaders
Frank North	Yellow Woman†
Strength
48 Pawnee scouts and soldiers	24 men, women and children
Casualties and losses
none	24 killed

The Powder River Massacre, part of the Powder River Expedition, occurred on August 16, 1865, and was carried out by United States soldiers and Pawnee scouts against 24 Cheyenne people. The incident occurred near the Powder River in Dakota Territory, in present-day Johnson County, Wyoming, United States.^[1]

The massacre

In August, 1865, Captain Frank North, along with about 45 of his Pawnee Scouts and several other soldiers were keeping up a vigilant search for "Hostile Indians" in Dakota Territory. For two days, the group trailed a band of Cheyenne who were heading north. The trail showed that the Cheyenne had about 35-40 horses and mules, along with one travois. At 2:00 a.m. on August 16, the Captain and his Scouts caught up with the group on the Powder River, about 60 miles north of Fort Connor. The small group of 24 Cheyennes had made their camp for the night, and were asleep. North decided to wait until dawn to attack. In the morning, Captain North's party closed on the camp. Spotting the scouts, the Cheyenne thought the approaching Indians were not Pawnee but friendly Cheyenne, and made no hostile moves. However, the Pawnee suddenly charged in on the Cheyenne, surprising them and killing all 24, including Yellow Woman, who was the stepmother of George Bent. In the fighting, North's scouts lost 4 horses killed, but captured two stolen government saddles, a quantity of women's and children's clothing, two U.S. Infantry coats issued by Colonel Thomas Moonlight to the Indians in the spring of 1865, 18 horses, and 17 mules, making a total of 35 animals. Four of these animals had U.S. government brands showing they had recently been captured in the Battles of Red Buttes and Platte Bridge Station that had both occurred on July 26, 1865 near present-day Casper, Wyoming. One captured horse also belonged to the Overland Stage company.

Aftermath

There is no Cheyenne narrative history for the massacre because every Cheyenne present was killed by Captain North's men. In his 1915 book, The Fighting Cheyennes, George Bird Grinnell remarked that "The Southern Cheyennes do not appear to know of any fight in which twenty-four or twenty-seven Cheyennes were killed. It seems, probable, therefore, that this whole party of twenty-four was killed and that the Southern Cheyenne knew nothing of it."^[2] After the skirmish, Brigadier General Patrick E. Connor issued an official report on the action dated August 19, 1865. It read as follows:

Order of battle

United States Army, Captain Frank Joshua North

• Pawnee Scouts, about 45 men.^[3]
• Unattached soldiers and civilians, about 3 men

Native Americans, Yellow Woman †

• Cheyenne, 24 men, women and children

References