FETTERMAN AND THE BOZEMAN TRAIL

In December 1866 Capt. William Judd Fetterman a decorated army officer, and also a civil war hero was ordered out west to help the man settlers on the wagon trains because they were being ambushed by Indians led by chief red cloud and his and his band of Indians. They were terrorizing the settlers along the Bozeman trail, (the Bozeman trail was named after john Bozeman) the Bozeman trail ran through the northern plains and the Rocky Mountains to the gold field in Montana.

In an attempt to keep peace among the Indians a counsel at Ft. Laramie they invited red cloud and other Sioux leaders to discuss the use of the Bozeman trial by the army.
Soon colonel Henry Carrington was sent to build Ft. Kearney and to be in command of the 18th infantry regiment. a
Chief red cloud was outraged and yelled to officers saying,” the great father sends up presents and wants to sell him the road, but white chief goes soldiers to steal the road before Indians say yes or no!” this was somewhat of a declaration of war from chief red cloud.
Colonel Henry Carrington, who unfortunately had no previous experiences fighting the Indians. He was joined with Capt. Fetterman. Capt. Fetterman had a severe dislike to all Indians.
Captain Fetterman was upset that colonel Carrington didn’t send guards with the wood train so it didn’t get attacked. He caused a rebellion against Col. Carrington.
Captain fetterman’s response to the continuing Indians attacks was,” give me eighty men and I will ride through the whole Sioux nation.”
Two weeks after the Dec 6th attack fetterman and his 79 men set out to meet their end. Even though Carrington had given direct orders not to pursue the Indians beyond lodge trail ridge!
Chief red cload and his warriors suddenly ambushed a small group of soldiers on a typical wood cutting detail.
This would turn out to be anything but a typical day. Captain fetterman and his 80 men consisted of 27 cavalry, 49 infantry, 2 civilians. They were all armed with rifles and they attempted a counter attack before they knew it they were completely surrounded by almost 2 thousand men more than he had but fetterman and his men still they used all the weapons they had like, knives, guns even using their gunstocks when they were out of bullets. However, as the Indians kept coming and killing fettermans men he and Capt. Fred brown placed there guns to each others heads and pulled the trigger unaware that there was a relief party on its way to relive them, the only thing the relive party found was dead bodies spread out around the lodge trail ridge.
The massacre of fetterman’s troops made the army review their position on the Bozeman trail. Even though they did not stop red cloud they continued to try. Red cloud attacked fettermans troops outside of Ft. Kearney.
Later there were too saw mills established on the Bozeman trail used for a supply station along the trail.
Today there is a historic site where a lone stone stands as a simple monuments to those that died on the fatal day, stating” there were no survivor.”

Andrew Kolbek Rossville Jr. high 2002 plains project bibliography