During the early morning hours of August 29, 1865, on this site, General Patrick Edward Connor led more than 200 troops in an attack on Chief Black Bear’s Arapaho village. Connor had left Fort Laramie on July 30th with 184 wagons, a contingent of Pawnee scouts, nearly 500 cavalrymen, and Jim Bridger as guide. His column was one of three in the Powder River Indian Expedition, sent to secure the Bozeman and other emigrant trails leading to the Montana mining fields. In the Battle of Tongue River, Connor inflicted serious damage on the Arapahos, but an aggressive counterattack forced him to retreat to the newly established Fort Connor, later renamed Reno, on the banks of the Powder River. There he learned that he had been reassigned to his old command in the District of Utah. The Powder River Expedition, one of the most comprehensive campaigns against the Plains Indians, never completely succeeded, as Connor’s complex operation was defeated by bad weather, inhospitable terrain, and hostile Indians. Its long-term effects proved detrimental to the interests of the Powder River tribes, as the Army’s establishment of Fort Connor increased public awareness of the area, encouraged more emigrants to use the Bozeman Trail, and led to public demands for government protection of travelers bound for the Montana gold fields.