The Battle, August 2, 1867

On August 2, 1867, 51 men of Company C, 27th Infantry under the command of Captain James Powell and Lieutenant John Jenness were assigned to wood-cutting duty, with fourteen escorting a wood train toward the fort, thirteen protecting wood cutters, nine at the upper pinery, and four at the Little Piney Camp, while soldiers at the corral prepared breakfast, herders turned out the mules, and sentries took up positions. Crazy Horse and Hump led a small number of warriors across the hills to the west in a decoy attack on the Little Piney Camp, where three soldiers were killed and the remaining wood cutters were chased into the mountains. This was followed by attacks on the wood train at the upper pinery and on the mule herd. Soldiers, drivers, and wood cutters from the wood train and pinery escaped into the mountains, but the mule herd was captured. Powell led an attack to rescue the herders as outlying sentries and hunters from the fort made for the safety of the corral. By nine o’clock, 26 soldiers and six civilians were surrounded in the corral facing, by Powell’s estimate, 800 to 1000 warriors. Indian spectators, including leaders, women, and children, watched from the surrounding hills as mounted warriors made the first attack, charging the corral from the southwest. The Indians expected a volley from the soldiers followed by a pause to reload, but the pause never came because the soldiers quickly reloaded their new rifles, and the continuous fire forced the attackers to withdraw. During the lull, the soldiers passed ammunition about the corral in their caps while the Indians prepared to charge on foot from behind the ridge to the north. The second attack came from behind the northern ridge by warriors on foot while mounted warriors demonstrated to the south and snipers along the rim fired into the corral. All the casualties in the corral occurred during this attack, but the soldiers’ firepower again turned the Indians back. A third attack came from the northeast, with loud chanting as warriors burst from cover singing their war song and surged to within a few yards of the corral before being turned back. The Indians again retreated to the protection of the rim, sniping at the corral while others tried to retrieve the dead and wounded. The final attack came on horseback from the southeast. By early afternoon, Major Benjamin Smith left the fort with a relief column of 102 men and a mountain howitzer. As the column neared the corral, it fired on Indian spectators on a high knob east of the corral. With the arrival of reinforcements, the Indians withdrew and the Wagon Box Fight ended.

Story, Wyoming · United States