Hayfield Fight 1867
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 1 August 1867 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1867 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Red Cloud's War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 45.3352, -107.8680 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Hayfield Fight on August 1, 1867 was an engagement of Red Cloud's War near Fort C. F. Smith, Montana, between 21 soldiers of the U.S. Army, a hay-cutting crew of nine civilians, and several hundred Native Americans, mostly Cheyenne and Arapaho, with some Lakota Sioux. Armed with newly issued breechloading Springfield Model 1866 rifles, the heavily outnumbered soldiers held off the native warriors and inflicted casualties.
While similar in circumstance and casualties to the Wagon Box Fight, which took place the next day near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, this engagement has not received as much attention by historians. In both cases, the soldiers' defensive positions and new weapons are considered critical to their holding off the larger forces of the Powder River warriors. The Wagon Box Fight was the last major engagement of the war, but native raids continued against travelers and soldiers, the telegraph, and Union Pacific Railway, which was under construction. It was brought to an end the next year under treaty. Historian Jerome Green believes that the Hayfield Fight "dramatized overall ineffectiveness of military policy in the region prior to its temporary abandonment by the federal government."
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Hayfield Fight (revision 1379259656), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of the Little Bighorn 1876 · 43 km
- Battle of the Rosebud 1876 · 69 km
- Battle of the Tongue River 1865 · 73 km
- Battle of Canyon Creek 1877 · 88 km
- Battle of Prairie Dog Creek 1876 · 98 km
- Battle of Pease Bottom 1873 · 98 km
Other battles of the Red Cloud's War
- Fetterman Fight 1866
Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles