Canyon Creek Battle
Posted by: 
lazyCachers
N 45° 46.546 W 108° 47.772
12T E 671332 N 5071496
Located 7 miles north of Laurel, Montana with a monument on the corner of Buffalo Trail Road and Lipp Road.
Waymark Code: WM3YD3
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 06/05/2008
Views: 29
The historic marker states:
September 13, 1877
Soldiers were elements from the Seventh and First Calvary and the Fourth Artillery, Col. Samuel D. Sturgis, Commanding. Casualties: 3 dead, 11 wounded.
Indians engaged were the Nez Perce Tribe, escaping from their reservation and fleeing to Canada. Leader, Chief Joseph
The Indians crossed the Yellowstone River, east of Laurel, burned a stage station on Canyon Creek and cut spokes from a stagecoach's wheels for use as quirt handles. They proceeded to this point, where they met and fought the Stugis command in the area south of this marker.
Yellowstone Historical Society, 1958
Describe the area and history:
Another nearby sign says, in part: "...the Nez Perce chose this place to make a stand because the canyon mouth offered natural defenses. Positioned high on the slopes and on top of both buttes, Indian snipers kept the soldiers pinned down while the women, children, and elders escaped up the draw." The buttes are still here as well as the canyon.
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