Sawyers Fight
Encyclopedia
The Sawyers Fight was part of a surveying expedition in late 1865 to improve the emigrant trails from Nebraska to Montana. Not a military venture, the expedition was named for and led by James A. Sawyers. The expedition was attacked by Arapaho warriors in retribution for losses at the battle of the Tongue River
.
to Virginia City, Montana
. Secretary of the Interior James Usher appointed Lt. Col. James A. Sawyers head of this expedition with a military escort from the 5th U.S. Infantry. At roughly the same time General Patrick E. Connor launched his Powder River Expedition. Sawyers moved his expedition north from the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers despite Connor’s warnings against moving into hostile Indian territory in the midst of a military expedition. Sawyers was ambushed at Bone Pile Creek near Gillette, Wyoming and was forced to seek refuge at Fort Connor
.
as a new escort for Sawyers to continue his expedition. Sawyers left the fort and followed the military road recently blazed by General Connor’s troops until it intersected with the Bozeman Trail
. On August 31, Captain Osmer Cole from the 6th Michigan was killed by Arapaho warriors. Sawyers’ wagon train nevertheless continued on to a ford on the Tongue River and began crossing September 1. Unbeknownst to Sawyers, just a few miles from the ford, Connor had attacked the Arapaho
of Chief Black Bear just 4 days prior. As the wagons crossed the river, Arapaho warriors attacked and scattered the expedition’s cattle herd. The cavalry unlimbered a howitzer while Sawyers corralled the wagons. The Arapaho appeared to have left and Sawyers continued along the trail but was attacked a second time. Retreating to the river they were attacked trying to find an alternate route downstream. Heading back upstream Sawyers corralled the wagons, but two members of his team were killed and he decided to move and corral his wagons for a third time. Sawyers was in desperate measures by nightfall. The next morning the Arapaho leaders met with Sawyers. The Arapaho had been part of the group recently attacked by General Connor and believed Sawyers’ expedition was military reinforcements. The Arapaho chiefs stated Connor’s troops had captured their ponies and they wanted them back. The Arapaho and Sawyers agreed to send 3 men each to find Connor. While the Arapaho were hoping to have their animals back, Sawyers was looking for military reinforcements to continue his expedition. For several days Sawyers’ men and the Arapaho faced off at each other through bad weather. On September 12 with no word from Connor the men of Sawyer’ expedition mutinied and replaced Sawyers in command. Under new command the expedition broke away from the Arapaho and began its return to Fort Connor on September 13.
A battlefield monument stands along U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming
near Dayton
.
Johnson, Dorothy M. The Bloddy Bozeman: The Perilous Trail to Montana's Gold 1983
Battle of the Tongue River
The Battle of the Tongue River, sometimes referred to as the Connor Battle, was the major engagement of the Powder River Expedition of 1865, directed against the Southern Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota Sioux. It destroyed for a time the Arapaho capability to raid the Bozeman Trail and overland mail...
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Background
In 1865 Congress approved an expedition to build a road from the Niobrara RiverNiobrara River
The Niobrara River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, running through the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length...
to Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
. Secretary of the Interior James Usher appointed Lt. Col. James A. Sawyers head of this expedition with a military escort from the 5th U.S. Infantry. At roughly the same time General Patrick E. Connor launched his Powder River Expedition. Sawyers moved his expedition north from the confluence of the Niobrara and Missouri Rivers despite Connor’s warnings against moving into hostile Indian territory in the midst of a military expedition. Sawyers was ambushed at Bone Pile Creek near Gillette, Wyoming and was forced to seek refuge at Fort Connor
Fort Reno (Wyoming)
Fort Reno was a wooden fort constructed in 1865 by the United States Army on the Great Plains frontier in the Dakota Territory in present-day Johnson County, Wyoming...
.
The Fight
Colonel James H. Kidd, commander at Fort Connor, detached a portion of the 6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment6th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
The 6th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade, commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer.-Service:...
as a new escort for Sawyers to continue his expedition. Sawyers left the fort and followed the military road recently blazed by General Connor’s troops until it intersected with the Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
. On August 31, Captain Osmer Cole from the 6th Michigan was killed by Arapaho warriors. Sawyers’ wagon train nevertheless continued on to a ford on the Tongue River and began crossing September 1. Unbeknownst to Sawyers, just a few miles from the ford, Connor had attacked the Arapaho
Battle of the Tongue River
The Battle of the Tongue River, sometimes referred to as the Connor Battle, was the major engagement of the Powder River Expedition of 1865, directed against the Southern Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota Sioux. It destroyed for a time the Arapaho capability to raid the Bozeman Trail and overland mail...
of Chief Black Bear just 4 days prior. As the wagons crossed the river, Arapaho warriors attacked and scattered the expedition’s cattle herd. The cavalry unlimbered a howitzer while Sawyers corralled the wagons. The Arapaho appeared to have left and Sawyers continued along the trail but was attacked a second time. Retreating to the river they were attacked trying to find an alternate route downstream. Heading back upstream Sawyers corralled the wagons, but two members of his team were killed and he decided to move and corral his wagons for a third time. Sawyers was in desperate measures by nightfall. The next morning the Arapaho leaders met with Sawyers. The Arapaho had been part of the group recently attacked by General Connor and believed Sawyers’ expedition was military reinforcements. The Arapaho chiefs stated Connor’s troops had captured their ponies and they wanted them back. The Arapaho and Sawyers agreed to send 3 men each to find Connor. While the Arapaho were hoping to have their animals back, Sawyers was looking for military reinforcements to continue his expedition. For several days Sawyers’ men and the Arapaho faced off at each other through bad weather. On September 12 with no word from Connor the men of Sawyer’ expedition mutinied and replaced Sawyers in command. Under new command the expedition broke away from the Arapaho and began its return to Fort Connor on September 13.
Aftermath
The withdrawal did not last long as reinforcements sent from Connor arrived along the road back to Fort Connor under the command of Captain Albert E. Brown. With Brown’s help Sawyers reasserted his authority over the expedition and turned back toward Virginia City. This third attempt to reach Virginia City encountered almost no hostile Natives.A battlefield monument stands along U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming
U.S. Route 14 in Wyoming
In the U.S. state of Wyoming U.S. Route 14 runs east west across the northern part of the state. The road connects South Dakota on the east with Yellowstone National Park on the west...
near Dayton
Dayton, Wyoming
Dayton is a town in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 678 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dayton is located at the confluence of the Tongue River and The Little Tongue River. It is on US Highway 14, just east of the Big Horn Mountains.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000,...
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Sources
Doyle, Susan Journeys to the Land of Gold: Emigrant Diaries from the Bozeman Trail, 1863-1866 2000Johnson, Dorothy M. The Bloddy Bozeman: The Perilous Trail to Montana's Gold 1983