Wagon Box Fight
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The Wagon Box Fight was an engagement which occurred on August 2, 1867, in the vicinity of Fort Phil Kearny during Red Cloud's War. A party of twenty-six U.S. Army soldiers and six civilians were attacked by several hundred Lakota Sioux warriors. Although outnumbered, the soldiers were armed with newly supplied breech-loading Springfield Model 1866 rifles and lever-action Henry rifles, and had a defensive wall of wagon boxes to protect them. They held off the attackers for hours with few casualties, although they lost a large number of horses and mules driven off by the raiders.
Wagon Box Fight | |||||||
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Part of Red Cloud's War | |||||||
An illustration of the engagement | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Lakota Sioux | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James Powell |
Red Cloud Crazy Horse High Backbone | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
26 soldiers 6 civilians | 300–1,000 warriors | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
7 killed 2 wounded[1]: 22 |
~6 (2 to 60) killed 6 wounded[2] |
This was the last major engagement of the war, although Lakota and allied forces continued to raid European-American parties along the Bozeman Trail. The area has been designated as a Wyoming State Historic Site and is marked by a memorial and an historic plaque.