The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, when Sioux warriors killed 31 American soldiers in the Grattan Massacre, and the final came in 1890 during the Ghost Dance War.
The Powder River Expedition of 1865 also known as the Powder River War or Powder River Invasion, was a large and far-flung military operation of the United States Army against the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho Indians in Montana Territory and Dakota Territory. Although soldiers destroyed one Arapaho village and established Fort Connor to protect gold miners on the Bozeman Trail, the expedition is considered a failure because it failed to defeat or intimidate the Indians.
Henry Moore Harrington was a military officer in the 7th United States Cavalry Regiment who went Missing in action during the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana Territory.
The Battle of Whitestone Hill was the culmination of the 1863 operations against the Sioux or Dakota people in Dakota Territory. Brigadier General Alfred Sully attacked a village September 3–5, 1863. The Native Americans in the village included Yanktonai, Santee, and Teton (Lakota) Sioux. Sully killed, wounded, or captured 300 to 400 Sioux, including women and children, at a cost of about 60 casualties. Sully would continue the conflict with another campaign in 1864.
Fort Reno also known as Fort Connor or Old Fort Reno, was a wooden fort established on August 15, 1865 by the United States Army in Dakota Territory in present-day Johnson County, Wyoming. The fort was built to protect travelers on the Bozeman Trail from Native American tribes.
The 8th Minnesota Infantry Regiment was a Minnesota USV infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Indian Wars and the American Civil War.
The state of Iowa played a significant role during the American Civil War in providing food, supplies, troops and officers for the Union army.
Brackett's Minnesota Cavalry Battalion was a Minnesota USV cavalry battalion that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Galvanized Yankees was a term from the American Civil War denoting former Confederate prisoners of war who swore allegiance to the United States and joined the Union Army. Approximately 5,600 former Confederate soldiers enlisted in the "United States Volunteers", organized into six regiments of infantry between January 1864 and November 1866. Of those, more than 250 had begun their service as Union soldiers, were captured in battle, then enlisted in prison to join a regiment of the Confederate States Army. They surrendered to Union forces in December 1864 and were held by the United States as deserters, but were saved from prosecution by being enlisted in the 5th and 6th U.S. Volunteers. An additional 800 former Confederates served in volunteer regiments raised by the states, forming ten companies. Four of those companies saw combat in the Western Theater against the Confederate Army, two served on the western frontier, and one became an independent company of U.S. Volunteers, serving in Minnesota.
The 7th Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the Indian Wars.
The 1st Dakota Cavalry was a Union battalion of two companies raised in the Dakota Territory during the American Civil War. They were deployed along the frontier, primarily to protect the settlers during the Sioux Uprising of 1862.
The 11th Ohio Cavalry Regiment, known in vernacular as the 11th Ohio Cavalry, was a cavalry regiment raised in the name of the governor of Ohio from several counties in southwest Ohio, serving in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was stationed in the Dakota and Idaho territories on the American frontier to protect travelers and settlers from raids by American Indians.
The Battle of the Badlands was fought in Dakota Territory, in what is now western North Dakota, between the United States army led by General Alfred Sully and the Lakota, Yanktonai, and the Dakota Indian tribes. The battle was fought August 7–9, 1864 between what are now Medora and Sentinel Butte, North Dakota. It was an extension of the conflict begun in the Dakota War of 1862. Sully successfully marched through the badlands encountering only moderate resistance from the Sioux.
The Department of the Northwest was an U.S. Army Department created September 6, 1862 to put down the Sioux uprising in Minnesota. Major General John Pope was made commander of the Department. At the end of the Civil War the Department was redesignated the Department of Dakota. Immediately upon arriving in St. Paul General Pope sent letters to the Governors of Iowa and Wisconsin for additional troops to assist the 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment. From Iowa he got the 27th Iowa Infantry Regiment and from Wisconsin he received the 25th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Both quickly crossed the border to assist with the uprising. The 25th Wisconsin was in Minnesota three months and the 27th Iowa was there a month before both headed south. After they departed, the Minnesota District would be garrisoned by Minnesota units: 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th Infantry Regiments, 1st and 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiments plus Minnesota Independent Cavalry Battalion as well as the 3rd Minnesota Light Artillery Battery. In 1864 companies of the 30th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment would see service in the Minnesota and Dakota Districts too.
Samuel Walker was an American soldier, lawman and politician who settled in Lawrence, Kansas and served as an officer during Bleeding Kansas and the American Civil War.
Nelson D. Cole (1833–1899), was a United States army officer, businessman, and politician from Rhinebeck, New York.
The Battle of Pease Bottom, also called the Battle of the Bighorn River was a conflict between the United States Army and the Sioux on August 11, 1873 along the Yellowstone River opposite the mouth of the Bighorn River near present-day Custer, Montana. The main combatants were units of the 7th U.S. Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, and Native Americans from the village of the Hunkpapa medicine man, Sitting Bull, many of whom would clash with Custer again approximately three years later at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in the Crow Indian Reservation.
The Powder River Battles were a series of battles and skirmishes fought between September 1–15, 1865 by United States soldiers and civilians against Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors. The fighting occurred along the Powder River in Montana Territory and Dakota Territory, in present-day Custer and Powder River counties, Montana and northeastern Wyoming.
The 3rd United States Colored Cavalry was a regiment in the United States Army organized as one of the units of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The regiment was originally formed in October 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi as the 1st Mississippi Cavalry Regiment. The unit soon began taking part in expeditions near Vicksburg. In February–March 1864, the regiment saw action at Yazoo City. After being renamed the 3rd U.S. Colored Cavalry in March 1864, the regiment continued to participate in raids, including the Yazoo City expedition in May. In December 1864, the unit took part in a successful raid led by Benjamin Grierson during which the Battle of Egypt Station and other actions were fought. The regiment operated near Memphis, Tennessee, until April 1865, after which it returned to Vicksburg for occupation duties. The soldiers were mustered out of federal service in January 1866.
