483:
contest their passage. A group of seventeen civilian volunteers appeared near
Cottonwood at this time. They attempted to reach the soldiers by breaking through the Nez Perce screen, but they had to take up a defensive position on a hilltop about one and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Cottonwood. Three of the volunteers were killed and two wounded. One elderly Nez Perce warrior was killed – the first to die in the war – and one wounded. Although Captain Perry could see from his fortifications the plight of the volunteers he declined to send help until the Nez Perce had withdrawn.
36:
253:
217:
475:. In their path, stationed at Norton's Ranch (future Cottonwood) was Captain Stephen Whipple with 65 soldiers and several civilian volunteers. On July 3, two of Whipple's civilian scouts stumbled across the Nez Perce horse herd. The Nez Perce killed one man, but the other escaped and reported that the Nez Perce were nearby. Whipple sent out Lieutenant Sevier Rains with ten soldiers and two civilians to investigate. The Nez Perce ambushed the Rains group and killed all thirteen.
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The next day, July 5, the Nez Perce undertook to bypass the entrenched soldiers, detailing fourteen young men to keep the soldiers pinned down in the rifle pits. Screened by warriors, the remainder of the Nez Perce and their livestock passed by a mile away heading eastward. The soldiers did not
458:
The Nez Perce numbered about 600, of whom 150 were warriors. With them were more than 2,000 livestock, mostly horses. With the guns and ammunition the Nez Perce had captured at White Bird Canyon, they were fairly well-armed. Their objective in the Battle of
Cottonwood was "to engage the whites only
478:
Whipple dug in around Norton's ranch with his remaining soldiers. He was reinforced on July 4 by
Captain David Perry with twenty soldiers and six civilian volunteers. Perry, who had led the soldiers in the White Bird Canyon battle two weeks earlier took command of the soldiers and volunteers,
495:
Captain Perry was severely criticized for his tardiness in rescuing the civilian volunteers. He requested a Court of
Inquiry, which declared that his delay was not "excessive under the circumstances." The civilian volunteers acquired a place in Idaho history as the "Brave Seventeen."
455:, who was advancing on them with 400 soldiers. With difficulty Howard crossed the river to confront the Indians, but the outnumbered Nez Perce then recrossed the Salmon, stranding the less mobile U.S. soldiers for several days on the opposite side of the river.
486:
That evening, fifty civilian volunteers arrived to reinforce Perry, but the Nez Perce were gone. Casualties for the engagements totaled eleven soldiers and six civilian volunteers dead and several wounded. The Nez Perce suffered one dead and one wounded.
507:
and other Nez Perce joined the main group there and brought their strength up to about 800 with about 200 fighting men. A few days later, General Howard and a force of more than 500 men caught up with the Nez Perce and the
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now numbering about 85. For the remainder of the day, the soldiers stayed in their rifle pits while the Nez Perce sniped at them from long distance.
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with his band of 100-plus Nez Perce had not joined Joseph as yet. Joseph's Nez Perce would later number about 750.
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The Nez Perce continued their journey east unmolested for 25 miles (40 km), then paused to rest at the
427:, brushed aside the soldiers and continued their 1,170 miles (1,880 km) fighting retreat to cross the
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After recrossing the Salmon and leaving Howard behind, the Nez Perce headed east across the
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Ten members of
Company E and L of the 1st Cavalry killed in this battle are buried at the
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Forlorn Hope: The Battle of White Bird Canyon and the
Beginning of the Nez Perce War
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645:. Boise, ID: Idaho State Historical Society. pp. 125–126.
686:, Walla Walla, Washington, Fort Walla Walla Museum, p. 19
566:. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 534–535.
459:
long enough allow the safe passage of their families."
564:
The Nez Perce
Indians and the Opening of the Northwest
400:was a series of engagements July 3–5, 1877, in the
591:
20:
537:"Chief Joseph: The Nez Perce Flight to Canada"
733:Flight of the Nez Perce and key battle sites.
708:
304:
8:
598:. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p.
594:Children of Grace: The Nez Perce War of 1877
471:, having made the decision to flee into the
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447:on June 17, the Nez Perce crossed the
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684:An Illustrated History of Fort Walla Walla
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297:
289:
17:
49:the U.S. Army at the Battle of Cottonwood
682:Payne, James and Schultz, Laura, 2011,
528:
415:soldiers and civilian volunteers. Near
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847:Nez Perce National Historical Park
14:
827:Nez Perce National Historic Trail
431:in an attempt to reach safety in
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562:Jacoby, Jr., Alvin M. (1975).
1:
786:Nez Perce in Yellowstone Park
539:. OurHeritage. Archived from
242:Show map of the United States
873:Battles of the Nez Perce War
756:Attack on Looking Glass camp
378:Attack on Looking Glass camp
200:6 civilian volunteers killed
185:About 30 civilian volunteers
744:Battle of White Bird Canyon
641:McDermott, John D. (1978).
445:Battle of White Bird Canyon
443:After their victory at the
909:
723:Battles and Events of the
868:1877 in the United States
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53:
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762:Battle of the Clearwater
510:Battle of the Clearwater
423:, the Nez Perce, led by
883:1877 in Idaho Territory
590:Hampton, Bruce (1994).
798:Nez Perce at Cow Creek
792:Battle of Canyon Creek
788:(August 20 and Sept 7)
774:Battle of the Big Hole
150:Commanders and leaders
780:Battle of Camas Creek
193:Casualties and losses
145:Native American Tribe
750:Battle of Cottonwood
673:Hampton, pp. 125-126
473:Bitterroot Mountains
398:Battle of Cottonwood
269:class=notpageimage|
233:class=notpageimage|
101:46.0267°N 116.3275°W
21:Battle of Cottonwood
655:Jacoby, pp. 537–540
622:Jacoby, pp. 537-538
543:on January 16, 2014
155:Captain David Perry
138:Civilian volunteers
97: /
804:Battle of Bear Paw
451:to escape General
198:11 soldiers killed
188:About 150 warriors
135:United States Army
106:46.0267; -116.3275
855:
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391:
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333:White Bird Canyon
287:
286:
278:Show map of Idaho
124:
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120:Nez Perce Victory
47:warriors defeated
900:
893:Battles in Idaho
888:July 1877 events
842:Nez Perce people
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501:Clearwater River
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236:Location in the
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406:Native American
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806:(September 29)
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503:. The band of
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776:(August 9–10)
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609:9780805019919
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578:Looking Glass
576:Jacoby, 632.
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505:Looking Glass
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469:Camas Prairie
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238:United States
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61:3–5 July 1877
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28:Nez Perce War
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832:Chief Joseph
764:(July 11–12)
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545:. Retrieved
541:the original
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457:
453:O. O. Howard
449:Salmon River
442:
425:Chief Joseph
411:people, and
404:between the
397:
395:
368:Canyon Creek
337:
272:Location in
164:Chief Joseph
129:Belligerents
41:Chief Joseph
26:Part of the
837:Yellow Wolf
782:(August 20)
768:Fort Fizzle
358:Camas Creek
348:Fort Fizzle
183:85 soldiers
104: /
92:116°19′39″W
862:Categories
752:(July 3–5)
523:References
519:Cemetery.
439:Background
417:Cottonwood
343:Clearwater
338:Cottonwood
172:White Bird
89:46°01′36″N
72:Cottonwood
770:(July 28)
746:(June 17)
547:April 16,
491:Aftermath
413:U.S. Army
409:Nez Perce
373:Cow Creek
205:1 wounded
142:Nez Perce
45:Nez Perce
758:(July 1)
512:ensued.
383:Bear Paw
353:Big Hole
203:1 killed
178:Strength
157:Captain
66:Location
43:and his
168:Ollokot
606:
463:Battle
433:Canada
117:Result
70:Near
604:ISBN
549:2012
396:The
80:U.S.
58:Date
600:103
864::
602:.
435:.
419:,
78:,
74:,
716:e
709:t
702:v
612:.
551:.
312:e
305:t
298:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
