member of the Oglala
Sioux nation, was denied
a high position in the
tribe owing to his non-
hereditary status, and he
became determined to
seek fame as a warrior.
Red Cloud accompanied
his first war band at 16
and over the years con-
ducted successful raids
against neighboring Paw-
nee, Ute, and Shoshone
tribes. In 1841, he assassi-
nated the powerful Chief
Bull Bear at the behest of
his uncle, Chief Smoke.
This act severely divided
the Oglala into two com-
peting factions and ru-
ined his chance for over-
all control of the Sioux.
At length, Red Cloud was
credited with no less than
80 coups, or feats of indi-
vidual bravery, and rose to leadership among
the Bad Face military society. By 1860, he was
the major war chief of the Sioux, fearless in
battle and also regarded as cunning and cruel.
These traits were viewed favorably and con-
sidered essential for a Sioux chief.
By 1865, the discovery of gold in western
Montana and the rapid influx of white settlers
set the Sioux nation on a collision course with
the U.S. Army. In July of that year, a column
under Gen. Patrick E. Conner entered the
Powder River region of Wyoming to begin the
construction of a military road along the
Bozeman Trail. The Sioux reacted to this de-
velopment with alarm, for the road cut
through the heart of their best buffalo-hunting
grounds. Red Cloud, as war chief, refused to
meet with a government delegation to negoti-
ate the sale of land and immediately took to
raiding and harassing parties of soldiers and
settlers. This activity closed down the Boze-
man Trail and forced the government to re-
spond with another commission at Fort
Laramie, Wyoming in
June 1866. Red Cloud at-
tended as asked, but
upon learning that troops
under Col. Henry B. Car-
rington had already be-
gun surveying the dis-
puted territory, he
stalked out with his war-
riors and took to the
warpath.
For the next two
years, Red Cloud op-
posed the Americans
with savage resistance.
His war parties used hit-
and-run tactics against
miners, settlers, and sol-
diers with deadly effect.
Army units did not pose a
special terror to him. For
many months his war-
riors kept Forts Reno,
Phil Kearny, and C. F.
Smith under siege and
played havoc with their garrisons. One raid
managed to entice a company of cavalry
under Capt. William J. Fetterman to sortie
from Fort Phil Kearney into the arms of wait-
ing Native Americans. On December 21, 1866,
the entire detachment was wiped out in an
ambush, carefully staged by Crazy Horse
and American Horse. However, the army
gained some ground during the Hayfield Fight
of August 1, 1867, and the Wagon Box Fight of
the following day, when a small detachment
of troopers, armed with the latest repeating ri-
fles, drove off Sioux war parties and inflicted
considerable losses. After that time, Red
Cloud restricted his activities once more to
elusive guerrilla tactics.
By April 1868, both sides indicated a will-
ingness to talk, and the government sent in a
third commission to deal with Red Cloud. The
war chief’s position was absolute and invio-
late: The army must abandon its road through
Indian hunting grounds, and Forts Reno, Phil
Kearny, and C. F. Smith would have to beREDCLOUD
Red Cloud
Library of Congress