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Nez Perce Campaign - 1877

Previous to the 1877 war, the Army had experienced a history of nonviolent contact with the Nez Perce [nez purs; French ney per-sey]. In 1804 the Nez Perce resupplied and aided the Army expedition of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This aid probably saved the expedition from certain failure. In the 1830s the Nez Perce also aided in the expedition of Captain Benjamin Bonneville, who took a leave of absence from the Army to proceed with his western expedition.

Stock raisers had tried for years to drive Joseph's Nez Perce band from Wallowa into North Idaho. Joseph, White Bird, and several other Nez Perce leaders did not accept an 1863 proposal to reduce the size of their reservation after the illegal influx of gold-seekers. Although the Indians were reluctant to give up their homelands, General Oliver Otis Howard forced Joseph to move to North Idaho in 1877. White Bird's band was also under military pressure to move from Salmon River to the new reservation, and became involved in fighting that spread to Joseph's people as well: on June 14, 1877, three Indians avenged old outrages, and the army decided to retaliate. For the Nez Perce it was a major victory. At White Bird Canyon they proved to be an effective fighting force.

An army campaign on White Bird Creek was abruptly halted when the Indians routed a numerically superior white force, but nearly four weeks later, in the battle of the Clearwater, the Nez Perce (now grown in numbers to 325, but still outnumbered) were dislodged. Their only recourse was a long, hard trip over the Lolo Trail to Montana, where they hoped to join their old friends, the Crows, and to be rid of the war with General Howard.

Throughout the summer and early fall of 1877, the fighting skill of the Nez Perce warriors and the military tactics of Nez Perce military leaders, such as Chief Looking Glass and Chief White Bird, enabled the Nez Perce to evade almost certain defeat by superior U.S. Army forces. Nez Perce strength during the 1877 war was estimated to be a few hundred warriors. They had no formal military training and travelled with many noncombatants. The Army, however, would use several thousand soldiers during the 1877 Nez Perce campaign. These were commanded by veterans of the Civil War with years of military training and experience.

Colonel John Oliver Gibbon is associated with two major Indian campaigns: the Sioux Campaign of 1876 and the Nez Perce Campaign of 1877. In 1876 his command would rescue the survivors and bury the dead of George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry after the Battle of the Little Big Horn. On the night of August 9, 1877, Colonel John Gibbon led a mixed command of soldiers and civilians against the Nez Perce Indians camped at the Big Hole River. This battle would actually be a tactical defeat for Gibbon's small force, but the losses inflicted on the Nez Perce had a profound effect on the final outcome of the events of 1877.

A small military force from Missoula failed to hold them, but troops under Colonel John Gibbon overtook them August 9 at Big Hole. Recovering from their surprise, the Indians besieged Gibbon, but moved on at the approach of General Howard. Their route then took them back across the Continental Divide into Idaho and then through the Yellowstone country. Finding that the army would not let them live quietly with the Crows, the Nez Perce turned towards Canada. But they were surprised again near the border by a force under Colonel Nelson A. Miles.

After several days of indecisive fighting, Joseph came to an agreement with the army by which he would settle on the reservation in Idaho; White Bird and many of the warriors feared to return and went on to Canada. The agreement with Joseph, through no fault of those who made it, was not kept, and Joseph's group, more women and children than men, were sent to Kansas and Oklahoma, where those who survived spent several years before they were returned to the Pacific Northwest.

The 1877 flight of the Nez Perce from their homelands while pursued by U.S. Army Generals Howard, Sturgis, and Miles, is one of the most fascinating and sorrowful events in Western U.S. history. Chief Joseph, Chief Looking Glass, Chief White Bird, Chief Ollokot, Chief Lean Elk, and others led nearly 750 Nez Perce men, women, and children and twice that many horses over 1,170 miles through the mountains, on a trip that lasted from June to October of 1877.

Forced to abandon hopes for a peaceful move to the Lapwai reservation, the Nez Perce chiefs saw flight to Canada as their last promise for peace. The flight of the Nez Perce began on June 15, 1877. Pursued by the Army, they intended initially to seek safety with their Crow allies on the plains to the east. Their desperate and circuitous route as they tried to escape the pursuing white forces is what is now called the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

This route was used in its entirety only once; however, component trails and roads that made up the route bore generations of use prior to and after the 1877 flight of the nontreaty Nez Perce. The trail starts at Wallowa Lake, Oregon, then heads northeast and crosses the Snake River at Dug Bar. It enters Idaho at Lewiston and cuts across north-central Idaho, entering Montana near Lolo Pass. It then travels through the Bitterroot Valley, after which it re-enters Idaho at Bannock Pass and travels east back into Montana at Targhee Pass to cross the Continental Divide. It bisects Yellowstone National Park, and then follows the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone out of Wyoming into Montana. The trail heads north to the Bear's Paw Mountains, ending 40 miles from the Canadian border.

The Nez Perce and the Army would engage several times as the Nez Perce traveled from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley through the Montana and Idaho Territories towards their goal of Canada. By October, 1877, however, approaching winter weather, lack of supplies, and the effects of travelling more than 1,500 miles over rough western territory had began to take its toll.

The last engagement between the Nez Perce and the Army was fought at Bear Paw Mountain, Montana Territory. This battle took place between September 30 and October 5, 1877. It was after Bear Paw Mountain, when continuing to fight seemed futile, that Chief Joseph surrendered his remaining forces to Miles and Howard. In his surrender speech, Chief Joseph concluded with: "Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

Captains Edward S. Godfrey and Myles Moylan would be awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions against the Nez Perce at Bear Paw Mountain. The Nez Perce were promised by General Miles a safe return to the Wallowa Valley. General Miles was overruled, and the Nez Perce were instead sent to Kansas and Oklahoma, where the survivors of 1877 endured many more years of hardship. It was not until the mid 1880s that the Nez Perce were allowed to return to their homelands. Joseph and the other remaining tribal leaders spent their remaining years on the Colville Indian Reservation. The Nez Perce war would not be the last conflict where the decisions and promises of battlefield commanders would be influenced by higher political forces and a physically distant command structure.

The 7th Infantry, a regiment composed of 12 companies, was headquartered at Fort Shaw but scattered between five posts throughout the Montana Territory in the 1870s. Men of Companies A, B, D, E, F, G, I, K, L and I of the 7th Infantry participated in the Battle of the Big Hole, along with 8 men from the 2nd Cavalry. Companies are composed of men, or troops. At this time, companies had been down-sized from their Civil War size, and contained 60-80 men, with a limit of 100 per company.

Clothing consisted of civil war surplus trousers and overcoats, Model 1874 fatigue blouses and gray issue shirts, Model 1876 blue experimental shirts, Model 1872 campaign hats, civilian slouch hats of various colors and types, and the Model 1872 Jefferson campaign shoes. Bedding consisted of the Model 1851 gray wool blanket with black stripes and (U.S.) stitched in the center, and the issue rubberized poncho for rain protection and field shelter and tent.

The standard issue weapon was the Model 1873 45/70 (single shot) Springfield rifle, and companies A and I of the 7th Infantry received the Rice trowel-bayonet. Accoutrements consisted of the Model 1876 prairie belt, with its lacquered canvas ammunition loops. They were also equipped with the Model 1874 haversack and canteen. They had a tin cup, mess kit, knife, fork, spoon, and ration bags. Personal items a soldier may have carried included soap, toothbrush, candles, dice, and playing cards. Food consisted of beef, potatoes, coffee, bacon, flour, salt, lard, and sugar. Major Mason informed his wife in a letter that they lived on hard bread, bacon, and occasional potatoes and coffee.

A number of misconceptions surround the legacy of Chief Joseph and his role in the 1877 flight of the Nez Perce. At the time, local media and the military often referred to him as the leader of the non-treaty Nez Perce bands. This could be due in part to earlier treaty negotiations in which Joseph stood out as an eloquent speaker on behalf of his band of Nez Perce. He was a large, handsome man and some believe he simply fit the image of an Indian leader. From the standpoint of the U.S. military, it seemed important to have one individual to point to and exemplify the prowess of the Nez Perce at avoiding capture, rather than a small group of chiefs.

Throughout the flight Chief Joseph served primarily as camp leader. It is acknowledged by his fellow Nez Perce that he was not a war chief and did not lead warriors in battle. Chief Joseph made certain that the Nez Perce camp functioned and moved as a cohesive unit, especially during attacks by the military. He also made certain the horse herd was safe and intact. Chief Joseph’s notoriety grew even more following the surrender of the Nez Perce on October 5, 1877, at the Bear Paw battlefield. Here, he fought alongside his fellow chiefs and the warriors. In the end Joseph was the only chief left to carry out the painful duty of surrendering to Colonel Miles and General Howard. He did so in order to save the lives of the cold and starving men, women, and children who remained.