Battle of Wolf Mountain: Crazy Horse's last battle with US Cavalry

Background. The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations in 1876 and 1877 between an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne and the United States. After the defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876, the United States government sent a large number of reinforcements into Montana Territory. Congress also attached the "sell or starve" rider to the Indian Appropriations Act of 1876, cutting off all rations for the Sioux until they terminated hostilities and ceded the Black Hills.

Engagement. On January 8, 1877, Crazy Horse's warriors fought their last major engagement at the Battle of Wolf Mountain. The battle pitted roughly 600 Lakota and Cheyenne against 450 soldiers in a blizzard along the Tongue River in Montana Territory. This engagement was part of the broader winter campaigns ordered by General Sheridan in February 1876.

Aftermath. Following the battle, Crazy Horse continued to be pursued during the Great Sioux War. He surrendered to U.S. forces in May 1877 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, seeking to secure the survival of his band amid famine and military pressure. The battle is also known as Miles's Battle on the Tongue River.