Hey, Where Did Our Horses Go?

In May of 1865, the United States government decided to move all of the Sioux that were camped in and around Fort Laramie. The 180 plus lodges were to be moved to Pawnee land in Nebraska. But when the group reached Horse Creek, the site of the 1851 conference at Fort Laramie, old animosities were aroused. The Sioux had been pushed far enough. They took a stand, killing one officer and seven soldiers. Thirteen others were wounded before the Indians escaped south across the North Platte River.

North Platte River

Col. Thomas Moonlight, the commander at Fort Laramie, took one of his famous or infamous missteps. (I have blogged about him before when he was governor many years later)Moonlight led a force of soldiers out of the fort to capture or punish the Indians. He chased but did not catch the Sioux. Exhausted, he encamped the troops for the night. The men ate and rested, meanwhile when darkness came the Sioux helped themselves to the soldiers mounts, all of them. 

Bet the soldiers were happy to be back home in their barracks at Fort Laramie

The next day the soldiers started their march back to Fort Laramie – on foot.