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Wagon Box Fight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wagon Box Fight was an engagement which occurred on August 2, 1867, in the vicinity of Fort Phil Kearny during Red Cloud's War. A party of twenty-six U.S. Army soldiers and six civilians were attacked by several hundred Lakota Sioux warriors. Although outnumbered, the soldiers were armed with newly supplied breech-loading Springfield Model 1866 rifles and lever-action Henry rifles, and had a defensive wall of wagon boxes to protect them. They held off the attackers for hours with few casualties, although they lost a large number of horses and mules driven off by the raiders.
Wagon Box Fight | |||||||
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Part of Red Cloud's War | |||||||
![]() An illustration of the engagement | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
![]() | Lakota Sioux | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Red Cloud Crazy Horse High Backbone | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
26 soldiers 6 civilians | 300–1,000 warriors | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
7 killed 2 wounded[1]: 22 |
~6 (2 to 60) killed 6 wounded[2] |
This was the last major engagement of the war, although Lakota and allied forces continued to raid European-American parties along the Bozeman Trail. The area has been designated as a Wyoming State Historic Site and is marked by a memorial and an historic plaque.