Forgotten Battle 24

Welcome back viewers 

This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Battle of the Big Hole

Intro

The battle of the Big Hole took place on August 9-10, 1877, in what is now the state of Montana. It was fought between soldiers of US Army and warriors of the Nez Perce Tribe. This battle would be the costliest during one of the most tragic chapters in American history. 

Part I

The Nez Perce War began on June 14, 1877. In command of the US Army, was General Oliver Otis Howard, a highly decorated veteran of the American Civil War. His orders were to hunt down the Nez Perce Tribe and force them to relocate to reservations within the state of Idaho. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce adamently refused to move his people from their ancestral homeland in Montana. 

Twenty-two years earlier in 1855, the Nez Perce (along with four other tribes) met with officials of the American government to sign a number of treaties that would be ratified by the US Senate. These treaties (called the, Walla Walla Council) ceded large swaths of land to each of these tribes and granted them the rights to hunt and farm the lands as they saw fit. For the Nez Perce, the treaty granted them a total of 7.5 million acres in Montana. The Senate ratified the treaties in 1859 and the Washington Territory's first governor (Issac Stevens) secured the treaty for the two most powerful tribes (the Nez Perce and the Yakama).

Tragically, Governor Stevens was killed while fighting at the battle of Chantilly during the Civil War. His death (along with the deaths of other signers of the treaties) allowed new leaders in the American government to renege on their promises to the tribes located in the Washington Territory. Instead of giving in to the government's demands, Chief Joseph and other Nez Perce leaders decided to raise the tribe in revolt. The stage was set for a confrontation between them and the US Army.

Part II

With US Army in pursuit, Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce on a long and difficult trek north to reach the Canadian border. As they had more than 500 non-combatants (women, children, and old men) in the tribe progress was painfully slow. It was not long before elements of the Army caught up with them.

Leading the US Army in pursuit were many experienced generals who had seen heavy combat during the American Civil War. The four most notable of them were Oliver O. Howard, John Gibbon, Nelson A. Miles, and Samuel D. Sturgis. With them, were more than 1,500 soldiers, civilian volunteers, and Indian scouts. With superior numbers and combat experience, they were expecting a quick and easy victory.

Instead, the conflict quickly turned into a series of running battles which always ended in the Nez Perce evading the army. Although he suffered a defeat at the battle of the Clearwater, Chief Joseph and his tribe were able to successfully evade the Army and move into Montana. After gaining what they believed to be a long lead on their pursuers, Chief Joseph and his top strategist (Looking Glass) decided to make camp at the Big Hole River (located in present-day Beaverhead County). 

They were unaware, that Colonel John Gibbon and 206 soldiers and civilian-volunteers had discovered them. Gibbon and his small army reached the Big Hole River on the night of August 8. In the morning, they would launch their attack.

Part III

At 3:30 AM, Gibbon and his soldiers left their camp and silently advanced on the Nez Perce who were sleeping in 89 tipis in a wedge-shape pattern. They crossed the Big Hole River, formed a skirmishing line, and began shooting into the Nez Perce's camp. Since they didn't know where the warriors were located, the soldiers fired indiscriminately into every tipi they saw. As a result, many women and children were killed during the battle.

Caught by surprise, many of the Nez Perce people began to flee into the darkness. Some men and women grabbed rifles and began to return fire and inflicted casualties on Gibbon's men. From there, the battle quickly turned into a mash of confusion as the soldiers began to fire in every direction. Gibbon was forced to temporarily pull his men back and reorganize them. He then ordered them to burn the camp. By then however, Chief Joseph and Looking Glass had rallied their warriors and launched a counter-attack.

From concealed positions in the hills surrounding their burning camp, the warriors picked off dozens of soldiers. Just twenty minutes after launching his attack, Gibbon and his men were forced to pull back from the Nez Perce camp and take up defensive positions. What followed was a sniping duel between the warriors and the soldiers all throughout the day and into the night. The next day, the warriors finally withdrew, met up with the women and children, and set up a new camp 18 miles south at Lake Creek. Gibbon and his soldiers did not pursue them.

Epilogue

The casualties for the Battle of the Big Hole had been heavy both sides. The US Army had suffered 31 killed and 38 wounded (including Colonel Gibbon). The casualties for the Nez Perce are not officially known but also believed to have been severe. Historians have put their casualties between 70 to 90 killed and an unknown number of wounded. Nearly half of the dead are believed to have been women and children. Since both sides had suffered high casualties and disengaged, the battle is considered a draw.

The Nez Perce war would continue for another two months. Finally on October 5, Chief Joseph and his tribe were cornered at the Bear Paw Mountain in northern Montana. With so many of his tribesmen dead, Chief Joseph approached General Howard and General Miles and agreed to surrender. He is quoted as saying, "I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. Hear me my chiefs; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever". He and his tribe were then taken into custody and sent to a reservation down in Oklahoma. In 1885, they were permitted to return to a new reservation in their former territory in what is now Washington State. Chief Joseph would die there in 1904. It would not be until 2021, that the Nez Perce tribe would finally return to their former reservation in Idaho (where they currently live now).

Although they had won the war, there was no celebrating within the Army. Their casualties had been very high and many felt that the conflict was pointless to begin with. General Philip Sheridan is quoted as saying, "We took away their country, broke up their mode of living, their habits in life, introduced diseases and decay among them and was for this and against this that they made war. Could anyone expect any less?". For his part, General Oliver Howard would remain in the army until his retirement in 1894. At the time of his death in 1909, he was the last living Union Army general to have held a permanent rank in the US Army. John Gibbon eventually recovered from his wounds and served in the Army until 1891. He died in 1896 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Today, the Nez Perce war of 1877 is remembered as one of the most tragic conflicts fought on American soil. The battles fought have all since been preserved as part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. Among the historic sites is the Big Hole National Battlefield. In 1966, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains a solemn reminder of worst battle of one of the darkest chapters in American history.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/31549/31549-h/31549-h.htm

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nez-perce-fight-battle-of-big-hole

https://www.wallowanezperce.org/news/2020/8/10/143-years-remembering-the-battle-at-big-hole

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/big-hole-montana/

https://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MT/Beaverhead/state.html#google_vignette

Forgotten Battle 23

Welcome back viewers

This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Siege of the International Legations

Intro

The Siege of the International Legations occurred June 20 to August 14, 1900, in the Chinese city of Peking. It was a 55-day siege fought between radical Chinese extremists against soldiers from eight foreign nations holding a single compound. This long siege would be the main focus of one of the shortest yet most impactful conflicts at the end of the 19th century.

Part I

By the late nineteenth century, multiple conflicts had erupted involving the nation of China against foreign nations who wished to exploit their resources. These conflicts had mostly resulted in defeats for the Chinese who were forced to sign unequal treaties with countries like Great Britain, France, Germany, and even Japan (which held a long history of animosity towards them). These treaties caused the Chinese Monarchy to lose control of crucial cities, ports, and islands in and around China (these included Hong Kong and Formosa). In the 1890s, Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War and took control of the Korean Peninsula. This also caused a massive increase in the Chinese people converting to Christianity.

The presence of soldiers from so many foreign nations parading around the cities and ports of China caused deep resentment among thousands of its people. Many of them formed a nationalist movement called, I Ho Ch'uan, the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. This extremist group believed in expelling all foreigners and Western influence from Chinese soil. Their slogan was, "Uphold the Qing! Kill the Foreigner!". Due to their preferred method of fighting with hand-to-hand, the Westerners nicknamed them, the "Boxer Movement".

In the country-side of China, they began to attack and kill foreign missionaries. They also brought their wrath down on Chinese Christians (whom they viewed as collaborators), and massacred thousands across the nation. When Western diplomats located within the city of Peking appealed to the Chinese Empress Cixi for help, their pleas fell on deaf ears (as she was sympathetic to the Boxers). It became clear that it was only a matter of time before the Boxers attacked them in Peking.

Part II

Representatives from eight foreign nations gathered in a two mile long area within Peking called the Legation Quarter and pondered their options. Fearing a coordinated attack by the Boxers, they decided to fortify the area with soldiers (and a handful of marines). 

In command of the Legation Quarter was Sir Claude MacDonald. With 409 (among them, was Herbert Hoover) soldiers from eight different countries manning the walls of the Legation, approximately 500 foreign civilians (of 19 different nationalities) and 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the mansions and churches. With the entire perimeter being 2,167 yards, defending it with so few soldiers would be very difficult. It wasn't long before they spotted the Boxers gathering for a mass attack.

Sensing an opportunity to be rid of foreign influence in China, Empress Cixi issued an ultimatum for those in the Legation Quarter on June 18. It stated that all foreign diplomats and their citizens were to leave Peking within twenty-four hours. She promised them that they would be given safe passage to the Chinese city of Tientsin. If they did not, a state of war would be declared, and the Imperial Army would attack the Legations Quarter with the Boxers. For their part, the Boxers are believed to have numbered in the tens of thousands. When the ultimatum was refused, the Imperial Army joined them and prepared to launch an attack. The fighting began on June 20, 1900.

Part III

The Boxers launched multiple frontal attacks on the compound. The defenders responded by firing on them with rifles and pistols. As they attacked in human waves, the Boxers suffered heavy casualties while attacking the walls. They focused the bulk of their forces on a section called, the Tartar Wall. This wall was 45 feet tall and 40 feet wide. It was defended by American marines and German soldiers. If the Boxers captured the Tartar Wall, they would have unimpeded access to the Legation Quarter (where the civilians were sheltering).

For the next month, the Boxers launched numerous attacks on the garrisoned soldiers of the Legation Quarter. The defenders on the Tartar Wall found themselves under constant assault and began to run low on their ammunition. Even as the bodies of the Boxers continued to pile up at the bottom of the wall, they still kept attacking (especially at night). When these attacks failed, they resorted to far more drastic measures and began setting fires to buildings in an attempt to burn the defenders out. On June 30, the Germans were forced off the Tartar Wall, leaving only the Americans to hold it. They held out until 2 AM on July 1 when they ran out of ammunition.

On July 3, the Allies launched a counter-attack and successfully recaptured the Tartar Wall. For the next month, the Boxers continued to attack the Legation Quarter. On July 17, both sides called for a short truce to gather their dead. The attacks on the Legation Quarter resumed two weeks later. By now, the Chinese Imperial Army began attacking with artillery. The fighting finally ceased on August 14, when an Allied relief force of soldiers from the Eight-Nation-Alliance finally broke through to Peking and relieved the defenders of the Legation Quarter.

Epilogue

The entire siege had lasted a total of 55 days. The defenders of the International Legations had suffered a total of 55 killed and 135 wounded. In addition, 13 western civilians had also been killed and 24 wounded. The casualties of the Boxers and the Chinese Imperial Army are unknown, but believed to by over 2,500.

The day after the Western Armies entered Peking, Empress Cixi fled the city. She would remain in exile until 1902, when she was permitted to return. Although the Boxer Rebellion itself would continue for another year, the failed Siege of the International Legations had shattered the Boxer movement and many of its members would desert and return home in the coming months. When the rebellion finally ended on September 7, 1901, the armies of the Eight-Nation-Alliance occupied several provinces of China for the next few years.

Today, the Siege of the International Legations (along with the Boxer Rebellion as a whole) has since passed into history. It is remembered as a brave stand against overwhelming odds by the most unlikely allies in history. All of them were motivated by protecting their interests in China and fighting a common enemy. Ironically, all eight of these nations would go to war with each other in the two most devastating conflicts in human history. Never again would there be such an alliance.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-the-International-Legations-1900

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/the-boxer-rebellions-unlikely-alliance-of-eight-flags/

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1999/winter/boxer-rebellion-1.html

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Battle-of-Peking/