Indian Wars Timeline
1636 - 1898
Date Name Description
Following an initial period of peaceful relations in Virginia, a twelve year conflict left
1622-44 Powhatan Wars many natives and colonists dead.
Taking place in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the death of a colonist eventually led to
1637 Pequot War the destruction of 600-700 natives. The remainder were sold into slavery in Bermuda.
In Arizona and New Mexico, Pueblo Indians led by Popé, rebelled against the Spanish
1680-92 Pueblo Revolt and lived independently for 12 years. The Spanish re-conquered in them in 1692.
French and A conflict between France and Britain for possession of North America. For various
1689-1763 Indian War motivations, most Algonquian tribes allied with the French; the Iroquois with the British.
Taking place in Northern Carolina, the Tuscarora, under Chief Hancock, attacked
several settlements, killing settlers and destroying farms. In 1713, James Moore and
1711 Tuscarora War Yamasee warriors defeated the raiders.
In southern Carolina, an Indian confederation led by the Yamasee came close to
1715-1718 Yamasee War exterminating a white settlement in their region.
In the Ohio River Valley, War Chief Pontiac and a large alliance drove out the British at
Pontiac's every post except Detroit. After besieging the fort for five months, they withdrew to find
1763 Rebellion food for the winter.
Jamestown
March 22, 1622 Massacre Powhatans kill 347 English settlers throughout the Virginia colony.
Mystic English colonists, with Mohegan and Narragansett allies, attack a large Pequot village
May 26, 1637 Massacre on the Mystic River in what is now Connecticut, killing around 500 villagers.
February 8, Schenectady French and Algonquins destroy Schenectady, New York, killing 60 settlers, including
1690 Massacre ten women and at least twelve children.
A force comprised of Abenaki, Kanienkehaka, Wyandot and Pocumtuck Indians, led by
February 29, Deerfield a small contingent of French-Canadian militia, sack the town of Deerfield,
1704 Massacre Massachusetts, killing 56 civilians and taking dozens more as captives.
Fort William Following the fall of Fort William Henry, between 70 and 180 British and colonial
August, 1757 Henry Massacre prisoners are killed by Indian allies of the French.
Cherokee A breakdown in relations between the British and the Cherokee leads to a general
1760-62 Uprising uprising in present-day Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas.
September 14, Devil's Hole
1763 Massacre Seneca double ambush of a British supply train and soldiers.
December, Killings by the Pennsylvania settlers kill 20 peaceful Susquehannock in response to Pontiac's
1763 Paxton Boys Rebellion.
Date Name Description
Shawnee and Mingo Indians raided a wave of traders and settlers in the southern Ohio
Lord Dunmore's River Valley. Governor Dunmore of Virginia, sent in 3,000 soldiers and defeated 1,000
1774 War natives.
A series of conflicts that were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against white
encroachment. Led by Dragging Canoe, who was called the Chickamauga by
Chickamauga colonials, the Cherokee fought white settlers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North
1776-1794 Wars Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Wyoming Valley Following a battle with rebel defenders of Forty Fort, Iroquois allies of the Loyalist
July 3, 1778 Massacre forces hunt and kill those who flee, then torture to death those who surrendered.
August 31, Stockbridge A battle of the American Revolutionary War that rebel propaganda portrayed as a
1778 Massacre massacre.
An attack by British and Seneca Indian forces on a fort and village in eastern New York
November 11, Cherry Valley during the American Revolutionary War. The town was destroyed and and 16
1778 Massacre defenders were killed.
Gnadenhütten Nearly 100 non-combatant Christian Delaware (Lenape) Indians, mostly women and
March 8, 1782 Massacre children, were killed with hammer blows to the head by Pennsylvania militiamen.
Fighting occurred in Ohio and Indiana. Following two humiliating defeats at the hands
Old Northwest of native warriors, the Americans won a decisive victory under "Mad Anthony" Wayne
1785-1795 War at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
Cherokee Chief Dragging Canoe and his followers, who opposed the peace, separated
from the tribe and relocated to East Tennessee, where they were joined by groups of
Shawnee and Creek. Engaged in numerous raids on the white settlers for several
Nickajack years, they used Nickajack Cave as their stronghold. In 1894, the military attacked,
1794 Expedition leaving some 70 Indians dead.
The Prophet, brother of Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, attacked Governor William Henry
November 6, Battle of Harrison's force at dawn near the Wabash and Tippecanoe Rivers in Indiana Territory.
1811 Tippecanoe After hand-to-hand combat, the natives fled.
August 15, Fort Dearborn American settlers and soldiers are killed in ambush near Fort Dearborn, at the present-
1812 Massacre day site of Chicago, Illinois.
January 22, Battle of Also known as the River Raisin Massacre, it was a severe defeat for the Americans
1813 Frenchtown during the War of 1812, when they attempted to retake Detroit.
August 18, Dilbone
1813 Massacre Three settlers killed in Miami County, Ohio.
Following defeat at the Battle of Burnt Corn, a band of Red Sticks sack Fort Mims,
August 30, Fort Mims Alabama, killing 400 civilians and taking 250 scalps. This action precipitates the Creek
1813 Massacre War.
Sept 19 - Oct Armed conflict between the U. S. Army and the Potawatomi and the Kickapoo that took
21, 1813 Peoria War place in the Peoria County, Illinois area.
Date Name Description
The Seminole, defending runaway slaves and their land in Florida, fought Andrew
First Seminole Jackson's force. Jackson failed to subdue them, but forced Spain to relinquish the
1816-18 War territory.
Battle of
Claremore Cherokee Indians wipe out Osage Indians led by Chief Clermont at Claremore Mound,
Spring, 1817 Mound Indian Territory.
U.S. troops attack a non-hostile village during the First Seminole War, killing an
April 22, 1818 Chehaw Affair estimated 10 to 50 men, women and children.
Occurring near the Missouri River in present day South Dakota, Arikara warriors
attacked a trapping expedition and the U.S. Army retaliated. It was the first military
June 2, 1823 Arikara War conflict between the United States and the western Native Americans.
Also referred as the Le Fèvre Indian War, this armed conflict took place in Wisconsin
between the Winnebagos and military forces. Losses of lives were minimal, but the war
1827 Winnebago War was a precedent to the much larger Black Hawk War.
Occurring in northern Illinois and southwestern Wisconsin, it was the last native conflict
Black Hawk in the area. Led by Chief Black Hawk, the Sac and Fox tribes made an unsuccessful
1832 War attempt to move back to their homeland.
Indian Creek Potawatomi Indians, kidnap two girls and kill fifteen men, women and children north of
May 20, 1832 Massacre Ottawa, Illinois.
Battle of Bad
August 1, 1832 Axe Around 300 Indian men, women and children are killed in Wisconsin by white soldiers.
Cutthroat Gap
Spring, 1833 Massacre Osage Indians wiped out a Kiowa Indian village in Indian Territory.
Second Under Chief Osceola, the Seminole resumed fighting for their land in the Florida
1835-42 Seminole War Everglades. Osceola was captured and they were nearly eliminated.
Comanche On the southern plains, primarily in the Texas Republic. The U.S. Military instituted
1836-1875 Wars official campaigns against the Comanches in 1867.
Though most Creeks ad been forced to Indian Territory, those that remained rebelled
Creek War of when the state moved to abolish tribal governments and extend state laws over the
1836 1836 Creeks.
Fort Parker
May 19, 1836 Massacre Six men killed by a mixed Indian group in Limestone County, Texas.
Osage Indian
1837 War A number of skirmishes with the Osage Indians in Missouri.
November 10, Battle of Stone A Texas Ranger Company pursued a band of raiding Kichai Indians up the Brazos
1837 Houses River, where they battled near the present day city of Windthorst, Texas.
October 5, Killough
1838 Massacre Indians massacre eighteen members and relatives of the Killough family in Texas.
This war was a culmination of friction between the Cherokee, Kickapoo, and Shawnee
1839 Cherokee War Indians and the white settlers in Northeast Texas.
Date Name Description
The largest raid ever mounted by Native Americans on white cities. Following the
Great Raid of Council House Fight, Comanche War Chief Buffalo Hump raised a huge war party and
1840 1840 raided deep into white-settled areas of Southeast Texas.
A conflict between Republic of Texas officials and a Comanche peace delegation in
Council House San Antonio, Texas. When terms could not be agreed on, a conflict erupted resulting in
March 19, 1840 Fight the death of 30 Comanche leaders who had come to San Antonio under a flag of truce.
The Penateka Comanche were so angry after the Council House Fight, they retaliated
in the summer of 1840 by conducting multiple raids in the Guadalupe Valley. The raids
culminated in a battle between the Indians and the Texas volunteer army along with the
August 11, Battle of Plum Texas Rangers near the present day city of Lockhart, Texas. For two days they battled
1840 Creek and the Commanche were defeated.
The murder of missionaries Dr Marcus Whitman, Mrs Narcissa Whitman and twelve
November 29, Whitman others at Walla Walla, Washington by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians, triggering the
1847 Massacre Cayuse War.
When a company of about 140 soldiers were on their way to left join the Santa Fe
Battle of Coon battalion in Chihuahua, Mexico, they were attacked near the present town of Kinsley,
June 17, 1848 Creek Kansas by some 200 Comanche and Apache Indians.
Occurring in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory, the conflict between the
Cayuse and white settlers was
caused in part by the influx of disease, and resulting in the
1848–1855 Cayuse War Whitman Massacre and the Cayuse War.
Persistent fighting between the Navajo and the U.S. Army in Arizona and New Mexico
led to their expulsion and incarceration on an inhospitable reservation far from their
1849-63 Navajo Conflicts homelands.
Spawned by the flood of miners rushing onto their lands after the California Gold Rush,
1850-1851 Mariposa War some tribes fought back including the Paiute and the Yokuts.
The murder of up to 200 Pomo people on an island near Upper Lake, California by
Bloody Island Nathaniel Lyon and his U. S. Army detachment, in retaliation for the killing of two Clear
Spring, 1850 Massacre Lake settlers who had been abusing and murdering Pomo people.
Utah Indian
1851-1853 Wars Numerous skirmishes throughout Utah which finally lead to the Walker War.
October 21, Gunnison In Millard County, Utah, a band of Ute Indians massacred Captain John W. Gunnison's
1853 Massacre Pacific Railroad Survey party of seven men.
When the Mormons began to settle on the hunting grounds of the Ute Indians of Utah,
1853 Walker War they were at first friendly, then fought back.
As white settlers moved across the Mississippi into Minnesota, South Dakota, and
Wyoming, the Sioux under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse resisted to keep their hunting
1854-90 Sioux Wars grounds.
August 17, Kaibai Creek Forty-two Winnemem Wintu men, women and children are killed by white settlers at
1854 Massacre Kaibai Creek, California.
August 20, Eighteen of the 20 members of the Alexander Ward party were killed by Shoshoni
1854 Ward Massacre Indians while traveling on the Oregon Trail in western Idaho.
Date Name Description
Fighting occurred at the junction of the Tucannon River and the Snake River in
1855 Snake River War Washington Territory.
This conflict occurred between the Klickitat and Cascade Indians against white
settlers along the Columbia River in central Washington. When intimidation and force
failed to get the Indians to cede their lands, battles erupted resulting in the Indians
1855 Klickitat War being removed from their lands.
Under Chief Billy Bowlegs, the Seminole mounted their final stand against the U.S. in
Third Seminole the Florida Everglades. When Bowlegs surrendered; he and others were deported to
1855-58 War Indian Territory in Oklahoma.
In the Rogue River Valley area southern Oregon, conflict between the area Indians
1855-1856 Rogue River Wars and white settlers increased eventually breaking into open warfare.
A conflict of land rights in Washington state, involving the that ended in the
Puget Sound or execution of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat tribes in the state of
1855–1856 Yakima War Washington. The central figure of the war, Nisqually Chief Leschi, was executed.
Klamath and
January-March, Salmon Indian
1855 Wars Battles which occurred in Oregon Territory and Idaho.
August 17,
1855 Grattan Massacre Twenty-nine U.S. soldiers killed by Brulé Lakota Sioux Indians in Nebraska Territory.
January 26, Native Americans attacked Seattle, Washington, as part of the Yakima War. The
1856 Battle of Seattle attackers are driven off by artillery fire and by Marines from the U.S. Navy.
A short series of skirmishes occurring in Tintic and Cedar Valleys of Utah, after the
February, 1856 Tintic War conclusion of the Walker War.
January- Antelope Hills A campaign by Texas Rangers and members of allied tribes against the Comanche
May,1858 Expedition and Kiowa in Texas and Oklahoma.
Also known as the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War, this second phase of the
Yakima War was a series of encounters between the Coeur d’Alenes, Spokanes,
Palouses and Northern Paiute tribes and U.S. forces in the Washington and Idaho
1858 Coeur d'Alene War areas.
Also known as the Battle of Spokane Plains, the conflilct was part of the Coeur
September 1, Battle of Four d'Alene War. A force of 600 military men were sent to subdue the tribes, defeating
1858 Lakes the Indians.
A conflict between settlers and Native Americans in California that took place in
1859 Mendocino War 1859. Several hundred Indians were killed.
Also known as Pyramid Lake War, the war was fought between Northern Paiutes,
along with some Shoshone and Bannock, and white settlers in present-day Nevada.
The war culminated in two pitched battles in which approximately 80 whites were
killed. Smaller raids and skirmishes continued until a cease-fire was agreed to in
1860 Paiute War August, 1860.
Also known as the Humboldt Bay Massacre, local white settlers, without any
February 26, Gunther Island apparent provocation, attack four Indian villages, slaying 188 Wiyot Indians, mostly
1860 Massacre women and children in Humboldt County, California.
Date Name Description
California Indian Numerous battles and skirmishes against Hupa, Wiyot, Yurok, Tolowa, Nomlaki,
1860-65 Wars Chimariko, Tsnungwe, Whilkut, Karuk, Wintun and others.
Occurring in Arizona and New Mexico Territories, it ended with the Long Walk of the
1861–1864 Navajo Wars Navajo.
In New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, numerous Apache bands rejected reservation
life, and under Geronimo, Cochise and others, staged hundreds of attacks on
1861-1900 Apache Attacks outposts. Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886; others fought on until 1900.
Skirmishes in the southwestern quadrant of Minnesota resulted in the deaths of
August- several hundred white settlers. In the largest mass execution in U.S. history, 38
September, Dakota were hanged. About 1,600 others were sent to a reservation in present-day
1862 Sioux War of 1862 South Dakota.
Battle of Apache Battle fought in Arizona between Apache warriors and the California Column as it
March, 1862 Pass marched from California to New Mexico.
Accompanied by Caddo allies, a detachment of irregular Union Indians, mainly
October 24, Tonkawa Kickapoo, Delaware and Shawnee, attempt to destroy the Tonkawa tribe in Indian
1862 Massacre Territory. One hundred and fifty of 390 Tonkawa survive.
January 29, Bear River Colonel Patrick Connor leads a regiment killing at least 200 Indian men, women and
1863 Massacre children near Preston, Idaho.
Keyesville
April 19, 1863 Massacre White settlers kill 35 Tehachapi men in Kern County, California.
Battle of Canyon This Navajo citadel was the scene of climatic events in the conquest of the Navajo
January, 1864 de Chelly Indians by the U.S. Army Colonel Christopher C. "Kit" Carson’s.
November 29, Sand Creek
1864 Massacre Militiamen kill at least 160 Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek, Colorado.
Clashes centered on the Colorado Eastern Plains between the U.S. Army and an
1864–1865 Colorado War alliance consisting largely of the Cheyenne and Arapaho.
Fought between U.S. military and the Northern Paiutes and Shoshoni (called the
Snakes by white settlers) in Oregon, Idaho, and California. The conflict began with
the influx of new mines in Idaho and the Indians rebelled to white encroachment on
1864–1868 Snake War their lands.
When the Mescelero Apaches were placed on a reservation with Navajos at Fort
Sumner, New Mexico, the war began and continued until 1886, when Geronimo
1864–1886 Apache Wars surrendered.
Fought in western North Dakota, this battle was an outgrowth to the 1862 Sioux
Battle of Killdeer discontent in Minnesota. Leading more than 3,000 volunteers, Brigadier General
July 28, 1864 Mountain Alfred Sully confronted more than 1,600 Sioux in the North Dakota badlands,
representing one of the largest pitched battles in the history of Plains warfare.
Kit Carson led an attack against a Kiowa village in the Texas Panhandle. The next
November 25- First Battle of day, the Kiowa, now joined with the Comanche, counter-attacked. Though thousands
26, 1864 Adobe Walls of Indians were attacking the Cavalry, Carson and his men were able to hold their
position with two howitzers.
Date Name Description
Including an estimated 150 battles between Mormon settlers in central Utah and
members of the Ute, Paiute and Navajo tribes. The conflict resulted in the
Utah's Black Hawk abandonment of some settlements and homes, and postponed Mormon expansion in
1865–1872 War the region.
The Ute nation rose episodically against white settlers in Utah as the Mormons
1865-1879 Ute Wars relentlessly took over their lands and exhausted their resources.
When a wagon train with twenty five men under Sergeant Amos Custard's command
were traveling from Sweetwater Station east toward Platte Bridge Station in
Wyoming, Sioux and Cheyenne were threatening to attack. Lieutenant Caspar
July 26, 1865 Battle of the Platte Collins and a small detachment of soldiers were sent out from Platte Bridge Station
Bridge Station to try and reach the wagon train and escort it to the station but upon crossing the
bridge to the north they were overwhelmed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians.
Lieutenant Collins and several of the men were killed.
On the same day of the Battle of the Platte Bridge Station, Sergeant Amos Custard's
Battle of Red wagon train was attacked by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. Custer and 21 soldiers
July 26, 1865 Buttes were killed.
The U.S. Cavalry under the command of General Patrick Connor attacked Chief
August 28, Connor Battle Black Bear's Arapaho outside present day Ranchester, Wyoming. This attack caused
1865 the Arapaho to join forces with the Sioux and Cheyenne.
August 31, In retaliation for he attack on Black Bear's village, Arapaho Indians attacked a
1865 Sawyer Fight surveying expedition on the Bozeman Trail in Wyoming.
Lakota Chief Red Cloud conducts the most successful attacks against the U.S. Army
during the Indian Wars. By the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), the U.S. granted a
large reservation to the Lakota, without military presence or oversight, no
settlements, and no reserved road building rights. The reservation included the entire
1866–1868 Red Cloud's War Black Hills.
December 21, Fetterman Fought near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, Sioux and Cheyenne ambushed Captain
1866 Massacre William J. Fetterman and 80 men, killing every one of them.
Major General Philip Sheridan, in command of the Department of the Missouri,
instituted winter campaigning in 1868–69 as a means of rooting out the elusive
Comanche Indian tribes scattered throughout the border regions of Colorado, Kansas, New
1867–1875 Campaign Mexico, and Texas.
Cheyenne and Sioux Indians ambushed and killed a 2nd US Cavalry detachment of
July 2, 1867 Kidder Massacre eleven men and an Indian guide near Beaver Creek in Sherman County, Kansas.
Occurring near Fort C.F. Smith, Montana, Territory, the battle pitted a determined
stand of 31 soldiers and civilians against more than 700 Sioux and Cheyenne
August 1, 1867 Hayfield Fight warriors.
Captain James Powell with a force of 31 men survived repeated attacks by more
than 1,500 Lakota Sioux warriors under the leadership of Chiefs Red Cloud and
Crazy Horse. The soldiers, who were guarding woodcutters near Fort Phil Kearny,
August 2, 1867 Wagon Box Fight Wyoming, took refuge in a corral formed by laying 14 wagons end-to-end in an oval
configuration.
Date Name Description
September, Battle of Infernal Infernal Caverns is the site of an 1867 battle between U.S. armed forces and Paiute,
1867 Caverns Pit River, and Modoc Indians.
September 17- Battle of Beecher Northern Cheyenne under war leader Roman Nose fought scouts of the U.S. 9th
19, 1868 Island Cavalry Regiment in a nine-day battle.
Lieutenant Colonel George Custer's 7th cavalry attacked the sleeping Cheyenne
November 27, village of Black Kettle near present-day Cheyenne, Oklahoma. 250 men, women and
1868 Washita Massacre children were killed.
Battle of Summit Cheyenne Dog Soldiers led by Tall Bull defeated by elements of U.S. Army. Tall Bull
July 11, 1869 Springs died, reportedly killed by Buffalo Bill Cody.
January 23, White Americans kill 173 Piegans, mainly women, children and the elderly in
1870 Marias Massacre Montana.
A mob of angry citizens from Tucson and their Papago Indian mercenaries clubbed,
shot, raped and mutilated 144 Aravaipa Apache people, mostly women and children
Camp Grant near Camp Grant. Their actions were taken in "retaliation" for a Gila Apache raid in
April 30, 1871 Massacre which six people had been killed and some livestock stolen.
Fighting northern California and southern Oregon, Captain Jack and followers fled
from their reservation to the lava beds of Tule Lake, where they held out against
soldiers for six months. Major General Edward Canby was killed during a peace
conference—the only general to be killed during the Indian Wars. Captain Jack was
1872–1873 Modoc War hanged for the killing.
Also called the Skeleton Cave Battle, the U.S. Army won its most striking victory in
December 28, Salt River Canyon the long history of Apache warfare at this site in Arizona. About 75 Indians died, and
1872 Battle most of the rest were captured.
Fought in south central Arizona, it was one of the pivotal fights that broke the backs
Battle of Turret of the Apaches and Yavapais in their efforts to resist white encroachment into their
March 27, 1873 Peak lands.
Occurring in northwestern Texas William T. Sherman led a campaign of more than
14 battles against the Arapaho, Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa tribes, who
1874–1875 Red River War eventually surrendered.
A combined force of some 700 Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapaho warriors,
Second Battle of led by Comanche Chief Quanah Parker and Isa-tai, attacked the buffalo camp at
Adobe Walls Adobe Walls in the Texas Panhandle. The hunters held the site and the Indians
June 27, 1874 retreated, but it soon led to the Red River War.
September 28, Battle of Palo Duro Cheyenne, Comanche, and Kiowa warriors engaged elements of the U.S. 4th
1874 Canyon Cavalry Regiment led by Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie in Palo Duro Canyon, Texas.
Lakota under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse fought the U.S. after repeated violations of
1876–1877 Black Hills War the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie
Battle of Powder The opening battle of the Black Hills War, between the U.S. Army and the Sioux and
March, 1876 River Cheyennes on the Powder River in Montana.
Lakota under Sitting Bull clashed with U.S. Army column moving to reinforce Custer's
June 17, 1876 Battle of Rosebud 7th Cavalry.
Date Name Description
Three weeks after Custer's defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Fifth U.S.
Battle at Cavalry skirmished with Cheyenne Indians from the Red Cloud Agency in northwest
July 17, 1876 Warbonnet Creek Nebraska.
September 8, Battle of Slim Captain Anson Mills' Third Cavalry troopers attacked the Sioux village of American
1876 Buttes Horse in South Dakota. American Horse was killed in the ambush.
After the Battle of the Little Bighorn the previous summer the U.S. Military began
November 25, Dull Knife Fight retaliatory campaigns. Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie's 4th Cavalry surprised Dull
1876 Knife's winter camp in Wyoming, killing 25 Indians.
Occurring in Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, the Nez Percé were fighting to keep their
home in Wallowa Valley. Chief Joseph retreated from the 1st U.S. Cavalry through
Idaho, Yellowstone Park, and Montana after a group of Nez Perce attacked and
killed a group of Anglo settlers in early 1877. They surrendered near the border to
1877 Nez Perce War Nelson Miles' soldiers.
August 29, One of a series of engagements between U.S. troops and the fleeing Nez Perce
1877 Battle of Big Hole under Chief Joseph in southwestern Montana.
Elements of the 21st U.S. Infantry, 4th U.S. Artillery, and 1st U.S. Cavalry engaged
the natives of southern Idaho including the Bannock and Paiute when the tribes
1878 Bannock War threatened rebellion in 1878, dissatisfied with their land allotments.
A conflict between the United States' armed forces and a small group of Cheyenne
1878–1879 Cheyenne War families.
Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf of the Northern Cheyenne led their people in a
September 27, Battle of Punished rebellion and flight from confinement and starvation in Indian Territory to their home
1878 Woman Fork lands in the north. The Cheyenne made their final stand in Scott County, Kansas,
fighting against the U.S. Cavalry.
September 30, Last Cheyenne Cheyenne ambushed Decatur County, Kansas. A running fight with white settlers
1878 Raid occurred. In the end 17 settlers were killed in the ambush.
The war was fought between Ute Indians and the U.S. Army Buffalo Soldiers near
the area of the White River that passes through both the states of Colorado and
1879 White River War Utah.
January 8, Ft Robinson Northern Cheyenne under Dull Knife attempt to escape from confinement in Fort
1879 Massacre Robinson, Nebraska; about fifty survive.
On May 1, 1879, three detachments of soldiers pursued the Idaho Western
May-August, Shoshone throughout central Idaho during the last campaign in the Pacific
1879 Sheepeater War Northwest.
One of the most violent expressions of Indian resentment toward the reservation
September 29, system, Ute Indians attacked an the White River Indian Agency in Rio Blanca
1879 Meeker Massacre County, Colorado, burning the buildings and killing Indian Agent, Nathan C. Meeker
and nine employees.
September 29 -
October 5, Battle of Milk Following the Meeker Massacre, Ute Indians ambushed a column of 150 troops on
1879 Creek the northern edge of the White River Reservation in Moffat County, Colorado.
Settlers killed by Apaches led by Victorio at Alma, New Mexico. Likewise on
December 19, 1885 an officer and 4 enlisted men of the 8th Cavalry Regiment killed
April 28, 1880 Alma Massacre by Apaches near Alma, New Mexico.
Date Name Description
When Apache shaman, Noch-del-klinne (the prophet) began to teach dances and
August 30, rites similar to the ghost dance, he was arrested and fighting erupted along Cibecue
1881 Battle of Cibeque Creek, Arizona.
Battle of Big Dry The battle of Big Dry Wash was the last major fight with hostile Apaches in Arizona
July 17, 1882 Wash Territory and marked the end of an era.
September 4, Geronimo and less than 40 Apaches, surrendered to Brigadier General Nelson Miles
1886 Skeleton Canyon at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, marking the end of the Apache Wars.
An armed conflict between the U.S. government and Native Americans that resulted
from a religious movement called the Ghost Dance. The conflict included the
1890–1891 Ghost Dance War Wounded Knee Massacre and the Pine Ridge Campaign.
Numerous unresolved grievances led to the last major conflict with the Sioux. A
November, lopsided engagement that involved almost half the infantry and cavalry of the
1890-January, Pine Ridge Regular Army caused the surviving warriors to lay down their arms and retreat to
1891 Campaign their reservations in January 1891.
Sitting Bull's half-brother, Big Foot, and some 200 Sioux were killed by the U.S. 7th
Cavalry. only fourteen days before, Sitting Bull had been killed with his son Crow
December 29, Wounded Knee Foot at Standing Rock Agency in a gun battle with a group of Indian police that had
1890 Massacre been sent by the American government to arrest him.
October 5, Battle of Leech Considered the last "Indian War," an uprising of Chippewa occurred when one of
1898 Lake their tribe was arrested on Lake Leech in northern Minnesota.