The March of the Montana Column

By editor

Billings, Yellowstone County, Montana

In the early months of 1876, the expanse of the northern Great Plains bore witness to a military enterprise of considerable scope and consequence, one that would forever alter the relations between the United States government and the indigenous peoples who called the region home. Colonel John Gibbon’s Montana Column, comprising six companies of the Seventh Infantry and a detachment of the Second Cavalry, embarked from Fort Ellis near Bozeman on April 1, 1876, to join a coordinated campaign aimed at compelling the Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne to submit to reservation confines. This movement was part of a grand strategy devised by the War Department, which sought to envelop the Indian bands through a three-pronged offensive converging upon the Big Horn River basin.

The political and military context preceding this campaign was fraught with tension and conflict. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills and the influx of miners and settlers into lands long held by the Lakota and Cheyenne generated increasing hostility. The tribes, determined to preserve their freedom and way of life on the northern plains, rejected the ultimatum presented by the United States in late 1875, which demanded their return to reservations. In response, the Army undertook a campaign to force compliance by military means.

Colonel Gibbon’s column, initially composed of troops from the 5th Infantry departing Fort Shaw on the Sun River, consolidated near Fort Ellis before pressing eastward along the Yellowstone River’s north bank. Their march was a testament to the harshness of the terrain and the season: the soldiers sometimes struggled through snow drifts that reached hip height, a severe test of endurance that few could have anticipated when they first received their orders. Their progress was necessarily cautious, as they scouted for signs of Indian presence and awaited the river’s thaw to enable the arrival of vital supplies.

The steamboat Far West, under the command of Captain Grant Marsh, was the lifeline of this campaign. Its arrival upriver was eagerly anticipated, for it bore not only provisions but the communications that connected the columns and their commanders. Captain Marsh’s vessel carried General Alfred Terry’s orders and Gibbon’s dispatches, and, in the aftermath of the June battles, it would bear the wounded and the grim news of defeat.

Gibbon’s advance brought his men to the mouth of the Stillwater River by April 8, where they made camp and took a reprieve. It was here that the Colonel undertook a crucial diplomatic endeavor, riding with a small party to the Crow Agency on Rosebud Creek. There, he engaged with the Crow Nation, who had aligned themselves with the United States, securing their cooperation as scouts to guide and warn the column of Indian movements ahead. This alliance was indispensable, as the Crow warriors’ intimate knowledge of the land and the enemy’s habits offered the soldiers an advantage in an otherwise unfamiliar and hostile environment.

While encamped at the Stillwater, the Montana Column was reinforced by a company from Camp Baker, near present-day White Sulphur Springs. The soldiers, awaiting the steamboat and the next stage of their advance, took solace in the river’s bounty, reportedly depleting over 500 pounds of trout. This interlude of relative calm belied the violent confrontation looming on the horizon.

The broader military design was conceived by General Philip Sheridan and executed under the immediate command of General Terry, who coordinated with General George Crook’s third column approaching from the south. The plan was to trap the Lakota and Cheyenne bands between these forces, forcing a decisive engagement that would break their resistance. The convergence point chosen was near the Little Bighorn River, a locale that would shortly become synonymous with one of the most infamous battles in American history.

On June 25, 1876, while Gibbon’s column remained some distance away, the combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho confronted the 7th Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a clash that would result in Custer’s annihilation. The news of this defeat reached the Montana Column in early July, carried by the Far West, which arrived at the mouth of the Bighorn River on July 4. The day, coinciding with the nation’s centennial celebrations, was marked instead by somber reflection. In the words of Captain Grant Marsh, “The bonfires prepared for the nation’s birth were never lit that night.” The soldiers of the Montana Column, hardened by their march and awaiting further orders, now understood the gravity of the campaign’s failure to date.

Colonel Gibbon’s forces would soon move forward to the battlefield, tending to the wounded survivors and engaging in further actions against the Indian forces. Though their initial objective was to trap and compel the tribes to surrender, the campaign extended over months, culminating in the eventual subjugation of the Lakota and Cheyenne by 1877. The Montana Column’s march along the Yellowstone was instrumental in this larger effort, providing a critical eastern approach and securing supply lines vital to sustaining the military presence in the region.

Reflecting on the campaign, General Alfred Terry noted in his official report, “The Indians have fought with great determination and skill, and the country over which they roam is vast and difficult. Our columns must move with patience and perseverance if we are to bring this war to a close.” His words underscore the formidable challenge faced by the United States Army in attempting to impose its will upon the indigenous nations who resisted the loss of their lands and liberty.

The march of the Montana Column is thus a significant episode in the closing chapter of the Indian Wars. It encapsulates the clash of military discipline against native resistance, the complexities of frontier diplomacy, and the unforgiving nature of the Montana landscape. The soldiers who braved the snow and the riverbanks could not foresee the full consequences of their campaign, nor the enduring legacy of the battles that unfolded.

See also

• The March of the Montana Column at Billings, Yellowstone County
• The March of the Montana Column at Columbus, Stillwater County
• Captain Grant Marsh at Crow Agency, Big Horn County