Battle of Ash Hollow

The Battle of Ash Hollow (also known as the Battle of Bluewater Creek) was an engagement between U.S. soldiers under Brigadier General William S. Harney and the Brulé Sioux on September 2 and 3, 1855 along the Platte River in present-day Garden County, Nebraska. This battle followed the "Grattan massacre", which occurred in August 1854. The battle was the defining engagement of a short war between the U.S. and the Sioux over disputes concerning v... more

The Battle of Ash Hollow (also known as the Battle of Bluewater Creek) was an engagement between U.S. soldiers under Brigadier General William S. Harney and the Brulé Sioux on September 2 and 3, 1855 along the Platte River in present-day Garden County, Nebraska. This battle followed the "Grattan massacre", which occurred in August 1854. The battle was the defining engagement of a short war between the U.S. and the Sioux over disputes concerning violations of the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). In this battle, 600 U.S. soldiers fell upon 250 Sioux, killing 86 people. By October, commanding General William Harney negotiated a peace treaty to stop further bloodshed with the Sioux. While the battle was hailed by many newspapers as a heroic victory over bloodthirsty Indians, others criticized what they called outright butchery. Some others claimed that the battle was fought only to justify the growth in the U.S. Army, spearheaded by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The war started when an... less