Battle Creek

R. W. Hazen, who rode with the column, told the surrender in the Omaha Daily Bee in 1890. He wrote that the Pawnee had moved north of the Platte under pressure from the Sioux, that their chiefs came forward carrying the American flag, and that a sergeant fired at the head chief before he threw down his bow. Governor Black demanded the men behind the raids, and six were handed over. On the 14th a Pawnee woman cut the bonds of five held at the rear, and as they ran a marshal shot one in the back.

What the plaque says

Battle Creek Near this site, July 12, 1859, Nebraska Territorial Militia and U.S. Army Dragoons, totaling 300 men, under the joint command of General John Milton Thayer and Lieutenant Beverly Holcombe Robertson, prepared to attack a large Pawnee village. Alerted, the Pawnee immediately surrendered. Without blood- shed, the Pawnee War of 1859 was ended. It had begun July 1st, when messengers arrived at Omaha, the territorial capital, reporting numerous depredations by Pawnee against Elk Horn valley settlers. If the Pawnee were to be punished immediate action was necessary. Only the Governor could call out the militia, however, and Governor Samuel Black was a day's journey away. Petitioned by Omaha citizens, Territorial Secretary J. Sterling Morton assumed the responsibility and issued the call. Thayer with forty men left immediately in pursuit. A few days later he was joined by Governor Black with more volunteers and Lieu- tenant Robertson with Co. K of the 2nd U.S. Dragoons. Though no battle occurred, the stream where the attack took place became known as Battle Creek, and the nearby town took the same name when founded in 1867. Battle Creek Improvement Club Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Neligh Mill State Historic Site — 23 mi
  A brick flour mill on the Elkhorn, begun in 1873, that sold its flour as Gold Medal until 1940, ground until 1969, and still has its original 1880s equipment in place.

More markers nearby

• The Skala Timber House — 1.1 mi
• Meadow Grove — 7.1 mi
• St. Paul's Lutheran Church — 9.5 mi
• Verges Park (Norfolk Brick and Tile Company) — 9.6 mi