Battle of Slim Buttes

The bronze names the chief in the ravine as Oglala, and who he was is not settled. Most accounts say American Horse the Elder, an Oglala leader allied with Crazy Horse, was mortally wounded here; the younger American Horse later said the dead man was a lesser chief, Iron Plume, and other histories call the village Mnicoujou (Miniconjou). The scout cast as Jonothan White appears as Charles White, Buffalo Chips, in other records. A 1920 monument with the three graves stands on the rise behind.

What the plaque says

Battle of Slim Buttes September 9-10, 1876 Following the disastrous battles of the Rosebud and Little Big Horn (Custer) in Montana in June, 1876, the Sioux, save Gall and Sitting Bull with 400 lodges who went to Canada and Crazy Horse and his band, in the main, started to drift back to the agencies on the White and Missouri Rivers burning the grass as they went. Crook, Terry and Miles started to hunt Indians and by September 7th Crook's destitute and weary column detached Capt. Anson Mills with 150 men on the best horses to go to Deadwood for supplies. On the 8th he discovered a village on the east slope of Slim Buttes and at dawn on the 9th attacked the teepees, tightly buttoned up against the rain, by a cavalry charge, scattering the Indians. The Oglala Chief, American Horse with his family and six war- riors fled to a ravine. After a six hour siege where most of the white casualties occurred, with four warriors dead and the Chief fatally wounded, they surrendered. That afternoon Crazy Horse made a show of force but the balance of Crook's command came up and there was no battle but a constant harassment. A great supply of valuable dried meat was captured, the village destroyed and on the 10th the command moved on to Deadwood, on a diet of horse meat marking the end of the summer campaign. Killed: Winzel, 3rd and Kennedy, 5th Cavalry, Jonothan White, civilian scout. Wounded: Lt. Von Leuttwitz, 3rd Cavalry and 12 EM of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Cavalry. Erected 1956 by Citizens of Harding County and State Highway Commission

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Slim Buttes — 2.0 mi
  Pine-topped buttes where a starving army column, eating its horses, fell on a Lakota village in September 1876 and found a Seventh Cavalry flag on a lodge.

More markers nearby

• South Grand Stage Station — 20 mi