fetterman battlefield monument

The trail starts at the monument, and goes along the top of the ridge where the troops retreated during the battle. Many of them were killed in the area around the monument. The two new Henry repeating rifles owned by the two civilians caused many casualties in the warriors. The muzzle loading rifles carried by the infantry were too slow loading to stop the Indian charges. By the time of the Wagon Box Fight the next summer, the troops had fortunately changed over to much faster breech-loading rifles (Springfield "trapdoor"). The Fetterman site is right beside I-90, and just a couple of miles from Fort Phil Kearny.

Fort Kearney's museum, rangers, and introductory video provide a great overview of Red Cloud's War, of which the Fetterman Battle was one event. There is not much interpretation here at the battlefield itself, just a couple of plaques. Plan on coming here after a stop at nearby Fort Kearney, where you learn much more. I am so glad we visited the Fetterman Monument. The hill gives a magnificent view of the sensuous, rolling landscape. I was deeply moved by this spiritual, sacred place---made even moreso by the fierce battle that took place here in December 1866.

The picture on trip advisor is wrong-it appears to be the national cemetery at Little Big Horn National Monument. While the dead from the Fetterman fight are interred there, it does not give viewers an accurate picture of the site.

Captain Fetterman claimed that given 80 men he could fight his way through the entire Sioux nation and he was half right. A walk around where he got half through makes for an interesting glimpse of a bit of Red Cloud's War. It helps a lot to do a bit of homework before you go. It helps understand the whole area.

We visited the Fetterman battlefield because of my interest in frontier history. This is the site of the Sioux indian massacre of US army cavalry and infantry units commanded by Lt. Fetterman. In 1866 over 80 men died during the "Fetterman Fight" as it was called. It was one of the less famous battles of the indian wars that culminated in the Little Bighorn Battle some years later not too far north of this site. The monument is located at the dead end of a narrow two lane road just off I-90 near Sheridan and just a few miles from the Ft. Phil Kearny museum. It seems almost as lonely and desolate as it must have been in December 1866 when the battle took place. At the monument there are a number of informative placards describing the battle and the various participants. If you walk through a small gate you can follow a path that leads out to the hilltops where most of the action occurred. Along the path are more educational placards that provide additional details about the battle. One caution: we visited on a rather cool day for late June and came upon a lethargic rattlesnake. Keep a sharp eye out for these animals as they are evidently quite common in this area. All in all, the Fetterman Monument provides a very interesting insight into an obscure slice of American history.