America at War

This is our last episode concerning the Nez Perce War of 1877. In the aftermath of Big Hole, the Nez Perce continued east, traveling through the newly established Yellowstone National Park. As it became clear that they were not welcome in Crow Country, the Nez Perce decided to head north to Canada and sanctuary. After exiting Yellowstone, the Nez Perce swung north, clashing with the Army at Canyon Creek. After crossing the Missouri River, they found a site known as Snake Creek or Bear Paw to rest. Nelson Miles took advantage of their pause and besieged them in what would turn out to be the last battle of the war. Cold, hungry, and desperate, they laid down their arms and the war was over. The trauma of 1877 is still felt, but the Nimiipuu are still here. Take a listen.

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We continue our narrative on the Nez Perce War, concentrating on what happened at Big Hole Montana. After successfully eluding the army in Montana, they camped in the Big Hole valley, thinking they were safe. They were not. Colonel John Gibbon was in pursuit. In what could best described as a massacre in the making, Gibbon attacked the Nez Perce encampment early in the morning of August 9, 1877. As Gibbon's men fired into the tipis, killing women and children, the Nez Perce rallied, pushing Gibbon back. Besieged, Gibbon's command survived, as the Nez Perce bought time for their families to leave the valley. By the end of August, the Nez Perce were at the gates of Yellowstone National Park.

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We continue the Nez Perce War with this episode. After the various missteps and mistakes by General Howard, the Army struck the Nez Perce again at the Battle of the Clearwater. While it could be seen as a victory, the Nez Perce escaped, leaving their household goods behind. A council among the Nez Perce leaders resulted in a reluctant decision to head east, over the Lolo Trail, to their friends in western Montana. Hoping that they would escape the war, they went east. Howard, belatedly, followed them. The Nez Perce arrived at the foot of the Bitterroot Valley and continued south, ending up at a traditional camping place in the Big Hole Valley. They were happy to have 'escaped' the war, but little did they know, one of the greatest tragedies of the war was about to happen. Stay tuned.

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We are continuing our story of the Nez Perce War of 1877. In this episode, we will concentrate on the start of hostilities. With emotions running high, Joseph and his band left the Wallowa's of northeast Oregon for the now reduced Nez Perce reservation. When they gathered at a place called Tolo Lake, emotions got the better of three young men who murdered some ranchers along the Salmon River. The army responded and the first battle of the war, at Whitebird, began in June of 1877. General Howard, slow to respond, could not catch the bands as they traveled east. In the meantime, in a capricious attack on White Bird's village, it added to Howard's problems. Take a listen!

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With this episode, we continue the story of the Nez Perce War of 1877. With the onset of the colonization of the Pacific Northwest, tensions gradually rose between the Tribes of the Northwest and these newcomers. Once the border between British Canada and the United States was agreed to, the U.S. quickly organized the Pacific Northwest. Isaac Stevens was appointed territorial governor and Indian agent. He met with the Nez Perce in the summer of 1853 to negotiate a Treaty. When anti-treaty factions learned of this, they interceded to make certain all voices were heard. Unfortunately, ten years later, the discovery of gold on the reservation triggered another Treaty which dispossessed many Nez Perce of their lands, creating the conditions for conflict between certain bands of the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army.

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As we move to the Pacific Northwest from California, it is time to consider the Nez Perce War of 1877. The conflict captured the public's imagination, much like the Modoc War, of a Tribe wanting to establish a home, but not allowed. To understand the full measure of the Nez Perce War, this episode and the next will focus on the roots of the Nez Perce culture and homeland as well as the challenges to their sovereignty. Fur traders gave them manufactured goods. Missionaries brought Christianity to the Nez Perce homeland and were harbingers of change.

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Once a year I post a short episode on the state of the podcast. It is an overview of where we are and where we are going. No someone who enjoys history? Tell them about this podcast! We could use some more listeners.

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In this episode we will be concluding our series on the Modoc War of 1872-73. With the Modoc on the run, they retreated to a stronghold on the toe of a lava field, providing a bastion to protect their families from the U.S. Army. It took time to gather soldiers and supplies and did not attack until January 1873. It failed. In an attempt to break the impasse, negotiations led by General Canby were met with violence, coming to a sudden conclusion with the assassination of the general. A second attack in April 1873 succeeded, but not before the pursuing troops were ambushed by the retreating Modoc. Captain Jack and other leaders were captured in the spring. In a show trial, four Modoc, including their leader Captain Jack, were hanged in October 1877. The Modoc are still here, but the trauma of the event still lives with them.

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This is part two of a three episode arc on the Modoc War of 1872-73. With an increasing number of Euro-Americans settlers coming into the Klamath Basin astride the Oregon/California border after the end of the Civil War, tensions rose. Modoc's feared a loss of access to their homeland and it became an issue with both parties. It put increasing pressure on the Lost River band of the Modoc Tribe to remove themselves to the Klamath Reservation. Governed by two different agreements, one approved by Congress and the other not, created tension. In November 1872 the powder keg exploded when the Lost River band clashed with the U.S. Army. What became known as the Modoc War commenced.

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We are moving into our season on the wars of the western frontier. We are starting on the Pacific coast with the Modoc War of 1872-73, California's only large post Civil War conflict with a native people. This episode sets up the events of the war. The Modoc homeland, in the far reaches of Northern California in the Klamath Basin, was under pressure with waves of immigration that occured in the aftermath of the Civil War. Tensions between settlers and Modoc gradually rose through the 1850s and 1860s that built resentment and pressure for action. Two treaties were negotiated, one in California and the other in Oregon, causing confusion and further tension. With disagreements over who had the right to the land, it would set up the conditions for conflict.

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