Grattan massacre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Grattan massacre |
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| Part of the First Sioux War | |||||||
 Grattan Massacre marker, 2003. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Lakota Sioux |  United States |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Conquering Bear † Little Thunder |
 John Grattan † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ~ 500 | 31 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 killed | 31 killed | ||||||
The Grattan Fight, also known as the Grattan Massacre, was the first major battle of the Sioux Wars. It happened between the United States Army and Lakota Sioux warriors on August 19, 1854. The fight took place east of Fort Laramie in what was then Nebraska Territory. Today, this area is in Wyoming.
A small group of soldiers went into a large Sioux camp. Their goal was to arrest a man accused of taking a traveler's cow. However, treaties said that such problems should be handled by the US Indian Agent. During the event, a soldier shot and killed Chief Matȟó Wayúhi, also known as Conquering Bear. After this, the Brulé Lakotas fought back. They killed 29 soldiers, their leader Lieutenant John Grattan, and a civilian interpreter. The American newspapers called this event a "massacre." It is seen as an important early event in the Plains Indian Wars.
The Story Behind the Conflict
In the late summer of 1854, about 4,000 Brulé and Oglala Sioux were camped near Fort Laramie. This was part of an agreement from the Treaty of 1851. On August 17, a cow belonging to a Mormon traveler wandered off. A visiting Miniconjou Sioux named High Forehead killed the cow.
Lieutenant Hugh Fleming was the highest-ranking officer at the fort. He talked with Chief Conquering Bear about the lost cow. Lt. Fleming may not have known, or chose to ignore, that the Treaty of 1851 stated that the local Indian Agent should handle such issues. The agent, John Whitfield, was expected to arrive soon with payments for the tribe. These payments could have been used to pay for the cow.
Conquering Bear knew the military should not be involved. Still, he tried to find a solution. He offered a horse from his own animals or a cow from the tribe's herd. But the cow's owner kept demanding $25 instead. Lt. Fleming then asked the Sioux to arrest High Forehead and bring him to the fort. Conquering Bear refused. He did not have power over the Miniconjou, and he did not want to break his people's tradition of being welcoming guests. The talks that day did not solve the problem.
On August 19, 1854, Second Lieutenant John Lawrence Grattan led an armed group into the Indian camp. Grattan was from the U.S. 6th Infantry Regiment. He had just finished his studies at West Point. He was new to the area and was said to look down on the Lakota warriors. This was his first and only meeting with the Sioux.
A commander at Fort Laramie later said that Lt. Grattan seemed to want a fight. He was determined to capture the man no matter what. Grattan's group included a sergeant, a corporal, 27 privates, and an interpreter named Lucien Auguste. The soldiers also brought two artillery cannons.
The Day of the Fight
By the time the soldiers reached the camp, the interpreter, Auguste, was not acting clearly. He was known to be disliked by the Sioux. He spoke only a little Dakota and struggled with other dialects. As they entered the camp, he started to insult the Sioux warriors. He said the soldiers were there to kill them all, not to talk. James Bordeaux, who owned a nearby trading post, saw what happened. He later said Auguste's comments made things worse.
Historians believe there were about 1,200 warriors in the camp, out of a total of 4,800 people. According to Bordeaux, Lt. Grattan started to understand the danger. He stopped to talk with Bordeaux, the trader. Bordeaux told him to speak directly with Conquering Bear and let the chief handle it. Grattan seemed to agree and continued into the camp. He first went to High Forehead's lodge and told him to give up to the US forces. High Forehead said he would rather die.
Grattan then went to Conquering Bear, saying the Sioux should arrest the person who took the cow. Conquering Bear refused but tried to negotiate. He offered a horse to pay for the cow. Bordeaux said that the interpreter Auguste may have caused confusion. He might not have translated what Conquering Bear and Grattan said correctly. Conquering Bear asked Bordeaux to be the interpreter because the Sioux trusted him. Bordeaux rode to the meeting place. He later said he could see the situation was getting out of control. As Grattan kept pushing Conquering Bear, many Sioux warriors moved to surround the soldiers. Bordeaux went back to his trading post and told his helpers to get ready for a fight.
Grattan ended the discussion and started walking back to his soldiers. A nervous soldier fired his gun, hitting a Sioux. The warriors began to shoot arrows while their leaders tried to regain control. Conquering Bear was badly wounded and died nine days later. The Sioux warriors quickly killed Grattan, 11 of his men, and the interpreter. About 18 soldiers tried to escape on foot to some rocks for safety. But warriors led by Red Cloud, a rising war chief, stopped them and killed them. One soldier survived the fight but later died from his injuries.
Conquering Bear was the only Lakota killed in this fight. The Sioux spared Bordeaux because he was married to a Brulé Sioux woman and had a good relationship with the tribes.
The Aftermath
The angered warriors were very upset. They rode towards Fort Laramie the next morning but then left. They took items from the trading post but did not hurt Bordeaux. Three days after the US attack, the Brûlé and Oglala left their camp on the North Platte River. They went back to their hunting grounds. On the fourth day, the military asked Bordeaux to help bury the dead. His team went to the site. Grattan’s body was identified by his watch and taken back to the fort for burial. The other soldiers were buried together in a shallow grave at the site.
Later, the soldiers' remains were dug up and reburied at Fort McPherson National Cemetery. A white marble monument was built there to remember them. Grattan's remains were later moved to Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas. A historical marker was later placed near the site of the events.
The US newspapers called the event the "Grattan Massacre." These stories often did not mention how the US soldiers started the problem. First, they did not let the Indian agent handle it, as the treaty said. Second, they shot Chief Conquering Bear. When news of the fight reached the War Department, officials began planning to punish the Sioux. The Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, said the event was "a planned attack."
Col. William S. Harney was called back from Paris in April 1855. He was sent to Fort Kearny to gather a force of 600 soldiers. These soldiers were from different groups, including the 6th Infantry and his own 2nd US Dragoons. He had four mounted companies led by Lt. Col. Philip St. George Cooke and five infantry companies under Major Albemarle Cady. They left on August 24, 1855, to find the Sioux and get revenge. Harney was known to be very determined to fight.
Thomas S. Twiss of the Indian Bureau warned the Lakota that the army was coming. Half of the Lakota camped north of the Platte River went to Fort Laramie for safety. They were called "friendlies." The other half, led by Little Thunder (Conquering Bear's successor), stayed away. They thought of themselves as peaceful but knew Harney was looking for warriors. Harney found them in the Battle of Ash Hollow (also called the Battle of Bluewater Creek) on September 3, 1855. US soldiers killed 86 Brulé Sioux, including many women and children. This happened in what is now Nebraska. The New York Times and other newspapers also called this battle a massacre because so many women and children were killed. The village of 230 people was caught between the infantry and cavalry.
Harney returned to Fort Laramie with 70 prisoners, mostly women and children. On October 25, the three warriors the army was looking for gave up. They were held for a year at Fort Leavenworth and then set free. Harney ordered the tribes to send representatives to a treaty meeting at Fort Pierre in March 1856. A treaty was signed there, with terms set by the War Department. Harney's actions against the Lakota kept them quiet for almost ten years. The US soon became busy with the American Civil War and did not have resources to fight on the Great Plains.
Historians like Griske believe the Grattan fight started almost 25 years of fighting on the Great Plains. Other historians say many things led to the wars. They point to the US desire for control of Sioux lands as a major reason why fighting became unavoidable.
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