A History Lesson

[Deleted]

OK Here's a history lesson whether you want one or not.

June 17, 1877 107 soldiers and local civilian volunteers rode into White Bird Canyon in what ia now central Idaho, to attack a Nez Perce Indian village located in the bottom of the Canyon. The soldiers took up positions on the rocky hilltop on the left in this photo--the volunteers on the small knoll to the right. Several Nez Perce rode out from the village with a white flag. They probably were about at the location where I shot this photograph when the civilians fired on them.

The shot of the day came when a Nez Perce shot from about where I was standing when I took this photo and killed the Army Trumpeter standing on the Rock ridge--more than 300 years away (might have been some luck involved). When the trumpter went down it was difficult for the officers to signal to their troops. In addition, the volunteers on the flank suddenly decided it was in their best interest to return home and bugged out, leaving the soldiers' flank exposed. Then the troops broke ranks and ran.

When the dust settle no more than 70 Nez Perce killed 34 soldiers and wounded 4 more while suffering 1 warrior slightly wounded. Figuring the casualties versus the number of participants it remains one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the United States Army.

There will be a written quiz at a later date.

[John Parry]

Any particular reason why they decided to attack the Indian village?

Regards - John

[Deleted]

John:
The government was trying to force the NP off their ancestral home ground. They were complying but a few days earlier a few young bucks had decided to settle some old scores with certain settlers before going to the reservation. Some people got killed and the whole situation went to hell in a handbasket. It took the Army four months and 1,100 miles to corral the NP over in Montana--they were headed for Canada. The Nez Perce were unique in that they never scalped the dead and they only attacked those who attacked them. The only times any of the warriors got out of hand was when there was liquor involved. Probably the best shots the Army faced in any of the Indian Wars. The actual number of fighting men never totaled more than 100 but they were able to fight several thousand troops to a standstill. One reason was they had been in close contact with whites since they befriended Lewis and Clark 70 years earlier. They understood the whites better than most Indians of the period did. It's a fascinating story.

My goal is to eventually photograph all of the historical sites on the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.

BTW it's pronounced "Nez Purse" noy "Nay pursay" as it it would be in French.
Wayne

[PeterW]

As you say, Wayne, a fascinating story. Your pictures remind me of a series running on UK television called Battlefield Detectives. I don't know if you get it in the US.

In essence, they show pictures of the scene of a famous battle, from ancient times, Egyptians, Romans etc up to World War 2, and military historians and tactical experts try to work out with diagrams, and sometimes computer-generated graphics, why the battle went a certain way. Was it due to relative numbers of troops involved, the morale of the troops or the better tactics and communications of one or other of the generals, or at least senior officers, the logistics of the supply lines, or sometimes the unquestioning discipline of the troops enforced and upheld by the long-serving and experienced senior NCOs.

The series has good viewing figures in the UK.

François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen-name of Voltaire, once wrote "God is on the side of the big batallions" to which someone, I don't know who, replied "Not always. Very often he's on the side of the leaders with the best tactics and the troops with the best shots".

Someone else, and again I can't remember who, wrote "Take out the Colour Sergeants and Sergeant Majors and you've won the battle".

PeterW

[Deleted]

Peter:

The Nez Perce were smart enough to shoot the Officers and NCOs first--like we Colonials did 100 years earlier.

The White Bird Canyon Battlefield is interesting because the field where the action took place is pretty much as it was in 1877.

Here's a shot from up the mountain above the field. The x off to the left is where I shot the other photos. The Troops came down the canyon coming into the picture from the lower right. That's also the way they retreated. The little town of White Bird can be seen beyond the indian campsite (town wasn't there in 1877). There was an excellent book on the battle published by the company I work for. It's called "Forlorn Hope" and written by John McDermott.

[mickeyobe]

Wayne,

The last photo shows the NP encampment in front of the attackers.
It also shows NP to their left and to their right.

I know nothing about military strategy but was the commander of the troops and volunteers suicidal?

By the way, the photos are splendid.
And thanks for this fascinating history lesson.

Mickey

[Deleted]

Mickey:

That why such a high percentage of the soldier were killed. They marched into the canyon with no knowledge of the terrain or exactly where the Indians were. There probably wouldn't have even been a fight if the volunteers hadn't fired. But when that happened the die was cast.

Wayne

[nikkortorokkor]

Wayne, fascinating photos & history, thanks for sharing. Beautiful country to. I lived in Salt Lake City for a while and travelled through back there a corner of Idaho in a Kombi when visiting the Grand Tetons. I'd love to get back, and your photos show how much there is to explore, both visually and historically.

Here in NZ, Maori Iwi (tribes) got into similar scrapes with the British Imperial Army. In the end, an overwhelming factor in the eventual success of the interlopers was the industrial organization behind their troops. Maori warriors, despite often superior fighting and tactical skills (they taught the Brits how to conduct trench warfare) were in the end, part time soldiers. They had to participate in activities of economic survival as well as warfare. I suspect the same would be the case for first nations in America. The Imperial Troops/US Army on the other hand, could rely on a supply chain.

Military historians here have often held the US up as an example of how to look after and venerate historical battle sites. Many of ours have become degraded and ignored - a real shame when one considers the significance of the Pa (fortified village) in military history. Things are improving, often because of action taken by individual tribes, but also because of a developing sense of the worth of our own history - part of the growing up process of an ex-colony.

[Deleted]

Good points--native populations in nearly all countries were part time warriors--they still had to put food on the table.

In the American West the wild roaming days of the tribes ended when General Nelson Miles figured out you don't fight Indians in the summer when there's plenty of food and grass for their ponies. Miles attacked in the dead of winter when the tribes were hunkered down in their lodges--just trying to survive until the next spring. It was Miles' troops that finally ran the Nez Perce to ground after another general had unsuccessfully pursued them more than 1,000 miles over a 4-month period.

A lot of battle sites in the American West have been preserved but some are virtually unkown.A few years ago I was on the site of one of the major battles in the Snake War (early 1860s). It is located about 75 miles from the nearest paved road and there is nothing to mark the site except for empty shell casing that still are pretty easy to find. I need to get back there with a camera.

Wayne