Rosebud Battlefield State Park, Montana

Photo of Rosebud Battlefield

On the morning of June 17, 1876, Brig. Gen. George Crook, his 1,050 soldiers and 260 Crow and Shoshone scouts were attacked by a nearly equal combined Sioux and Cheyenne force along Rosebud Creek, Montana Territory. Crook’s column represented one of three military prongs placed in the field in the summer to seek out and force the Sioux to accept reservation confinement. Under the leadership of Crazy Horse, the warriors fought.
Crook’s men to a standstill. Crook suffered 10 killed and 21 wounded in the six-hour fight. The warriors suffered similar casualties. Crook returned to his supply base near present-day Sheridan, Wyoming. Eight days later, these same warriors defeated Lt. Col. George A. Custer’s column at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The site is operated by Montana State Parks