In their accounts of Camas Meadows, the Nez Perces did not emphasize the fighting with Sanford's battalion and Norwood's company as much as they did the previous stampeding of the command's animals, although one narrative mentioned the presence of the Bannock scouts with these soldiers. The Nez Perces later told prospector John Shively in the national park that six or seven warriors had been killed in the fight with Norwood. [66] Peopeo Tholekt provided one of the more complete renditions of the Nee-Me-Poo movements, as follows:

Scouts on swift horses to the rear brought word the soldiers were in pursuit. Mounted, they came swiftly, and while some of the warriors went on with the mules, the rest of us lined up behind a low hill awaiting the enemies. Soon some of them appeared on top of the ridge, and seeing us, dropped back from sight. Not long until shots came from that ridge. . . . Soon those soldiers with horses skipped for the cottonwoods some distance away. Then we turned to those soldiers [Norwood's] on the ridge who were doing long-distance firing at the Indians still holding the line. We must have hit one or two of them slightly, for they became scared when they saw our [their?] horses gone. A bugle sounded down among the timber, and those soldiers skipped for their lives for that shelter. . . . [67] After this driving [of] the soldiers, Indians creeping to hiding about that woods saw several soldiers wounded or killed. Some of us, a very few, got in among rock holes on a bluff and fired from there. No Indians killed. A bullet hurt Wottolen's side only slightly. A bullet clipped me here [in the head]. . . . When I returned to life [consciousness] I was at the bottom of the bluff, and some rock bruises on me. . . . Not feeling to do more fighting, I recovered my gun and went to where I had left my horse. The fighting did not last long. [68]

Meanwhile, following the first attack on the bivouac, Howard had reorganized his remaining force and had improved the defenses on the lava knoll near his headquarters, bolstering the points with basalt rock. [69] On learning of Sanford's situation, Howard made preparations to advance. First, he sent the following verbal message via an orderly to Captain Miller, still on the trail with the balance of Howard's troops.

Tell [Brevet] Col. Miller that the Indians stampeded some of our packmules [sic] this morning and [Brevet] Col. Sanford immediately started in pursuit with 3 cos. Cav. He now reports the enemy in strong force and that they are getting around his left flank. Tell the Col. to hurry up as soon as possible. [70]

Apprised of Norwood's situation a short time later, Howard sent another orderly out with instructions to "Find Capt. Norwood and tell him if he can do so safely to retire, but without hurry, and then you are to return to me and let me know his situation." [71] Howard then moved out of the bivouac with Captain Wells's Eighth infantrymen and Captain Henry Wagner's Company C, First Cavalry, together with a howitzer under Lieutenant Otis. Reaching Major Sanford's two companies that had drawn back, Howard inquired, "But where is Norwood?" "That is what I am trying to find out," replied Sanford. Howard placed the infantry on the right of Sanford's command and together they pushed forward, eventually gaining Norwood's position. [72] Wrote the captain: "I suppose if not for General Howard's approach [the Nez Perces] would have made desperate efforts to annihilate the company." [73] The small independent body of volunteers, having found most of their horses, also rode forward to relieve Norwood, but they had not advanced far before encountering the command coming back with its wounded and with Brooks's body strapped over a horse. [74] By 9:30 a.m., it would appear, the major part of the Camas Meadows fighting was over. [75] Following Norwood's return to the camp, "much bitterness was expressed concerning the action of the other companies" doubtless by the captain himself. He evidently believed that "had he been vigorously supported a decisive victory would have been obtained," and "had not the troops been so well sheltered by the rocks among which they were entrenched, the company must have been annihilated." [76] Whether or not the fact that Norwood's recently joined Second Cavalry company was not a part of the dominant First Cavalry battalion with Howard in any way affected its performance in relation to the other companies is not known, although that possibility must certainly exist. In any event, wrote an unidentified participant in the fighting at Camas Meadows, "it must be admitted that Joseph worsted us." [77]

Back at the camp by 3:00 p.m., Howard's men prepared meals and further strengthened their defenses. "Every precaution taken in camp to prevent stampede," wrote Lieutenant Wood. [78] A single grave was prepared by Jackson's men on the ground east of Spring Creek and below the lava-stone fortifications raised by the men. There Trumpeter Brooks's body was placed. General Howard made remarks and Major Mason read the Episcopal service as Brooks's comrades said good-bye. Then the farewell volleys of the Springfields echoed across Camas Meadows. As Howard defined the moment, "the remains of young Brooks were left, to rest there in loneliness till the resurrection." [79] At seven that evening, just as the funeral concluded, Captain Miller and the remaining 230 infantry of Howard's army arrived and went into camp after an "extraordinary march" of forty-six miles, during which the men alternated riding in the wagons and walking. Plans got underway for continuing the pursuit the next morning, one of Howard's major objectives now being to realign his wagons, horses, and available mules to compensate for those run off by the Nez Perces. [80]

For his daring recovery of Trumpeter Brooks's body, the army awarded the Medal of Honor to Captain James Jackson, but not until 1896 and with supporting verification provided by Howard and then-Colonel Mason. In 1878, however, four enlisted men received the Medal of Honor for their performances at Camas Meadows: Corporal Harry Garland (also for his service at Muddy Creek, Montana, earlier that year), "wounded in the hip, the bone being shattered so that he was unable to stand, but continuing to direct the men with excellent judgement"; Farrier William H. Jones (also for service at Muddy Creek), "wounded in the knee . . . but continued at his post"; First Sergeant Henry Wilkens (also for service at Muddy Creek), "receiving . . . a very painful wound in the head, but continuing with the company displaying excellent judgement and courage"; and Private Wilfred Clark (also for his service at Big Hole), who "though wounded in shoulder and chin, continued at his post." In addition, Captains Carr, Norwood, and Wells, and Lieutenants Benson, Adams, Cresson, and Guy Howard (the general's son), would in 1890 win brevets for service at Camas Meadows. [81]

On Tuesday, August 21, General Howard started his wounded on the back trail to Virginia City escorted by all but eight or ten of the Montana volunteers. One of the casualties, Blacksmith Samuel Glass, shot through the bladder during Norwood's action, died August 22 on the way at Pleasant Valley and was buried there. [82] Howard's command, at last together, again pushed on after the Nez Perces and made eighteen miles on the twenty-first before stopping at Shot-Gun Creek. Wagoner Henry Buck ably recorded the marching formation used by the army throughout the post-Civil War Indian wars period:

The wagon train and the pack animals were placed in the center; ahead of us was a company of cavalry to lead the way, while another company of cavalry brought up the rear. The infantry marched on either side of the wagons about one hundred feet distant, while on the outside of these the balance of the cavalry took their places in the grand parade across the prairie following Joseph's trail. [83]

That day and night more Bannock scouts joined from Fort Hall, Idaho, 120 miles southwest, in the charge of civilian scout "Captain" Stanton G. Fisher and escorted by Captain Augustus H. Bainbridge, Fourteenth Infantry, and ten soldiers of that regiment. Bainbridge, who started back to Fort Hall with his escort on the twenty-third, informed the general that the additional scouts, which brought their total complement to fifty, had been sent on the advice of General George Crook, in whose department Howard was now operating. [84] The presence of the Bannocks added a note of excitement to the command. One observer, calling them a "gorgeous set of warriors," portrayed them in this manner:

Some carried long poles, on which were single eagle feathers tied loosely with sinew which whirled about in the breeze like toy windmills, which, with other poles having dangling scalps, meant war. They were in full paint—some all red, others red, green and yellow. Many had dyed their horses' manes and tails and decorated them with bunches of different colored feathers and jingling sleigh bells. They all wore dresses of buckskin, beautifully ornamented with bead work, and their brightest blankets. [85]

Howard was immediately desirous of having the Bannocks try to retrieve the livestock taken by the Nez Perces at Camas Meadows. [86]

Over the two following days, the army moved northeast along the Henry's (or North) Fork of the Snake River and began to enter the deep woods around Targhee Pass, two miles east of Henry's Lake and on the fringe of the national park. In their camp of the twenty-second, the troops feared another nighttime assault by the Nez Perces and largely went without rest. Still hoping to corner the Indians near the pass before they entered the park, at 2:00 a.m. the soldiers were on the road again. But the Nez Perces had already departed, continuing east, and the news demoralized the command. Lieutenant Bacon had been in the area with his cavalry, but acting on his orders, Bacon had reconnoitered Raynolds Pass fifteen miles away from Targhee Pass. Having seen no Indians, the lieutenant had returned to Howard's trail on the stage road on the assumption that the tribesmen were going in another direction, which, in fact, they were. [87] Now with exhausted men and animals, Howard's army could not go on without supplies and rest, compelling him to temporarily stop the chase at Henry's Lake for four days while he personally set out with two teams for Virginia City, seventy-five miles away, to obtain clothing, shoes, blankets, and pack horses, and to telegraph Generals Sherman and McDowell. [88] To watch for the Nez Perces' approach into the buffalo grounds, however, Howard sent Captain Norwood's company, with an artillery complement under Captains Edward Field and Harry C. Cushing, to the Crow Agency, east of Fort Ellis on the Yellowstone River. The Bannock scouts, meanwhile, would keep tabs on the Nez Perces, report on their movements, and capture their livestock if opportunity permitted. [89]

At Henry's Lake, General Howard offered a realistic albeit defensive appraisal of his command's performance that was undoubtedly intended to dilute lingering criticism of his effort:

From Kamiah to Henry Lake, at which point the cavalry and infantry arrived together, the command was marching continuously without a day's halt 26 days, making an average of 19.3 miles a day; baggage carried generally by pack-trains, the Indian trail from Kamiah to the Bitter Root Valley being impassable for wagons. The command suffered often for want of shoes, overcoats, and underclothing during the latter part of the march, owing to the rapidity of the march and the difficulty of procuring the supplies in Montana. [90]

In a letter home, Major Mason lamented the conditions. "I am anxious on the men's accounts to have the campaign close. But I don't expect it will, for the craving over newspaper applause overrides other considerations." [91] Another officer wrote home that "the whole command is weary and tired of marching. . . . The only visible strategy is troops, troops, and more troops." [92] If truth be known, Howard wanted desperately to curtail his operations and go home, and so did his men. As one of them put it: "The feeling of the command is . . . that he should turn back and leave the further pursuit to . . . Terry and Crook. . . . To be ordered to the Yellowstone country or not to be—that is the question." [93]

The question was resolved in Virginia City beginning August 24, in a heated exchange of telegrams among Howard, McDowell, and Sherman, who was at Fort Shaw, Montana. Replying to Howard's earlier question about continuing, McDowell told him pointedly that his instructions were to go on, and Howard responded, telling his chief that "My duty shall be done fully and to the letter without complaint." [94] But to Sherman he remonstrated that "My command is so much worn by overfatigue and jaded animals that I cannot push it much farther." If other troops could head off the tribesmen in their front, Howard could "in a few days work my way back to Fort Boise slowly, and distribute my troops before snow falls in the mountains." [95] Sherman interpreted the message to be that Howard wanted to quit, and he replied that he "should pursue the Nez Perces to the death, lead where they may. . . . If you are tired, give the command to some young energetic officer. . . . When the Indians are caught, your men can march to the Pacific Railroad and reach their posts by rail and steamboat. They are not needed back in California and Oregon now, but are needed just where they are." [96] The implicit reprimand gave Howard new resolve, and on August 27, back at Henry's Lake, he shot off a message to the commanding general: "You misunderstood me. I never flag. It was the command, including the most energetic young officers, that were worn out and weary by a most extraordinary march. You need not fear for the campaign. Neither you nor General McDowell can doubt my pluck and energy. . . . We move in the morning and will continue to the end." [97]