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Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings
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BIGHORN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
Wyoming-Montana
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Location: Big Horn County, Wyo., and Big Horn and
Carbon Counties, Mont., accessible via U.S. 14A or Mont. 313; address:
P.O. Box 458YRS, Hardin, Mont. 59035.
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Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, including
the 71-mile-long Bighorn Lake Reservoir, created by the giant Yellowtail
Dam, extends more than 40 miles through the spectacular Bighorn Canyon.
Outstanding attractions are recreational facilities, spectacular
wilderness scenery, geologic wonders, and varied wildlife. The
recreation area's historical significance relates to the Bozeman Trail.
Associated with the trail are the sites of Fort C. F. Smith and the
Hayfield Fight, in the northeastern fringes of the recreation area, in
Montana.
The Crow Indians, whose modern reservation partially
surrounds the recreation area in Montana, were among the earliest
residents of the area. Charles François Larocque, a
French-Canadian trapper, encountered the tribe in 1805. The next year
Capt. William Clark passed by the mouth of the Bighorn River, and fur
traders followed him.
The Army activated Fort C. F. Smith, Mont. (1866-68),
at the upper Bighorn Crossing of the Bozeman Trail, as the northern most
of three forts protecting travelers en route to Montana gold-fields from
Sioux and Cheyenne attacks. Red Cloud's warriors kept it and Forts Phil
Kearny and Reno, Wyo., under continual siege for 2 years.
 | Fort C. F.
Smith in 1867. Sketch by Capt. I. D'Isay after Anton Schonborn's
drawing. (National Archives) |
Indicative of the heat of the conflict was the
Hayfield Fight. Early in the summer of 1867 the Sioux and Cheyennes
agreed to a joint effort to wipe out Forts Phil Kearny and C. F. Smith,
but a disagreement divided their formidable numbers into two factions,
each to attack the fort of its choice. On August 1, 1867, one faction,
made up of 500 to 1,000 Cheyennes and Sioux, fell upon a detail of a
lieutenant, 19 soldiers, and six civilians working in a hayfield 2-1/2
miles from Fort C. F. Smith. Taking refuge in a log and brush corral,
the intended victims withstood the attack all day long. When Lt.
Sigismund Sternberg lost his life, one of the civilians, Al Colvin, who
had been an officer during the Civil War, assumed command. The Indians,
launching fierce assaults, suffered heavy casualties, but even fire
arrows failed to dislodge the defenders. The Indians withdrew late in
the afternoon, having killed three whites and wounded four. The next
day, the other factionSioux led by Red Cloudclashed with
Fort Phil Kearny troops in the Wagon Box Fight.
When the garrisons of the three Bozeman Trail forts
withdrew in 1868, in accordance with the Fort Laramie Treaty, the
Indians burned all the posts. In time, the Indians in the Bighorn region
were pacified and confined to reservations. As the gold fever subsided,
ranchers moved into the area.
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, established
in 1966, is administered by the National Park Service through agreement
with the Bureau of Reclamation. Mounds of earth tracing the foundations
of the log and adobe buildings are all that remain of Fort C. F. Smith.
A stone monument, erected by a local historical society, is located near
the fort site, which is not impaired by any modern intrusions of
consequence. Another stone marker stands at the nearby site of the
Hayfield Fight. Wagon ruts from the Bozeman Trail, which forded the
Bighorn River about 2 miles below the modern dam, are visible on both
sides of the stream, especially the western side. A visitor center near
the dam features historical displays and audiovisual programs showing
construction of the dam.
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/soldier-brave/sitea28.htm
Last Updated: 19-Aug-2005
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