The strategies and tactics of the Wagon Box Fight were truly amazing. Both the Sioux Indians and the American Armies had special methods, which served as an advantage for both sides. With Americans scattering everywhere throughout the west tensions became high for the Sioux Indians. Eventually Ambushes and even war would occur between the two sides causing a need for better strategies and technology. While some moves were better than others were, the strategies involved in the Wagon Box Fight proved to be some of the most interesting tactics in all of history.
The Strategies and Tactics of the Wagon Box Fight The Wagon Box fight originally spurred when the Sioux Indians learned that the U. S. government had plans to build the Bozeman Trail as a short cut for gold mining and to construct three forts along the trail. The plan stated the trails were to overlap parts of what earlier Indians had been using as a trade route. The government’s plan caused uproar with the Sioux Indians. “The Sioux Indians felt the trail would eventually run through the land, which was designated as the Sioux Indians’ land by means of a treaty. (Encyclopedia, 2004)
Tensions would eventually get so strong that a war would break out and lead to many historical battles including the Wagon Box Fight. Prior to the Wagon Box fight, the Sioux Indians were considered the best light infantry fighters in the world. They were revered to as such great fighters due to their mobility, skill, tactics, horsemanship, and proficiency with their weapons. “Their main tactic was known as “grabbing them by the belt”. ” (“Wagon Box Fight,” n. d. ).
The Term Paper on American Indian Movement
American Indian Movement: Activism and Repression Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued ...
To perform this tactic, an individual would get closer to the opponents’ weapon in order to make the opponent’s weapons less effective.
The tactical challenge of using this strategy was figuring out how to get close to your opponent. For the Indians, their main offensive tactic was that they would fight at night and ambush their enemy in order to get closer to them. The Encyclopedia (2004) describes one of the Indians ambush strategies in a battle months before The Wagon Box Fight when it stated, “Red Cloud gathered 1,500 to 2,000 warriors and in December lured Capt. W. J. Fetterman and 80 soldiers into a trap, and massacred them”.
The Indians also used to their advantage the knowledge that the muzzleloader, which was used by the U. S. Government, shot at a slow rate of fire. For a well-trained infantryman, he could fire three rounds a minute, which meant that there were many gaps in firing. Therefore, the Indians would have several chances between firing to attack at will. Due to this gap in firing, the U. S. armies had to use the skill of “volley firing”, which means that someone was able to fire while the other was reloading. Over time, weapons evolved and the U. S. armies were now able to fire 15-20 rounds per minute.
The Indians were not aware of the advanced weaponry and did not know that there were such shorter gaps between the firing of rounds at the time when they attacked the U. S. army in 1867 at Fort Phil Kearney. (“Wagon Box Fight,” n. d. ) Because of the lack of technology skills the Indians possessed in weaponry, a surprise ambush would ultimately fail and a small group of soldiers with civilians would prevail. With many ambushes occurring regularly along the trail, The U. S. armies had increased weaponry on their side. Weaponry however, was not the only tool the army created to fight these more occurring ambushes.
Because of the importance of the wagon trail journey, special wooden boxes were designed in the wagons and were made to come out of their wagons and become protection from their opposition. The Army also began using barrels and any other sturdy materials, which were available to fill in any gaps in their barrier. The barrier would help to protect the men and the logging camp at Fort Phil Kearney. Throughout the summer of 1867, the logging road would become extremely important and therefore, causing the command center at Fort Kearney to install their logging wagons with these new wooden boxes and new rifles.
The Essay on The Cherokee Nation Is The Second Largest Indian Tribe In part 1
The Cherokee Nation is the second largest Indian tribe in the United States. There are more than 200,000 members. Almost 70,000 of these Cherokees live in the 7,000 square mile area of the Cherokee Nation which is not considered a reservation, but a jurisdictional service area that includes all of the eight counties and portions of six in northeastern Oklahoma. The big question is how and why they ...
These advances in technology would eventually prove them useful and most importantly help prevent successful Indian ambushes. With these items in place, logging wagons were traveling back in forth from the logging camp to Fort Kearny for deliveries. As the Sioux learned of the movement, they planned what they thought would be a successful ambush On the day prior to attack beginning, the Sioux Indians used their strategy of attacking early in the morning. The Indians attempted to ambush some woodcutters and run off the cattle in the area.
The attempt was unsuccessful and caused even more tension between the army and Indians. The same day on August 1, 1867, Captain James Powell of the U. S. army took over security command over the camp. The following day on August 2, Chief Red Cloud of the Sioux Indians would attack again; this time with 1,000 men in his army. As the Indians attempted to use their tactics on a small group of soldiers and civilians in a wagon box, their plan went wrong. As did the hilltop pickets at Fort Kearney quickly gained knowledge of the attack and began forming and firing at Chief Red Cloud and his men.
Captain Powell’s men were equipped with breech-loading rifles and Henry rifles. During this fight, Chief Red Cloud and Crazy Horse realized that they needed to evolve with the times and invest in modern weaponry. Shortly after the Wagon Box fight, the Indians attacked a supply train to obtain advanced weaponry, which included rifles. (“Wagon Box Fight,” n. d. ) The U. S. army eventually worked out a new treaty with the Sioux Indians, which lead the closure of the Bozeman trail and the forts. The Sioux Indians were happy to see the U. S. rmy go and in their rejoicing of the new treaty, they set fire to the abandoned forts. (Encyclopedia, 2004)
In Conclusion, The Wagon Box Fight can be considered as one of the greatest battles between the Americans and Sioux Indians. Falling into history next to memorial fights like that of The Battle of Little Big Horn and many others, The Wagon Box Fight showed different tactics and strategies from different cultural. The Indians proved their strategic efforts by using some simple intelligence skills, while the Americans showed their strength with massive firepower.
The Essay on Dancing With Wolves Indians Sioux Buffalo
1. The film Dancing with Wolves takes place in South Dakota in 1863. John Dunbar is the main character who hurts his leg in battle and is sent to the frontier on a new mission as a Lieutenant. When Dunbar arrives in South Dakota he is there alone, no one else had made their way their yet. Dunbar gradually starts to live with the Indians and become one of them getting the name Dancing with Wolves. ...
Both sides would battle for years and while the Sioux Indians were underpowered, they proved their talents in successful ambushes. However, The Wagon Box Fight would go so well for the Sioux. As the attempted ambush occurred, the soldiers and civilians were well protected. For hours, the Indians greatest tactics could not touch the soldier’s weaponry and defensive technologies. Finally, as Army reinforcements arrived, the Indians were forced to retreat as their ambush had failed. The victory of this battle for the Army proved just how important investing in strategic technology really was.
