Battle of Ash Hollow

Overview

The Battle of Ash Hollow, also known as the Battle of Blue Water Creek or the Harney Massacre, was an engagement of the First Sioux War, fought on September 2 and 3, 1855, between United States Army soldiers under Brig. Gen. William S. Harney and a band of the Sicangu Lakota along the Platte River in present-day Garden County, Nebraska. In the 20th century, the town of Lewellen, Nebraska, was developed here as a railroad stop.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Ash Hollow, also known as the Battle of Blue Water Creek or the Harney Massacre, was an engagement of the First Sioux War fought along the Platte River in what is now Garden County, Nebraska. U.S. Army forces under Brig. Gen. William S. Harney, numbering approximately 600 soldiers, engaged a Sicangu Lakota band under Little Thunder of roughly 250. The engagement was part of the broader U.S. military campaign to assert control over the central plains corridor during the opening phase of the Sioux Wars. The battle's alternate designation as the Harney Massacre reflects the contested nature of the action and its legacy in Lakota memory.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)