Battle of Canyon Creek

Significance

The Battle of Canyon Creek was an engagement between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry in Montana Territory, fought in the canyons and benches around Canyon Creek west of present-day Billings in Yellowstone County. It occurred within the broader Nez Perce War of 1877, a conflict in which Nez Perce bands under leaders including Chief Joseph and Looking Glass sought to evade U.S. military pursuit and reach sanctuary. The engagement represented one of several Army attempts to intercept and halt the Nez Perce flight, with forces under Samuel D. Sturgis, Lewis Merrill, and Frederick Benteen participating on the U.S. side. The battle's specific outcome is not recorded, but it forms part of the sequence of engagements that defined the closing phase of the Nez Perce War as the band moved through Montana Territory.

Commanders (6)