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Yellowstone County – Your Ancestral Past Trail Series

Out in the Boonies (Trip # 13)

Pompeys Pillar

By Dave Dodge & Cleve Kimmel

 

Following the General Custer & General Crook “June Hunt for Sioux & Cheyenne on Rosebud Creek”

 

 

Part 1 – General Custer’s Southward Trip from the Yellowstone River

 

 

This map was published in the Billings Gazette June 7, 1985. It displays a circular route covering 12 points of interest in the local area. Kermit Konzen (Billings) established the site stop locations, and excerpts from the Gazette are provided for the tour. John Potter, of the Gazette, created the map. Markers created mainly by the local residents were placed alongside of the roads to identify where the specific area of interest was located. Brown highway marker signs precede several of the stops. Turnouts are provided for parking. This route section can be traveled by auto, and consists of map stops 4-9. Stop 10, Custer’s Battlefield, is not specifically covered in this segment, as that area is well advertised and covered by the Custer Battlefield itself. After leaving Stop 9, proceed to the Custer Battlefield; or continue on to the Crooks Battlefield, called the “Rosebud Battlefield State Park” (not covered by the route map on the left.)  If you decide to travel to this site, a 4-wheel drive vehicle is recommended, as portions of road within the battlefield are somewhat difficult to navigate. If travel by auto, you can visit the park, and view the battle site from the visitor’s center.)

 

Departing from Billings stay on the I94 freeway until reaching the Rosebud City off ramp, then follow directions as noted below. Portions of this highway apparently had the pavement created in uniform lateral sections; so get used to the “bump-bump” and jarring of the auto caused by slight heaves of the separate pieces! Almost like driving on the old concrete highways. The surface however is very solid, and NO potholes.

 

 

Note: The town and local area appears about the same as it was in 1985, and the field where Custer camped is still a field. It sits on private land. The tree line to the north marks the river’s edge.

 

 

 

 

The placard, located directly below the sign, reads: “MONUMENT ERECTED BY MAX & FAYE BERES WITH HARPY DALLEY” The vertical post is a stone slab. Many persons have tried to carve their names, but the stone is very dense, so the writing is barely visible.

 

Note: 447 joins with 39 before reaching this site, which is about 40 miles distant. The route to stop 7 is on 39. Enroute, there are two rock cairns and a small 4-post corral mounted on the top of two small hills about ½-mile east of HWY 447. The first is about 10 miles south of the freeway; the second is about 20 miles (and located by a farm house.)

 

 

 Between these two cairns is Lee Cemetery, see below. (http://www.graves-r-us.com/Lee_web.html - has burial lists and other details)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Additional directions not provided.

 

 

Part 2 – General Crook’s – “Battle of the Rosebud” (Travel & Hiking)[1]

 

 

 After passing through Lame Deer travel west on 212 through Busby and turn south on paved road Highway 314 about ½-mile west of Rosebud Creek

 

 

This road passes to the east of the battle site, and continues on to Sheridan, WY. About 14 miles from the turnoff you will pass through the old town location “Kirby.” It currently consists of a saloon stop. After another 17-18 miles further on you will arrive at the entrance to the site.

Look to the southwest, and on a small hilltop you will see a rock cairn entry marker. The site is on private property approximately ¼-mile to the west, but access is granted. At the site you will (or should) find a container containing a descriptive brochure of the site and event locator. There are 19 points of battle interest; starting at 8:30 am on June 17, 1876 and continuing through to the end some six hours later. The three battle maps following and created by the Combined Arms Research Library are provided to assist in your orientation of the site. See below for addresses. Signs are posted that direct you to the site. You are cautioned to stay on the road.

Additionally, another point of interest is noted: the Slim Kobold Buffalo Jump, a short distance to the south of the site. This rocky cliff appears to be one of the oldest in the state. Prehistoric Indians ran the animals off the cliff.

 

 

This is the Visitor’s Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/

On 17 June, Crook's column roused itself at 0300 and set out at 0600, marching northward along the south fork of Rosebud Creek. The holiday atmosphere that prevailed since the arrival of the Indian scouts on 15 June was suddenly absent. The Crow and Shoshone scouts were particularly apprehensive. Although the column had not yet encountered any sign of Indians, the scouts seemed to sense their presence. The soldiers, on their part, were apparently fatigued from the previous day's 35-mile march and their early morning reveille, particularly the mule-riding infantry.

At 0800, Crook stopped to rest his men and animals, Although he was deep in hostile territory, Crook made no special dispositions for defense. His troops merely halted in their marching order. The battalions of Captains Anson Mills and Henry E. Noyes led the column, followed by Captain Frederick Van Vliet's battalion and Major Alexander Chambers' battalion of mule-borne foot soldiers, Captain Guy V. Henry's battalion and a provisional company of civilian miners and packers brought up the rear.

Fortunately the Crow and Shoshone scouts remained alert while the soldiers rested. Several minutes later, the soldiers in camp could hear the sound of intermittent gunfire coming from the bluffs to the north. At first, they dismissed the noise as nothing more than the scouts taking potshots at buffalo. As the intensity of fire increased, a scout rushed into the camp shouting, "Lakota, Lakota!" The Battle of the Rosebud was on. By 0830, the Sioux and Cheyenne had hotly engaged Crook's Indian allies on the high ground north of the main body. Heavily outnumbered, the Crow and Shoshone scouts fell back toward the camp, but their fighting withdrawal gave Crook time to deploy his forces.

 

 

 

In response to the Indian attack, Crook directed his forces to seize the high ground north and south of the Rosebud. He ordered Captain Van Vliet, with C and G Companies, 3d Cavalry, to occupy the high bluffs to the south. Van Vliet scaled the hill just in time to drive off a small band of Sioux approaching from the east. In the north, the commands of Major Chambers (D and F Companies, 4th Infantry, and C, G, and H Companies, 9th Infantry) and Captain Noyes (B, E, and I Companies, 2d Cavalry) formed a dismounted skirmish line and advanced toward the Sioux, Their progress war, slow, however, because of flanking fire from Indians occupying the high ground to the northeast. To accelerate the advance, Crook ordered Captain Mills, commanding six companies (A, B, E, I, L, and M) of the 3d Cavalry, to charge this group of hostiles. Mills' mounted charge unnerved the Indians and forced them to withdraw northwest along the ridgeline, not stopping until they reached the next crest (now called Crook's Ridge). Here, Mills quickly re-formed three of his mounted companies (A, E, and M) and led his troopers in another charge, driving the Indians northwest again to the next hill (Conical Hill). Mills was preparing to drive the Indians from Conical Hill when he received orders from Crook to cease his advance and assume a defensive posture. Chambers and Noyes now led their forces forward in support and, within minutes, joined Mills on top of the ridge. The bulk of Crooks command, now joined by the packers and miners, occupied Crook's Ridge. Establishing his headquarters there at approximately 0930, Crook contemplated his next move.

Meanwhile, at the west end of the field, Lieutenant Colonel William Royall, Crook's second in command, pursued the Indians attacking the rear of Crook's camp. Leading Captain Henry's battalion (D, F, and L Companies, 3d Cavalry) and two companies (B and I) borrowed from Mills' command, Royall advanced rapidly along the ridgeline to the northwest, finally halting his advance near the head of Kollmar Creek. Royall's detachment was now a mile from the main body and in some danger of being cut off and destroyed. Sensing this vulnerability and exploiting their superb mobility, the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors shifted their main effort to the west and concentrated their attacks on Royall's troopers. Crook, recognizing the danger, sent orders to Royall to withdraw to Crooks Ridge. Inexplicably, Royall sent only B Company to join Crook. Royall later claimed that heavy pressure from the Indians made withdrawing the entire command too risky. However, B Company's limited losses (one man wounded) belie Royall's claim.

 

 

 

Crook's initial charges secured key terrain but did little to damage the Indian force. The bluecoats' assaults invariably scattered the Indian defenders but did not keep them away. After falling back, the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors returned to snipe at the soldiers from long range. Occasionally, single warriors or small groups of Indians demonstrated their valor by charging forward and exchanging a few close-range shots with the troopers. But when pressed, the Indians sped away on their nimble ponies. Crook soon realized his charges were indecisive.

Casting about for a way to defeat his elusive opponent, Crook returned to his original campaign plan. Since the Indians had been fighting him with unprecedented tenacity, it suggested that they might be fighting to defend their families in a nearby village. Thus, Crook decided to advance down the Rosebud valley where he hoped to find the hostile encampment and force the enemy to stand and fight. At about 1030, Crook ordered Mills and Noyes to withdraw their commands from the high ground and follow the Rosebud north. To replace the cavalry, Crook recalled Van Vliet's battalion from the south side of the Rosebud.

One mile to the west, Royall's situation continued to deteriorate. Royall tried to withdraw across Kollmar Creek but found the Indians' fire too heavy. Instead, he withdrew southeast along the ridgeline. In an attempt to further isolate and overwhelm Royall's force, a large group of Indians charged boldly down the valley of Kollmar Creek, advancing all the way to the Rosebud. The fortuitous arrival of Van Vliet's command, however, checked the Indians' advance. Crook then ordered his Crow and Shoshone scouts to charge into the withdrawing warriors' flank, throwing the hostiles into great confusion.

Troubled by fire from Indians on Conical Hill, Crook ordered Chambers' infantry to drive the Sioux away. The foot soldiers promptly forced an enemy withdrawal-but to little avail. It was a repetition of the same old pattern; the soldiers could drive the Sioux away at will, but they could not fix and destroy them. Crook could only wait and hope that Mills' advance down the valley would be successful.

 

 

 

For a full description of this battle as extracted above, and other battles against the Sioux Nation, refer to:

Combined Arms Research Library
Eisenhower Hall
250 Gibbon Ave
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2314
(913) 758-3053 

They have a link at:

http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/

We are grateful for their detailed presentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The Park’s division in Miles City provides the brochure. Neil Mangum created this excellent brochure in 1997, and it depicts a 3-d view of the battlefield. Coordinate this view with the above maps and the location “comes alive.”




  Email me:
Katy Hestand
Yellowstone County Coordinator


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