Killdeer Mountain
Tachawakute (The Place Where They Kill Deer)*
On July 28, 1864, a U.S. military force, commanded by General Alfred Sully, attacked several groups of the Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota (Sioux) Nations camped at this location. Major Sioux leaders included Medicine Bear and Sitting Bull. Sully's force had been sent into Dakota Territory to punish those who had participated in Minnesota's Dakota Conflict of 1862 as well as to develop routes to western gold fields. Many of the Sioux groups gathered at Killdeer Mountain had not participated in the Dakota Conflict and had sought to make peace with the government. Sully's force, equipped with several cannons, attacked and shelled the encampment, causing warriors, was well as unarmed men, women, and children, to flee into the Little Missouri badlands. Native American oral tradition says that many of these people escaped through an opening at the top of Killdeer Mountain known as the Medicine Hole. Sully estimated between between 100 and 150 Sioux were killed, but the exact number is unknown. His troops suffered five deaths. The Sioux lodges and all their winter supplies were destroyed by Sully's men who then moved west across the badlands to
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The conflict at Killdeer Mountain further embittered relations between many Northern Plains tribes and the U.S. government. Sully's campaign, culminating at Killdeer Mountain, was not the end of hostilities but a prelude to the Sioux Wars of the 1870s.
*Nakota Dialect
Erected by State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Wars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1864.
Location. 47° 25.512′ N, 102° 55.125′ W. Marker is near Killdeer, North Dakota, in Dunn County. Marker is on Killdeer Mount Battlefield Road, on the right when traveling north. Located in Battle of Killdeer Mountain Historical Monument Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Killdeer Mountain Battlefield Rd, Killdeer ND 58640, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Also see . . . ND History website on the Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site. (Submitted on July 28, 2020.)
Credits. This page was last revised on July 31, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 16, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 200 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 16, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. 2, 3. submitted on July 31, 2020, by Connor Olson of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.
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