Visited: May 2024
Nearby town: Grangeville, ID
This windswept valley along White Bird Creek was the opening salvo of the Nez Perce War of 1877.
Nez Perce National Historical Park memorializes the tragic episode between the U.S. Army and the Nez Perce Tribe, led by Chief Joseph. The Park contains several units spread across the Northwest, located in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. One of those units is White Bird Battlefield, located in north-central Idaho, near the present-day town of Grangeville.
For background on the war and our visit to other sites in Nez Perce National Historical Park, see:
Big Hole Battlefield in Montana https://paulnationalparks.blogspot.com/2019/08/big-hole-national-battlefield.html
and Bear Paw Battlefield in Montana https://paulnationalparks.blogspot.com/2019/08/bear-paw-national-battlefield.html
The Nez Perce Tribe had lived on land in present-day Idaho, Oregon, and Washington for generations. In general, this included the Wallowa Valley in Oregon/Washington and a large area of Idaho where the Salmon River and Clearwater River flow into the Snake River.
In the 1855 Nez Perce Treaty, a large reservation was established that recognized the Nez Perce ancestral homeland (approximately 7.5 million acres in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho). Under the terms of the treaty, white settlers were not allowed to live on the reservation without tribal permission.
In 1860, gold was discovered on the reservation (near the present-day town of Pierce) and white miners and others rushed to build settlements, including the town of Lewiston. These settlements were on reservation land and illegal under the terms of the 1855 treaty. This led to much conflict between the Nez Perce tribe and white settlers, who lobbied the federal government for protection.
In 1863, a minority of the Nez Perce tribes signed a new treaty with the U.S. government, which reduced the Nez Perce Reservation by 90% (7.5 million acres to 750,000 acres) to lands along the Clearwater River in Idaho. Many Nez Perce, including Chief Joseph viewed the new treaty (which they dubbed a "steal treaty") as illegitimate because a majority of the tribal leaders did not agree to it. These tribes resisted and refused to move to the new reservation.
Violence between the tribes and white settlers (who the tribe viewed as squatters) continued for over a decade. Finally, in May 1877, U.S. General Oliver Otis Howard ordered all Nez Perce tribes to move to the new reservation within 30 days or they would be moved by force.
After years of violence, Chief Joseph yearned for peace and began to move his tribes from the Wallowa Valley in Oregon to the lands of the new reservation. However, many other leaders wished to continue the resistance. In the early part of June 1877, Nez Perce warriors attacked many white settlements, leading to the death of 18 settlers. Chief Joseph was very distraught and realized that, at this point, peace was likely impossible.
In response to the raids, General Howard dispatched Captain David Perry and the 1st Cavalry Regiment to confront Chief Joseph and the non-treaty tribes, who had gathered near the White Bird Creek, and move them to the reservation by force. Chief Joseph and his men prepared for the attack.
The rest stop along Hwy 95 north of the town of White Bird offers panoramic views of the battlefield
On the morning of June 17, 1877, the Calvary approached the Nez Perce encampment. Chief Joseph tried one last attempt at a peaceful solution. Six scouts would ride ahead to meet the U.S. Army with white flags signifying truce. Chief Joseph gave them orders to only fire if fired on.
For reasons never fully explained by Capt. Perry, the U.S. Army fired at the truce party. The truce party took cover and returned fire. The Nez Perce War had begun.
Perry's 1st Cavalry Regiment numbered about 100 men. Many of them were civilian volunteers, and were inexperienced fighters and horseback riders. Meanwhile, the Nez Perce numbered about 70 warriors, led by Chief Ollokot and Chief White Bird (although Chief Joseph himself may have fought in the battle, it has never been confirmed if he actually did). They were much more experienced on horseback and were very familiar with the terrain.
Although the Nez Perce had sent forth a truce party, they were ready for the Cavalry attack. Many of the warriors had been hiding in bushes and trees and they ambushed a company led by George Shearer, who served as left-flank support for Perry's main column. Shearer ordered his men to dismount and fight on foot, but few obeyed. Instead, many of the men (again, who were mostly volunteers) turned and fled.
Perry's view of Shearer's company was obstructed. Believing that he was protected on his left-flank he advanced the main column in an attempt to take the high ground and fight the Nez Perce from that vantage point. Once he realized that his left-flank was exposed (due to Shearer's retreat), it was too late.
head down into the canyon and walk the battlefield along White Bird Creek
The U.S. Army was simply overpowered by the Nez Perce and retreated. The Nez Perce had routed Perry's men. In all, 34 soldiers of Perry's regiment were killed, and 4 were wounded. In contrast, none of the Nez Perce warriors had died, and only 3 had been wounded.
The Nez Perce scored a resounding and impressive victory over the U.S. Army. However, Chief Joseph knew that retribution would be swift, harsh, and brutal. Additionally, at this point, Chief Joseph abandoned all hope of a peaceful solution or compromise.
Chief Joseph led his people (about 250 warriors, and approximately 500 women and children) on a valiant retreat to seek protection and liberty. First, they ventured east across the unforgiving terrain of the Lochsa River and Lolo Pass, south through the Bitterroot Valley, east through Yellowstone National Park (which had been officially designated as such a few years prior), and finally to the lands of the Crow Tribe. They fought against the advancing U.S. Army along the way, and suffered many losses at the Battle of the Big Hole in Montana. When the Crow Tribe indicated that they had no interest in uniting with the Nez Perce against the U.S. Army, the Nez Perce headed north, in an attempt to seek freedom and refuge in Canada.
In October 1877, in the Bear Paw Mountains of northern Montana (aka "40 miles from freedom"), Chief Joseph finally surrendered to General Nelson Miles (uttering the famous speech "from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more, forever.") Chief Joseph and the remaining tribe members were relocated to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas (despite Miles's promise that they would be returned to the Nez Perce reservation in Idaho).
Finally, in 1885, Chief Joseph and the surviving 268 Nez Perce were allowed to return to the Pacific Northwest. However, Joseph himself was not allowed to return to the reservation and instead was relocated to the Colville Reservation in northeastern Washington. Chief Joseph lived there for the rest of his life. He passed away in 1904, at the age of 64.
Learn more about the Nez Perce War: https://www.nps.gov/nepe/index.htm
