Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BATTLE OF BEAR PAW
After the Bear Paw Battle in 1877, Chief Joseph surrendered to the U.S. Army here, just 40
miles from the Canadian border.
Sixteen miles south of Chinook is the historic Bear Paw Battlefield, an area that looks
much as it did 130 years ago when the Nez Perce fought the last in a series of battles
known as the Nez Perce War of 1877. Originally from the Wallowa Valley in north-
eastern Oregon, the Nez Perce, under the leadership of Chief Joseph, had refused to
relocate to a reservation in Idaho. General Oliver O. Howard planned an attack to
force Joseph's band onto the reservation. Before arriving at this site in Montana, the
band of 700 Indians, 200 of whom were warriors, undertook a journey that has come
to be known as one of the most spectacular military retreats in U.S. history. They
spent three months covering more than 1,300 miles, crossed four states, and engaged
in numerous skirmishes with the U.S. Army as they fled capture and sought refuge
in Canada.
