Big Hole National Battlefield


On August 9, 1877 gun shots shattered a chilly dawn on a sleeping camp of Nez Perce. By the time the smoke cleared on August 10, almost 90 Nez Perce were dead along with 31 soldiers and volunteers. Big Hole National Battlefield was created to honor all who were there.

Big Hole National Battlefield is located on Highway 43 ten miles west of the town of Wisdom in southwestern Montana. Bear Paw Battlefield is located on Route 240 sixteen miles south of the town of Chinook in north-central Montana.

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Battlefield at Dawn

Multiple tepee poles and a river are silhouetted against a dawn sky.

Today tepee poles stand sentinel at the site of August 9th, 1877 dawn attack at the Big Hole.

Camas Blooms Near the Nez Perce Camp at the Big Hole

Blue camas flowers dot a green field with tepee poles in the background.

The Nez Perce chose their camp site in the Big Hole in part due to the Camas, whose roots they gathered prior to the August 9th attack.

Mountain Howitzer at the Big Hole Battlefield

a cannon overlooks a valley and distant mountains

Nez Perce warriors captured and dismantled the Mountain Howitzer cannon before the US army could use it effectively at the Battle of the Big Hole.

Monument to the US Soldiers and Volunteers at the Big Hole Battlefield

cross country skis rest against a large granite monument on a snowy day.

In 1883 the United States Government erected this monument in honor of the soldiers and volunteers that served and died at the 1877 Battle of the Big Hole.

Chief Joseph Memorial at the Big Hole Battlefield

Stone carving of a Nez Perce Warrior's head in full regalia.

This monument, erected on the Big Hole Battlefield in 1928, reads; "To the everlasting memory of the brave warriors Chief Joseph's Band who fought on these grounds in the Nez Perce War of 1877."

Bear Paw Battlefield

Three large stone monuments and four interpretive signs overlook a series of low hills.