Big Hole National Battlefield

National Park Service, Montana.

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.

Nearby Activities

  • Camping
  • Historic & Cultural Site
  • Picnicking

Directions

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.

Additional Information

  • Big Hole National Battlefield Official Website
  • Big Hole National Battlefield Map

Photo Gallery

  • Battlefield at DawnToday tepee poles stand sentinel at the site of August 9th, 1877 dawn attack at the Big Hole.
  • Mountain Howitzer at the Big Hole BattlefieldNez 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 BattlefieldIn 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 BattlefieldThis 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
  • Camas Blooms Near the Nez Perce Camp at the Big HoleThe 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.

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