Fetterman Fight Program and Battlefield Tour April 15

On Saturday April 15th beginning at 10 a.m., the Fort Phil Kearny/Bozeman Trail Association will present a program on the Fetterman Fight at Kearney Community Hall. Following the program, weather permitting, there will be a guided tour of the Fetterman Battlefield. Local historian and Fetterman Fight expert Bob Wilson will present the program.

The Fetterman Fight was one of the bloodiest battles waged between the Native American’s and the US Army in Wyoming. It happened not far from Fort Phil Kearny on Dec. 21, 1866. The battlefield has been preserved and a monument now stands commemorating the battle.

Normally, the FPK/BTA hosts an annual tour of the Fetterman battlefield on the anniversary of the battle, but this past December, due to the adverse weather and extraordinarily dangerous temperatures, the Fetterman Fight Anniversary talk and tour was postponed.

Fort Phil Kearney, near Story, was one of the forts, along with Fort Reno near Kaycee, and Fort C. F. Smith, in Montana, that were built along the Bozeman Trail to protect Montana gold seekers from the Sioux Indians. The Sioux were not impressed and waged war against the United States.

The program is open to the public and there is no charge for the event.