Dunning to Speak on Battle of the Wolf Mountains

On April 26, the Big Horn City Historical Society will present a program by Forest B. Dunning a retired rancher and financial advisor currently living in Birney, Montana. He will speak on the Battle of the Wolf Mountains, the last battle that Crazy Horse fought against the army.

The Battle of the Butte aka Battle of Wolf Mountains, aka The Last Battle of Crazy Horse, was fought on on January 7-9, in 1877. Colonel Nelson Miles of the U.S. Army’s 5th Infantry Regiment with 436 men fought a combined Sioux and Northern Cheyenne force led by Crazy Horse and Two Moons numbering about 800 warriors four miles south of Birney, Montana on the Tongue River. In what was almost the last battle of the Great Sioux War, Col. Miles declared victory after the Sioux and Cheyenne quit the fight and withdrew in the middle of a raging blizzard.

The Battle was misnamed ‘The Battle of the Wolf Mountains’ because Miles’ report said he was ‘approaching the Wolf Mountains.’ Local Birney residents call it ‘Battle of the Butte,’ and the Northern Cheyenne named it the ‘Battle of Belly Butte.’ The story of the fight was poorly reported by early historians who misinterpreted the battle orientation and important locations by 90 degrees. The true orientation was discovered in 1999 by a graduate student doing research for a National Historic Landmark Designation. The Designation was finally approved in 2006, but no one has updated the record for the last 25 years. All the battle reporting to date has been authored by summer historians with no military experience or local familiarity with the local terrain and weather. My goal is to correct the record with an updated military view.

Dunning was raised in Birney near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, he has been a student, cowboy, soldier, purebred cattle rancher, cattle buyer and author. He is a graduate of Sheridan Jr. College and New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College with a master’s degree in Military Science.

During successful careers as a U.S. Army officer (retired lieutenant colonel) and civilian financial advisor, he returned to his roots and bought a ranch 12 miles north of Sheridan, WY to raise registered red Angus cattle.

He has long had a love for western history and historical fiction. Noting that much of local history had been overlooked, he and his son Shane B. Dunning have devoted their writing skills to the preservation of history in southeastern Montana, northern Wyoming, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Forest B. Dunning Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Infantry, U.S. Army.

The program will be held in the Big Horn Women’s Club building. Big Horn City Historical Society usually meets on the 4th Sunday of every month. There will be a carry-in potluck lunch starting at 1:00 – The program to follow at 2:00. and attendees are asked to bring a main dish, a salad, rolls, or a dessert. Everyone is invited to attend.

According to the news release, the BHCHS is also simplifying their Potluck Lunches, those bringing pot-luck dishes are asked to please cut pies, cakes & salads at home and bring your own serving dishes and serving spoons. This will eliminate the extra work before and after the meetings. If you must use items from the kitchen, please stay and help wash and put them away. Disposable tableware will continue to be provided.

They also appreciate everyone’s help in setting up and closing down.

Feature photo: Sculpture of Crazy Horse at the Crazy Horse Memorial between Custer and Hill City, South Dakota to honor Crazy Horse. This is a model of what will be carved on Crazy Horse Mountain in the background.