Sheridan, Wyoming

Feel the echoes of a clash that shaped the West. Here, near the Tongue River, the Battle of the Tongue River unfolded in 1865 during the Powder River Expedition. General Patrick Connor led U.S. soldiers and Indian scouts in an attack on an Arapaho village on August 29th. The village was destroyed and over 500 horses seized — a tactical strike, but no decisive blow. Connor himself later admitted that "rather harm than good was done," and the attack drove the previously neutral Arapaho into alliance with the Sioux and Cheyenne, making the broader expedition a strategic failure. The battle intensified tensions and fueled further conflict between the U.S. government and Native American tribes, contributing to the ongoing struggle for control of the land. Today, the landscape remains largely unchanged. Imagine the scene as you look across the plains. While no prominent monuments mark the exact site, the area serves as a reminder of the tumultuous history of the American West.