Wounded knee massacre medals of honor

1890 South Dakota massacre of Lakota

For the 1973 incident near the same location, see Wounded Knee Occupation.

The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army.

Wounded knee massacre medals of honor

The massacre, part of what the U.S. military called the Pine Ridge Campaign,^[5] occurred on December 29, 1890,^[6] near Wounded Knee Creek (Lakota: Čhaŋkpé Ópi Wakpála) on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, following a botched attempt to disarm the Lakota camp.

The previous day, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside approached Spotted Elk's band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them five miles (eight kilometers) westward to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp.

The remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth, arrived and