Battle Where the Girl Saved Her Brother (Battle of the Rosebud)

In the 1870’s, gold was found in the Black Hills and as a result, the US government offered to buy the hills from the tribes of Montana and Wyoming. When all tribes couldn’t come to an agreement, the white men tried forcing all tribes on to reservations and The Great Sioux War of 1876 ensued. 

History remembers one of the battles of that summer as the Battle of the Rosebud. On June 17, 1876, a battle took place in the Montana Territory between the United States Army against a force consisting mostly of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians. The Cheyenne called it the Battle Where the Girl Saved Her Brother because of an incident during the fight involving Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Mutsimiuna)

The battle started early in the morning and lasted throughout the day and covered many miles of ground. At one point, Cheyenne warrior, Comes in Sight, had his horse shot out from underneath him. While fleeing on foot from the advancing soldiers, his sister Buffalo Calf Road Woman rode to his rescue. Comes in Sight jumped onto her horse and the two successfully escaped. 

Captain Anson Mills was impressed with the fight of the natives in front of him. He said, "They were the best cavalry soldiers on earth. In charging up toward us they exposed little of their person, hanging on with one arm around the neck and one leg over the horse, firing and lancing from underneath the horses' necks, so that there was no part of the Indian at which we could aim."

The Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne troops were able to hold off the cavalry. This battle was at the very least a tactical draw if not a victory for them. The Battle of the Little Bighorn commenced about a week later.