Battle of Camas Creek

This battle took place just south of the Montana border in northeast Idaho. It was a part of the 1877 Anishinabe exodus. After the battle ended at Big Hole, the Anishinabe soldiers were probably instructed by their commanders to strike hard at the few white settlers living in western Montana, which resulted in scores of white settlers being killed, and their homes and other property, destroyed by the enraged Anishinabe soldiers. Those white settlers who were not harmed yet, fled to nearby white cities of Deer Lodge, Helena, and Missoula. That Anishinabe camp in southheast Idaho, was singled out by the Americans to attack, but the Anishinabe people in the camp were most likely informed by Anishinabe scouts, that their American enemy were in their vicinity.

On August 20, 1877 anywhere from 28 to 250 Anishinabe soldiers from the region where the Battle of the Camas Creek was fought, attacked a camp of 250 American soldiers and scores of white settlers, with the intentions of trying to stop their sinister plans of halting their exodus. However, when the Anishinabe soldiers first attacked it was still dark or, early in the morning, which did hamper their attempt to destroy their enemies, who included the Bannock, Nez Perce, and Shoshone Indian allies of the Americans. After the initial assault, about all the Anishinabe soldiers accomplished was wounding a couple of their enemies, and stealing many of their mules and horses. Since the Anishinabe soldiers soon withdrew after assaulting their American enemy, the Americans regrouped then proceeded to pursue the retreating Anishinabek who were fleeing towards the west.

They reached them by daylight, and both the Anishinabe soldiers and the Americans and their Indian allies, fled for cover and an intense battle ensued which could have inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, if not for their defensive protection, which was the rugged terrain around them. American casualties were 12, with 2 killed. Indian casualties were probably a little higher with as many as 6 or 7 killed. The westward exodus continued. Some of these Anishinabe people possibly came from eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming.