Indian Attack on a Wagon Train by Charles Marion Russell
The Cazeau Wagon Train attack occurred in northeast Wyoming on July 17, 1866. This battle was fought during Red Cloud’s War as the Sioux tried to stop the invasion of their lands from travelers and settlers moving along the Bozeman Trail
In July 1866, traders Peter Cazeau, and Henry Arrison, from Fort Collins, Colorado, traveled along the Bozeman Trail in two wagons. Along with them were three employees, Cazeau’s Oglala Sioux wife Mary, and their four children. On July 16, the two wagons were camped on Peno Creek, about six miles north of Fort Phil Kearny, when a group of Northern Cheyenne approached them. The Indians, who had just been in council with officers at the fort, were peaceful and joined the camp.
However, a band of Sioux appeared, demanding that the Cheyenne join them in an attack against the soldiers at the fort. The Cheyenne refused, and the Sioux responded by calling them cowards, whipping them, and driving them from the camp. The Sioux also departed, but the next morning, as the wagons were preparing to move on, the Sioux returned and attacked them, killing Cazeau, Arrison, and the three mail employees. Mary Cazeau and the children escaped into the brush and were later found by soldiers who took them to the fort. Upon Mary’s arrival, she warned that the Sioux were planning more attacks, including upon the fort.
The site is located near Banner, Wyoming.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2023.
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