The Battle of Leaping Deer occurred in 1877 when the US Army assaulted the Sioux village of Leaping Deer in northwest Nebraska amid the Black Hills War.
After the Battle of Wolf Mountain, Colonel Nelson A. Miles and his US 5th Infantry Regiment battled the Northern Cheyenne and Lakota, forcing them to either flee north to Canada or south towards Nebraska. One of these Lakota bands, led by Great Black Elk, founded a village at Leaping Deer. The Sioux warriors consisted partly of gun-wielding men but also of unarmed braves who acted as scouts. The pursuing Americans built a settlement, Windy Stand, where gunslingers from across the Wild West converged to offer their services to the US Army once it arrived to attack Leaping Deer. After 20 days of assembly, the Americans sent forth four columns, including one of US cavalry, one of US infantry, one of hired cowboys, and another of outlaws who fought on foot. The Sioux rushed out of their village to taunt the Americans face-to-face, and, after the Sioux refused to surrender during a brief truce period, the American columns assailed the Sioux war party from every side. The Indians were massacred by horsemen, infantrymen, and artillery alike, and the US Cavalry took advantage of the men's absence to ride into Leaping Deer and put it to the torch.
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