Battle of Little Muddy Creek Battle of Little Muddy Creek The Battle of Little Muddy Creek, also known as the Lame Deer Fight, was fought on May 7, 1877 by United States soldiers and scouts, against a village of Miniconjou Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. The Battle occurred near Little Muddy Creek in Montana Territory, near present-day Lame Deer, Montana, United States. On May 1, 1877, Colonel Nelson A. Miles led a mixed force of his own 5th United States Infantry, the 22nd United States Infantry, and the 2nd United States Cavalry out of Cantonment Tongue River in search of Miniconjou Lakota under Lame Deer. On
Little Bighorn River led a government expedition up the Big Horn River to the mouth of Big Horn Canyon, and then southeast along the base of the Big Horn mountains. En route to the Big Horn Canyon, and about 40 miles down the Big Horn River, he camped just below the mouth of the Little Bighorn on September 6, 1859. He noted in his journal for that day that the Indian name of the Big Horn river, into which the Little Bighorn empties, is "Ets-pot-agie", or Mountain Sheep River, and this generates the name of the Little Big Horn, "Ets-pot-agie-cate", or Little Mountain