Battle of Wolf Mountain to the status of National Historic Landmark in 2008. Following the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer on June 25, 1876, in the Battle of Little Bighorn, the United States government sent a large number of reinforcements into Montana Territory. By autumn, a few bands of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes had begun returning to the reservations and agencies to acquire food and annuity goods in preparation for winter. The United States Congress had angered many Indians by demanding that they cede the Black Hills to the government in exchange for these promised goods. The army had replaced civilian
5th Cavalry Regiment the Great Plains, and against the Utes in Colorado. On 8 July 1869 at the Republican River in Kansas, Cpl John Kyle made a valiant stand against attacking Indians resulting in him receiving the Medal of Honor. The 5th was then sent to Arizona, where it defeated the Apaches in 95 engagements from 1871 to 1874. Due to these actions, General William Sherman told a committee from the United States House of Representatives that "the services of the 5th Cavalry Regiment in Arizona were unequaled by that of any Cavalry Regiment." After General Custer and 264 of his men died