Great Debates: Wounded Knee

On this day, 116 years ago, the last major engagement of the western Indian wars was fought at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. 500 troopers from the 7th Cavalry Regiment, supported by several pieces of light artillery, found themselves engaged in a fire fight that resulted in the deaths of 25 troopers and over 150 Lakota Sioux. The 7th Cavalry had been dispatched to escort the Lakota to transport which would take them to Omaha, Nebraska. Twenty soldiers won the Medal of Honor for their actions in the fight.

On this day, 116 years ago, American soldiers perpetuated a massacre of Lakota Sioux that resulted in the deaths of approximately 300 Lakota, most of them women and children. Colonel Forsyth, the commander of the 7th Cavalry, alarmed the Lakota with his clumsy attempts to disarm them. Shooting broke out and many on both sides fell from gunshot wounds. Up to half of the Lakota casualties resulted from victims freezing to death in the cold December night. Twenty soldiers won the "Medal of Dis-Honor" in the fight.