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Along this ridge on December 21, 1866, Capt. William J. Fetterman, 2 officers, 76 enlisted men and 2 civilians were decoyed into ambush and overwhelmed by a superior force of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe Indians. Fort Phil Kearny, 2 miles south, was built in the summer of 1866 to protect travelers along the Bozeman Trail. The Indaians were bent on preventing such encroachment into their last hunting grounds which had been assigned them by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. Sent out to relieve a wagon train that was under attack, Capt. Fetterman was ordered not to pursue the Indians beyond Lodge Trail Ridge. He disobeyed and led his command to this ridge, where they were engaged ina pitched battle. The final stand was made behind the large boulders at the monument. There were no survivors.
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