This was not unheard of in Cheyenne culture, but it was notable.

Women sometimes accompanied war parties as supporters — carrying supplies, helping with the horses.

Some women fought.

The specific role that Buffalo Calf Road Woman played on that morning — whether she rode out specifically intending to fight or was simply present as the wife of a warrior and the sister of another — is not entirely clear from the historical record.

What is clear is what she did when the moment came.

Crook’s column was in a valley along the Rosebud when the warriors struck.

The attack came at dawn, from high ground, and achieved near-complete surprise.

The initial assault was so sudden and so forceful that Crook’s column was thrown into confusion — his soldiers scrambling to form a defensive line while warriors swept down from the surrounding hills.

What followed was a battle that lasted for most of the day — six hours of fighting across broken terrain, unlike the open-field engagements that military manuals described.

The warriors would charge, break off, fade back into the hills, reform, charge again.