When Fetterman’s command was fully committed to the descent — too far into the valley to retreat effectively — the ambush closed.

The fight itself was short and devastating.

The soldiers, caught in the open and surrounded, had little chance to establish a defensive position.

Those who tried to form a firing line were overrun.

The topography of the battlefield has been studied by archaeologists and military historians who have been able to identify the likely positions of different elements of the command and the sequence of events from the evidence of cartridge cases and bones.

By the time a relief force from the fort reached the site — too late to help and with the battle long over — all 81 men were dead.