The soldiers entered the camp at dawn, when families were still in their lodges.

The first wave of the attack produced casualties that included women and children killed in the initial assault.

Survivors described specific moments of horror: people shot in their lodges, children killed alongside parents, the confusion and terror of an attack that allowed no time for organized response.

The warrior leaders, including White Bird, did organize a response.

The defense was effective enough to push Gibbon’s command back from the camp and to create a tactical situation in which the nimíipuu effectively laid siege to the soldiers rather than the other way around.

The eventual arrival of Howard’s advance forced the nimíipuu to move, but they left the battle with their community intact in a military sense.