The Battle of Big Mound was a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 victory over the combined Santee and Teton Sioux forces in the Dakota Territory

Dakota Territory

The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...

.

Background

After suppressing the Dakota War of 1862

Dakota War of 1862

The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...

, Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley

Henry Hastings Sibley was the first Governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota.-Early life and education:...

 was appointed brigadier general

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 of volunteers. Sibley departed from Fort Ridgely

Fort Ridgely

Fort Ridgely was a United States Army outpost near the Dakota reservation in southwestern Minnesota . Built between 1853–1855, it played an important role in the Dakota War of 1862...

 and marched into the Dakotas after the Santee Sioux who had led the uprising. In the Dakota Territory, the Santee were joined by the Teton Sioux.

Battle

On July 24, Sibley received reports of a large Indian force nearby and established a camp. A few Indians approached Sibley's camp expressing friendship, but when a surgeon was killed, the Indians fled behind ridges surrounding the camp. There, they were joined by the rest of the Indian force, which began firing upon the soldiers. The army's response was at first scattered, but Sibley gathered a force together and attacked the entrenched Indian positions. The attack succeeded and the Indians were driven from the ridges and a scattered retreat followed. Mounted troops pursued the fleeing warriors across the prairie

Prairie

Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...

 until dark.

Results

The battle scattered the Sioux force and their morale began to raise. The people retreated further into the Washington Territory closely pursued by Sibley. The two forces met again the following day at the Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake

Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake

The battle of Dead Buffalo Lake was fought between United States forces and Sioux Indians of the Dakota Territory.A combined force of Santee and Teton Sioux forces had been defeated at the battle of Big Mound. They fled that battlefield and were chased endlessly by U.S. cavalry...

. Casualties are unknown for both sides.