The Battle of Bear Paw (also sometimes called Battle of the Bears Paw or Battle of the Bears Paw Mountains) was the final engagement of the Nez Perce War of 1877. Following a running fight from north central Idaho Territory over the previous four months, the U.S. Army managed to corner most of the Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph in early October 1877 in northern Montana Territory, just south of the border with Canada, where the Nez Perce intended to seek refuge from persecution by the U.S. government. Although some of the Nez Perce were able to escape to Canada, Chief Joseph was forced to surrender the majority of his followers to Brigadier General Oliver Howard and Colonel Nelson A. Miles on October 5. Today, the battlefield is part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park and the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. Background In June 1877, several bands of the Nez Perce, resisting relocation from their traditional lands to a much smaller reservation in north central Idaho Territory, attempted to escape to the east, following a route through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming territories over the Rocky Mountains and onto the Great Plains. The Nez Perce began their journey with the mistaken notion that after crossing the next mountain range or defeating the latest army sent to oppose them they would find a peaceful new home. They came to realize, however, that the only sanctuary available to them was in Saskatchewan, Canada alongside the Lakota led by Sitting Bull, who had found asylum there after the Great Sioux War of 1876. After passing through Yellowstone National Park, the Nez Perce headed north through the Montana Territory toward Canada. By late September, the Nez Perce, numbering about 800, including fewer than 200 warriors, had traveled more than a thousand miles and fought several battles in which they defeated or held off the U.S. Army forces pursuing them. In the most recent of those battles, on September 13, the Nez Perce eluded the attempt of Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis to capture them at the Battle of Canyon Creek near present-day Billings. However, the Crow and Bannock scouts of Sturgis captured about 400 of the Nez Perce horses which slowed them in their race to the Canada–U.S. border. Meeting up with Sturgis after the battle, General Howard continued the pursuit, following the Nez Perce trail northward. On September 12, Howard sent a