Battle of Wounded Knee

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)
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On 29 December, over 200 Sioux men, women, and children were slaughtered at the Battle of Wounded Knee, named for a small hamlet in North Dakota. The group of Sioux, who left their reservation and were thus regarded as hostiles, surrendered to federal troops on the night of 28 December. However, tensions were high. A scuffle invariably broke out during the disarmament of the Sioux and shots rang out, therby precipitating a wholesale massacre of the captured Indians. The U.S. federal troops used machine guns at close range against the Sioux, an enemy armed with knives and clubs.

96 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Battle of Wounded Knee". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 February 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5356, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5356 Battle of Wounded Knee 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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