Qualla: Battle of Warbonnet Creek

Battle of Warbonnet Creek: Introduction

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Three weeks after Custer fell at Little Bighorn, Buffalo Bill Cody knelt over the body of a young Cheyenne warrior named Heova'ehe, Yellow Hair, and took his scalp. It was July 17, 1876, in the Nebraska badlands near Warbonnet Creek. The duel had lasted seconds. But Cody, ever the showman, understood that this moment would play forever. By October he was back on the stage in the East, holding Yellow Hair's scalp aloft and calling the killing "The First Scalp for Custer."

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Battle of Warbonnet Creek: After Little Bighorn

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. The news from Montana hit the nation like a thunderclap. General George Armstrong Custer and over 260 of his men dead at the hands of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Across the Great Plains, Native Americans took heart from the victory. About 200 to 300 Cheyenne warriors led by Mor...

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Battle of Warbonnet Creek: The Trap at Warbonnet Creek

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Colonel Wesley Merritt, who had just taken command of the 5th Cavalry, received word of the Cheyenne breakout. Guided by Buffalo Bill Cody, who served as a civilian scout, Merritt moved to intercept. He planned an ambush near Warbonnet Creek. Most of his 350 troopers hid inside c...

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Battle of Warbonnet Creek: The First Scalp for Custer

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. The troopers opened fire, wounding several warriors. But the engagement's defining moment came when Buffalo Bill confronted Yellow Hair directly. Cody shot the Cheyenne warrior with his Winchester carbine, then drew his Bowie knife and scalped him in full view of both armies. The...

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Battle of Warbonnet Creek: Showman to the End

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain. Buffalo Bill returned to the theatrical stage in October 1876. His new melodrama featured a reenactment of the duel with Yellow Hair. He displayed the fallen warrior's scalp, feather war bonnet, knife, saddle, and other personal effects to packed audiences. For decades afterward,...

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