battle, nineteenth century

Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake

Name: Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake
Start: 1863-07-26
Location: Dakota Territory, North Dakota, United States

Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake was a battle fought on 26 July 1863 at Dakota Territory, in what is now North Dakota, United States. It was part of the Sioux Wars, which ran from 1854 to 1891. The recorded result: United States victory. Recorded strength: 2,056 against 1,600.

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Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake interpretive sign. Kathleen Madigan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Fought26 July 1863

WhereDakota Territory, North Dakota, United States46.896N, 99.785W

OutcomeUnited States victory

BelligerentsUnited StatesagainstTeton and Santee Sioux

Casualties and losses1 deadand1–15 dead (estimated)

Battlefield todayDead Buffalo Lake battlefieldNPS site ND002, 9,506 acres studied, 1,587 core

Part ofSioux Wars1854 to 1891

Where it sits in the Sioux Wars

8 placed engagements of the Sioux Wars in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date	26 July 1863
Place	Dakota Territory, North Dakota, United States 46.896N, 99.785W
Kind	Battle, nineteenth century
Strength	2,056	1,600
Casualties and losses	1 dead	1–15 dead (estimated)
Commanders	Henry Hastings Sibley	Inkpaduta Sitting Bull Gall

The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. The dashed outline is the battlefield study area mapped by the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

Battle of Big Mound 1863, 18 km NE
Battle of Stony Lake 1863, 31 km W
Battle of Whitestone Hill 1863, 108 km SE
Battle of Grand Coteau 1851, 161 km NW
Battle of Killdeer Mountain 1864, 244 km W

In the same war

Before: Battle of Big Mound 24 July 1863
After: Battle of Stony Lake 28 July 1863
All 8 engagements of Sioux Wars

Elsewhere in 1863

Battle of Gettysburg United States
Battle of Chancellorsville United States
Battle of Chickamauga United States
Siege of Vicksburg United States
Battle of Camarón Mexico

The National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program maps this as the Dead Buffalo Lake battlefield (site ND002): a study area of 9,506 acres, with a core area of 1,587 acres where the fighting was concentrated; 9,504 acres retain enough integrity to be potentially eligible for the National Register.

Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 1,148 in present-day United States (7 in North Dakota).

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4870853, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Dead Buffalo Lake, revision 1377280785, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Battlefield boundary and area from the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (public domain). Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.