Thirteen Ways to Think About the Connor Battlefield

Quiz Yourself

Here are some questions to ask before you visit the Connor Battlefield, while you’re there, and again after you return:

Who was Brig. Gen. Patrick E. Connor?
Describe the Powder River Expedition—how many columns participated? Where did they come from and where were they headed? What was the purpose of this expedition?
How many troops were in Connor’s column? Were they all soldiers? What as the size of Connor’s column in relation to the others?
What was Fort Connor? Where was it located? Was it always named Fort Connor?
How did Connor’s troops find Indians to attack?
Who did they attack? What happened during and after the battle?
How many people were killed in the battle?
What happened to the other columns in the Powder River Expedition? What did the Army learn from the experiences of the people in these columns?
Who was Black Bear? Where was his village? What happened to his village?
Was the Powder River Expedition successful? Why or why not?
What was its connection to the Bozeman Trail?
What happened to the Arapaho who lived in Black Bear’s village after Connor’s troops attacked? Where did the people go?
What happened to Connor after the expedition?

THERE ARE HUNDREDS of more good questions a person could ask about Connor Battlefield.

SEND US three interesting Connor Battlefield questions of your own. Be sure to identify your school and classroom teacher or note if you are home schooled when you send in questions. Contact editor@wyohistory.org for information on a 2014-2015 contest for submitting the most questions.

Note to Teachers

This lesson addresses a number of the Wyoming State Social Studies Standards detailed in the 2013 draft of Wyoming Social Studies Content and Performance Standards, benchmarked for the ends of grades 2, 5, 8 and 12. All are available at http://edu.wyoming.gov/sf-docs/publications/DRAFT_2013_Social_Studies_Standards.pdf?

More specifically, the lesson addresses Content Standard 4, Time, Continuity and Change, under which students analyze events, people, problems, and ideas within their historical contexts, and Content Standard 5, People, Places and Environments, under which students apply their knowledge of the geographic themes (location, place, movement, region, and human/environment interactions) and skills to demonstrate an understanding of interrelationships among people, places, and environment.

Under Content Standard 4, the lesson addresses standards SS5.4.4. SS8.4.4 and SS12.4.4, which call for students to discuss, identify or describe historical interactions between and among individuals, families, and cultural/ethnic groups, and standards SS5.4.5, SSD8.4.5 and 12.4.5, which call for students to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources, and how to use them in their research.

Under Content Standard 5, this lesson addresses the Human Place and Movement standards SS2.5.3, SS5.5.3 (which specifically mentions American Indians and the Oregon Trail), SS8.5.3 and SS12.5.3, and the Environment and Society standards SS2.5.4, SS5.5.4, SS8.5.4 and SS12.5.4, which call on students to understand how people in Wyoming adjust and have adjusted to their physical and geographical environment.