Crazy Horse had surrendered at Camp Robinson in May 1877, but rumors, rivalries and mistranslations convinced Army officers that he planned to flee or to kill General George Crook. Ordered under arrest, he was escorted back to the post on September 5. When he realized he was being led into the guardhouse, he struggled, and a guard's bayonet wounded him fatally. He died that night, still one of the most revered figures in Lakota history.
Crazy Horse had helped lead Lakota and Cheyenne warriors to victory over George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn in 1876, but a hard winter campaign by the Army left his people hungry and exhausted. On May 6, 1877, he brought about 900 Oglala into the Red Cloud Agency near Camp Robinson in northwestern Nebraska and surrendered.
Peace there was fragile. Army officers and rival Lakota leaders distrusted his influence, interpreters garbled his words, and General George Crook was warned that Crazy Horse meant to kill him during a council. Crook ordered his arrest. Crazy Horse went to Camp Sheridan, then agreed to return to Camp Robinson on September 5, where thousands of Lakota gathered to await his arrival.
He was led toward the post commander's office but steered instead to the guardhouse. In the struggle that followed he was stabbed with a bayonet, and he died of the wound that night, aged about 37. The circumstances of his death, and who struck the blow, have been argued over ever since, and his memory remains a powerful symbol of Lakota resistance.
Key people: Crazy Horse, George Crook