Sunday, May 28

Now entering the badlands proper, the Dakota Column began to advance along Davis Creek, encountering difficulties with the rain swollen creeks along the way, with the engineers hard at work building numerous small bridges. The first were done by firelight before dawn, and by the time the column halted for the evening a total of eight bridges had been built. While one of these bridges was under construction, two bored enlisted men, Privates William Williams and Frank Neely, posted as guards on a nearby outcrop paused to carve their names and unit into the soft sandstone before moving on.

Neely’s carving on the Initial Rock

For the Montana Column today came another boat with supplies and mail, as well as orders for Gibbon from Terry to prepare for his arrival. The large camp located the previous day was a source of serious concern among the officers of the command, but little could be done until additional men and equipment could be brought up. To facilitate this, Gibbon ordered all available wagons to prepare to set out the next day to rendezvous with the incoming supply train in order to lighten its load so that it and its escorts could increase their speed.

Williams’ caring on the Initial Rock

Lt. Bradley also noted in his journal that it was likely that the encampment they had sighted was preparing to move as well, having observed that it had already done so, coming to the Rosebud from originally being located along the Tongue River to the east. Thus it was considered likely that Sitting Bull was moving his people southward and away from the Army encampment, which had been located by Sioux scouts in the previous days of inactivity.

Research Trip

The Initial Rock was the first stop of the second day of the May 2026 research trip. After a short but bumpy ride across the backroads leading to it in the midst of the badlands, the site is modest, but features a small trail as well as the Rock itself, under a shelter and caged to deter vandals. The badlands country was indeed beautiul and desolate as Terry described, and it was deceided to return to the main interstate rather than continue northwest along the back roads to the next campsite of the 7th.

1. Dakota Column - CUSTER/TERRY - North Dakota Badlands/Davis Creek Canyon

2. Wyoming Column - CROOK - Fort Fetterman

3. Montana Column - GIBBON - Yellowstone River/Rosebud Creek

4. Sioux Encampment - US Intelligence position - Little Missouri River

5. Sioux Encampment - Actual position - Rosebud Creek/Yellowstone