Rogue River Wars The Rogue River Wars was an armed conflict in 1855 – 56 between the US Army , local militias and volunteers , and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians , in the Rogue River Valley area of what today is southern Oregon . While the conflict designation usually includes only the hostilities that took place during the mentioned period of time , numerous previous skirmishes had been escalating in the area , eventually breaking into open warfare . Origins . The interaction of the Rogue River Indians and the first settlers who established homesteads in the area was relatively peaceful . However , the situation changed drastically with the opening of the Oregon Trail and the gold rushes in northern California and later in eastern Oregon . Larger groups of settlers and miners entered the area , consuming without restrictions the natural resources upon which the Indians relied on for living , like hunting , fishing and chopping down entire forests of oak trees . The first recorded hostilities can be traced to American Ewing Young ’ s travel to Oregon in 1834 when his party murdered several natives and buried their bodies on the island where the party was camped . These bodies were later discovered by the local tribe and led to a retaliation the next year when an American fur trapping party passed through and was attacked by the Indians . Four of the eight European - Americans were killed with William J . Bailey and George Gay as two survivors . Then in 1837 ( as part of the Willamette Cattle Company ) Bailey , Gay and others were herding cattle north to the Willamette Valley when Gay shot and killed a native boy for no other reason than in retaliation for the previous attacks years earlier . The local indians were unsuccessful in seeking vengeance during the remainder of the cattle drive as only a few animals were lost to their attacks . History . The " Guide to the Cayuse , Yakima , and Rogue River Wars Papers 1847 - 1858 " at the University of Oregon summarizes the war as follows : Throughout the 1850s Governor Stevens of the Washington Territory clashed with the US Army over Indian policy : Stevens wanted to displace Indians and take their land , but the army opposed land grabs . White settlers in the Rogue River area began to attack Indian villages , and Captain Smith , commandant of Fort Lane , often interposed his men between the Indians and the settlers . In October 1855 , he took Indian women and children into the fort for their own safety ; but a mob of settlers raided their village , killing 27 Indians . The Indians killed 27 settlers expecting to settle the score , but the settlers continued to attack Indian camps through the winter . On May 27 , 1856 Captain Smith arranged the surrender of the Indians to the US Army , but the Indians attacked the soldiers instead . The commander fought the Indians until reinforcements arrived the next day ; the Indians retreated . A month later they surrendered and were sent to reservations . The Battle of Hungry Hill . The Battle of Hungry Hill , the largest battle of the Rogue River Wars , occurred on Oct . 31 , 1855 , Two hundred Native Americans , located in the mountains " southwest of present - day Roseburg " and armed with muzzleloader s and bows and arrows managed to hold off a group of " more than 300 . . . dragoons , militiamen and volunteers . " The Native Americans were " camped with their women and children " on the top of a hill , with the soldiers located across a narrow ravine about 1 , 500 feet deep . The U . S . troops had planned a surprise attack , but their position was given away by a warning fire . Seeing that they had been discovered , the soldiers attempted to charge down the ravine and up the other side , but were thwarted , as the Native Americans had good cover in the high ground , and many proved to be good marksmen . " U . S . troops and militiamen retreated out of the mountains . . . As many as 36 were dead , missing or severely wounded . Native casualties numbered fewer than 20 . " In 2012 , the location of the Battle of Hungry Hill was discovered by Southern Oregon University Laboratory of Anthropology archaeologists . Archaeologist Mark Tveskov , who discovered the site using metal detectors , states that although this battle involving 500 people was a " major defeat " for U . S . troops , it is not well known for a variety of reasons , such as " the disappointment and blame among militiamen and Army regulars over the defeat . Back then , Oregon telegraph cables were in their infancy , and photographers who would document the Civil War several years later were not on hand . If Hungry Hill had happened after the Civil War , it would have been front - page news in The New York Times . "