The conflict was a result of increasing tension over several years between the Native tribes and the settlers who were encroaching on their lands, and competing for game and water.

Natives continued to attack migrant trains, especially stragglers such as the Myers party, killed in the Salmon Falls Massacre of September 13, 1860.

As Federal troops withdrew in 1861 to return east for engagements of the American Civil War, California Volunteers provided protection to the emigrants.

Today near Preston, Idaho there is a monument to the lives lost during this massacre, and in 1990 the site was declared a National Historic Landmark.

At daybreak on January 29, 1863, Colonel Patrick Edward Connor led approximately 200 Union volunteer soldiers in an assault on a village inhabited by around 500 Shoshone individuals, encompassing men, women, and children.

The Union soldiers suffered approximately 25 casualties, while the Shoshone losses amounted to over 250 individuals, including Chief Bear Hunter.

The topography encompasses Bear River and the meadows lining its banks, with Battle Creek flowing north-south, partially channeled by US Route 91.

The ravine became a significant battleground, offering protection for defending Shoshone warriors and shelter for unarmed Natives seeking refuge.

Additional efforts included the purchase of approximately 600 more acres in 2018, with intentions to develop a cultural interpretive center and memorial, honoring the heritage and history of the Shoshone people at the tragic site of the Bear River Massacre.

The Snake War was not defined by one large battle but was a series of guerrilla skirmishes between the Indians and American patrols from many small camps, taking place across California, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho.

Probably the best-known Indian leader was Pahninee aka Chief Paulina[2] and the most well-known U.S. Army commander of the Snake War was George Crook.

Many of the U.S. troops fighting in the beginning of the war were volunteer regiments from the states of Oregon and California and from Washington Territory.

The regular US Army called the period of their involvement in the Snake War, the Campaign against Indians, Oregon, Idaho, and California (1865–1868).