1860
Second Battle of Pyramid Lake
The setting
Pyramid Lake / Truckee River area, Utah Territory (present-day Nevada)
Same arid valley and river corridor as the first battle
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideUnited States volunteers and Army regulars
Recorded resultVictory
U.S. victory. The larger, disciplined force under Hays, including Army regulars and artillery, defeated the Paiute, who broke off and dispersed. Note: commander id william-ormsby is listed only for cross-reference continuity and was already dead by this battle; the second expedition was led by Hays.
How the atlas explains it
Numbers, discipline, and artillery firepower combined to negate the ambush advantages that had worked in May; the Paiute could not sustain a stand-up fight against a coordinated combined-arms force.
What followed
Effectively ended large-scale combat in the Pyramid Lake War and confirmed the pattern of the wider Indian Wars: superior numbers, firepower, and logistics overcoming Native tactical skill.