On 29 December 1890, a group of Sioux, led by Bigfoot, arrived at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after hearing of Sitting Bull's death on 15 December. The resurgance of Indian spirituality in the form of the "Ghost Dance" was worrying the U.S. government agents in the area who feared violence. The attempt to disarm the Sioux descended into chaos that left nearly 200 Sioux, including many women and children, and 25 Cavalrymen dead. One can find many interpretations of the battle of Wounded Knee...many not calling it a battle, but a massacre. Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian Wars of west, in much the same way as it started... duplicitousness, misunderstanding, confusion, chaos and death to many innocents and warriors on both sides.
Read a few different versions and decide for yourself;
"Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1998).
Wikipedia
Bowling Green State University
Public Broadcasting Service

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Motorcycle Ride

Try South Dakota State Route 44 southeast out of Rapid city to Scenic. From Scenic, go south along bombing Range Road, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 27, Indian Service Road (ISR) 27, ISR-33 and finally Big Foot Trail to Wounded Knee. See map, here.

Maps

By the 14th of December, Union forces had been soundly defeated. The only question was whether the Union forces would be decimated by a further assault by a distraught Burnside or a counter-attack by Lee on the Union army who was trapped between Rebel lines and the Rappahannock. It was looking like the Union army might take a mortal blow. However, Lee missed his chance.
Lee had intercepted a courier that led him to believe that Burnside was planning another assault, so a couter-attack under the gaze of the Union guns on the opposing heights was discounted. It will be an eternal question of the outcome of the war had Lee taken the opportunity to destroy the Union field army that fateful day.
In the end, the 14th was a day of scrounging for food and tending the wounded.

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Motorcycle Ride

Try Rapidan Road from Culpeper to Orange for some quiet, reflective riding off the beaten paths.

Informational thread on Breakdown Insurance over at ADVrider. Short answer: check the KOA website for RV roadside services.

On the morning of 13 December 1862, the preparations were done and the day of reckoning was at hand.

Burnside had decided on taking the nearest hills, but had sent ill-defined orders to his left which resulted in a weak effort to roll up Lee's right flank.
As the morning progressed, A federal bombardment of the Rebel positions on Prospect Hill preceded the push from Union General Meade. Meade was delayed by the "gallant Pelham," for a critical half hour. Finally, the main assault was underway and repulsed once, but Meade was determined and found a way to defeat Confederate A.P. Hill through a marshy area. Once Meade was through, he found that the promised left flank movement was far too weak to support his breakthrough. Seeing Meade exposed, Stonewall Jackson threw Jubal Early's division into couter-attack and drove Meade out. A Union opportunity of great importance had been lost.
Over on Marye's Heights, it was a turkey shoot as the Confederate's repelled wave after wave of Union assult.
Burnside had been critisized for not being aggressive enough previous to Fredericksburg, so he decided that this would not be the case here. He renewed his attack on Marye's Heights and on Lee's right flank. This turned a defeat into a bloodbath.
The day was lost to Burnside due to weak orders and dithering in his preparation, not his lack of aggressiveness.

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Motorcycle Ride

For a motorcycle ride that also takes in the Spottsylvania battlefield, head west out of Fredricksburg on VA State Route 3, then head southest on Virginia State Route 20 at Wilderness and follow VA SR 20 for approximately 50 miles to Charlottesville.