This skirmish and the wider hostilities at this time between Indians and outsiders was part of what is known as Hancock's War, named for a general who burned the village of a peaceful Cheyenne/Lakota band that prompted widespread unrest.. This particular engagement was probably not the Spillman Creek fight, but a different one called the Battle of Prairie Dog Creek. Frank's description of the encounter fits better with what occurred during this fight, so it is likely he remembered the events correctly but misremembered the name.

(Thanks to Leo Oliva for helping to clarify these circumstances.)