Paul & Tara Visit the National Parks: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Visited: March 2018

Nearby town: Hardin, MT

"There are not enough Indians in the world to defeat the 7th Cavalry"

-George Armstrong Custer

"This is a good day to die. Follow me!"

-Sitting Bull's rallying cry at the battle

In the southeastern corner of Montana lies one of the most storied battlefields between the U.S. Army and Plains Indians. The Battle of Little Bighorn, referred to by many tribes as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly known as "Custer's Last Stand," was a conflict between the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army and the combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho Tribes. It was the most significant battle of the Great Sioux War of 1876.

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, signed between the US Army and the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne leaders at the conclusion of Red Cloud's War, set aside the entire western half of present-day South Dakota as the Great Sioux Reservation. This reservation included the Black Hills, which the Lakota considered sacred, and the treaty provided that the region would be under the tribes' exclusive use.

A few years later, gold was discovered in the Black Hills, and many settlers moved in and began to encroach on Native American land, in violation of the Treaty. The Army attempted to keep some settlers out, but overall were not very zealous in evicting the squatters. In 1875, Sioux delegations met with President Ulysses S. Grant in Washington DC and hoped to convince Grant to honor existing treaties. Instead, government officials offered $25,000 for the Black Hills region and move the tribes to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). The tribal leaders refused to agree to such terms. The US sent a commission to the Great Sioux Reservation to continue to put pressure on Sioux and Lakota and other Plains tribes to allow white settlement in the Black Hills. Some tribes agreed to negotiate with the US and move to new, smaller reservations in the area. However, many Lakota refused to even meet with the Commission. The US government decided to consider these Lakota tribes that refused to negotiate as "hostiles," thus giving the Army a pretext to initiate military action. War over the Black Hills was now inevitable.

The Lakota were also battling with neighboring Crow Tribe in present-day southeastern Montana over land disputes. Pursuant to the terms of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, the Crow acquired the Valley of Little Bighorn River as part of their reservation. In the years leading up to 1876, the Lakota had hunted in this land without the Crow's permission and occassional violence between the two tribes would break out. Now, the skirmishes between the Lakota and US Army led many Lakota and Sioux people to live in the valley, without the consent of the Crow. The Crow decided to ally with the US Army to expel the Lakota from their reservation. Many Crow became scouts for the US Army.

The military campaign of the Great Sioux War of 1876 was overseen by General George Crook. One of its cavalry units, the 7th Cavalry, was under the immediate command of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer. Graduating last in his class at West Point in 1861, Custer earned a reputation for bravery and brashness fighting for the Union during the Civil War: at Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign. The 7th Cavalry was created at the end of the Civil War to fight in the campaigns against Indians in the West. In 1868, Custer routed the Southern Cheyenne at the Battle of Washita River in present-day Oklahoma, however the Indian Bureau at the time characterized the attack as a "massacre of innocent Indians." Crook sent Custer's 7th Cavalry to subdue Lakota warriors, led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Chief Gall, who were encamped in the Valley of Little Bighorn River.

On June 24, 1876, Custer reached the Little Bighorn River after a very rapid march (averaging nearly 30 miles a day). Custer's Crow Scouts, who were ahead of Custer, had spotted a very large Lakota village in the river valley. They also spotted something else - they could see the smoke of the cooking fires of Custer's regiment behind them. They warned Custer of the large village and likely large number of Lakota warriors, and also warned Custer that the Lakota likely knew the regiment's location (thanks to the campfires they had seen). Custer, fearing that the Lakota were now aware of their presence, decided to strike quickly and also hoped to attack before the tribal encampment broke up and scattered. The Crow Scouts thought such a quick attack would be unwise...the Cavalry had just finished a long, rapid march. Furthermore, the Lakota forces likely outnumbered them greatly. One scout, Mitch Bouyer, reportedly said "General, I have been with these Indians for 30 years, and this is the largest village I have ever heard of." Another scout, Half Yellow Face, also warned Custer "You and I are going home today by a road we do not know." Custer should have waited for reinforcements (the approaching 2nd Cavalry), but reportedly replied that the 7th "could handle anything." As it turned out, the 7th Cavalry numbered around 700, while the Lakota warriors numbered approximately 2,000. It's likely that Custer realized he was outnumbered, but probably had no idea by just how much.

Weakening Custer's position further, Custer decided to divide his 12 companies into three battalions. Three companies would be under the command of Major Marcus Reno, three under Captain Frederick Benteen, and five companies remained under immediate command of Custer. One company, under Captain Thomas McDougall, was assigned to escort the slower pack train carrying provisions and additional ammunition.

Custer's battalion stayed on the bluffs and advanced toward the Lakota village along the east side of the Little Bighorn River, while Reno crossed the river to the south of the village and began to approach along the west side of the river. On June 25, Reno attacked the village first, advancing across an open field on the south of the village. As he advanced, Reno's attachment quickly realized that the Lakota encampment was much bigger than they thought (many of the tepees were hidden in the trees or otherwise obstructed from view as Reno approached). Reno felt he was walking into a trap, and nearly 500 warriors fell upon Reno's exposed left flank. Reno quickly retreated back across the river, but the Lakota counterattack was brutal. Reno's companies attempted to escape towards the bluffs on the east side of the river, and luckily were met up with Benteen's companies marching from the south. The fortuitous arrival of Benteen likely saved Reno's battalion from total annihilation (as would befall Custer's battalion). Reno and Benteen took up a defensive position on the bluffs (now known as Reno Hill) and were able to hold off the Lakota.

The precise details of Custer's engagement with the Lakota have largely been lost, since nobody in the five companies under Custer's immediate command survived the battle, and accounts taken by surviving Lakota long after the battle are conflicting and or unclear. Suffice to say, Custer's battalion met its demise on the bluffs overlooking the river (now named Custer Hill or "Last Stand Hill") under the heavy onslaught of warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

The Lakota continued to attack Reno and Benteen's companies, until reinforcements arrived under General Terry on June 27. The Natives moved off in the opposite direction of Terry's approach. Crow scout White Man Runs Him was the first to report to Terry that Custer's force had "been wiped out." As news reached the east, many Americans were horrified that the Lakota had won such a commanding victory and referred to the event as "Custer's massacre" etc. The US Army sent thousands of troops to reinforce Terry and Crook.

The victory was short-lived for the Lakota. With nowhere else to go and arrival of more and more US troops, many Lakota moved to the new reservations in South Dakota. In May 1877, Sitting Bull escaped to Canada (Saskatchewan) and would live there for a number of years. Also in May 1877, Crazy Horse surrendered at Ft. Robinson, Nebraska. The Great Sioux War ended on May 7, 1877, when General Nelson A. Miles (who would later defeat Chief Joseph at the Battle of Bear Paw at the conclusion of the Nez Perce War) defeated the last "hostile" band of Miniconjou Sioux.

As for Custer, his wife and now widow, Elizabeth "Libbie" Custer, worked hard to prop up her husband's legacy, casting Custer as a heroic and gallant figure. At the time, most of the blame for the defeat was placed not on Custer, but on the "cowardly" Reno, or "untrustworthy" Crow Scouts. However, as time passed, more and more historians started to re-evaluate the battle and concluded that Custer made a number of mistakes, miscalculations, and tactical blunders that led to the resounding defeat.

In 1877, Custer's body was re-interred at West Point Cemetery. In 1881, the US Army placed a granite memorial on Last Stand Hill, that stands to this day. In 1890, marble stones were placed to mark where members of Custer's battalion (including Custer himself) fell. In 1940, the site was transferred to the National Park Service and designated as Custer Battlefield National Monument. Finally in 1991, the site was renamed Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and efforts were made to honor all people (including Lakota) who lost their lives at the battle.

Make sure to stop at the Custer National Cemetery, see all the exhibits and the film at the Visitor's Center, and walk the battlefield grounds at Last Stand Hill. You can also drive a few miles down the road and visit the spot where Reno and Benteen made their defensive position.

This is a somber place and well-worth a visit.