JBSinclaire's Blog: February 2010

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876

During early America, the Native Americans enjoyed very few successful battles. One of those successes was the Battle of the Little Bighorn or as many know it, Custer's Last Stand. In 1876, the United States was celebrating its first Centennial of Indepence from Great Britain and the progress developed during this time. The bloody massacre at the Little Bighorn was an embarrassing defeat for the Army and the US.

In 1874, the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota brought interest from white prospectors which resulted in a Gold Rush into the great plains even though these lands were granted ownership to Lakota (Sioux) Indians according to the Treaty of Laramie in 1868 (treaty signing at Fort Laramie, Wyoming 1868 pictured at left).

The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, irritated by the massive influx of white prospectors on sacred land launched counter attacks to drive them from native territory in the Dakotas and Montana lands. These attacks violated the treaty which would later result in war. Forced onto reservations, the Lakota Indians along with the Cheyenne Indians revolted. They fled from their the reservations and assembled in Montana, late 1875. Led by the great visionary, Chief Sitting Bull (pictured at right), the mastermind, Chief Gall and the infamous warrior, Chief Crazy Horse concoted their strategies to battle the US Cavalry.

In an attempt to drive the indians back to the reservations, the US Army sent the 7th Cavalry to corral the growing Indian army led by Lt. Colonel George Custer in June of 1876. On June 25th, Custer separated the 12 platoons into three batallions on a coordinated assault from three separate locations. Captain Frederick Benteen, Major Marcus Reno and Custer (along with native scouts from the Crow tribe) would command their companies toward the Little Bighorn River where they separated to strategically assemble their attack. What the Cavalry didn't know, was that they were outnumbered by 10 to 1.

George Herendon, a white army scout was assigned to accompany the 7th Cavalry to keep General Alfred Terry (Custer's commanding officer) abreast of the Cavalry's progress. In a letter published by the New York Herald, Herendons description of the battle was first hand. " We had proceeded far when the Crows came in on the run and reported the trail was getting fresh ahead, and that they had seen some fresh pony tracks." Herendon traveled with Reno across the Little Bighorn River. Reno's troops dismounted and "formed in line of battle on the prairie, just outside some timber...firing almost immediately began." Reno, almost immediately gave the order to re-mount. "As soon as the troops led by Reno emerged from the timber, the Indians closed down upon them." Surrounded, Reno's troop was relieved as the Indians went "down the valley in considerable numbers at full speed due the fighting taking place below them...Custer was engaged. The firing down the valley was very heavy. The heavy firing lasted from three-quarters of an hour to an hour and then it died away." According to an electronic source, "Custer ordered his men to shoot their horses and stack the carcasses to form a wall, but they provided little protection against the bullets. In less than an hour, Custer and his men were killed in the worst American military disaster ever www.eyewitnesshistory.com/pfcuster.htm."

Wooden Leg, a Northern Cheyenne Indian was eight years old at the time, his memory of this day where "many soldiers falling into camp" describes the battle at what the Indians called, the greasy grass. " Suddenly the hidden soldiers came tearing out on horseback, from the woods...but soon we discovered they were not following us. They were running away from us [probably Reno's men]...we whipped our ponies in quick pursuit. A great throng of Sioux were coming after them. I fired four shots with my six shooter. I saw a Sioux put an arrow into the back of a soldier's head. Others fell dead either from arrows or from stabbings or jabbings or from blows by the stone war clubs of the Sioux. Horses limped or staggered or sprawled out dead or dying. Our war cries and war songs were mingled with many jeering calls such as" You are only boys. You ought not be fighting. We whipped you on the Rosebud. You should have brought more Crows or Shoshones with you to do your fighting."