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General George A. Custer
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The battle, which resulted in the defeat of U.S. forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25–26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana Territory.
- June 25–26, 1876
- Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho victory
- Battle of the Little Bighorn: Mounting Tensions
- Battle of the Little Bighorn: Custer’s Last Stand
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Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (c.1840-77), leaders of the Sioux on the Great Plains, strongly resisted the mid-19th-century efforts of the U.S. government to confine their people to Indian reservations. In 1875, after gold was discovered in South Dakota’s Black Hills, the U.S. Army ignored previous treaty agreements and invaded the region. This betrayal led many Sioux and Cheyenne tribesmen to leave their reservations and join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. By the late spring of 1876, more than 10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a camp along the Little Bighorn River–which they called the Greasy Grass–in defiance of a U.S. War Department order to return to their reservations or risk being attacked.
Did you know? Several members of George Armstrong Custer's family were also killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, including two of his brothers, his brother-in-law and a nephew.
At mid-day on June 25, Custer’s 600 men entered the Little Bighorn Valley. Among the Native Americans, word quickly spread of the impending attack. The older Sitting Bull rallied the warriors and saw to the safety of the women and children, while Crazy Horse set off with a large force to meet the attackers head on. Despite Custer’s desperate attempts to regroup his men, they were quickly overwhelmed. Custer and some 200 men in his battalion were attacked by as many as 3,000 Native Americans; within an hour, Custer and all of his soldiers were dead.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custer’s Last Stand, marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. The demise of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.
Learn about the 1876 clash between U.S. troops led by Custer and Native Americans under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Find out the causes, significance and aftermath of this decisive Indian victory and U.S. Army defeat.
May 8, 2024 · Battle of the Little Bighorn, battle at the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory on June 25, 1876, between U.S. federal troops led by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and Northern Plains Indians (Lakota and Northern Cheyenne) led by Sitting Bull.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought along the ridges, steep bluffs, and ravines of the Little Bighorn River, in south-central Montana on June 25-26, 1876. The combatants were warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, battling men of the 7 th Regiment of the US Cavalry, along with their Crow, and Arikara scouts.
Feb 27, 2018 · Learn about the most ferocious battle of the Sioux Wars, where Custer and his men were killed by Lakota and Cheyenne warriors in 1876. Explore the background, events and aftermath of the conflict that became known as Custer's Last Stand.
- Annette Mcdermott
A new book by Thomas Powers tells the story of the 1876 battle from the Indian perspective, based on accounts of more than 50 participants or witnesses. Learn how Custer and his men were outnumbered and outflanked by a coalition of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho.
Apr 23, 2024 · Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer’s Last Stand, (June 25, 1876) Battle at the Little Bighorn River, Montana Territory, U.S., between federal troops led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and Lakota and Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull.
