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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
- Custer’s Early Life Was Less Than Auspicious
- The Plains Indians Show Tremendous Fortitude
- Custer Goes AWOL and Is Court-Martialed by The U.S. Army.
- Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse: Battle-Hardened Warriors
- Background to The Battle of The Little Bighorn
- Custer's ‘Last Stand’ Becomes A Slaughter
- Custer Dies by Two Bullet Wounds
- Reaction to The Little Big Horn Spells Doom For The Plains Indians
- 'Custer's Last Stand' Becomes A Manufactured Legacy
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George Armstrong Custer, born in Ohio in 1839, earned a certificate for teaching grammar school in 1856 but had much grander goals. The following year, he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was a less-than-stellar cadet: Custer graduated dead last in his class of 1861. When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Custer joined...
The Great Plains were the last Native American holdout in America. As settlers colonized the far west before the Civil War, few had put down roots in the Plains due to its dry weather and large Indigenous populations. But after the Civil War, far-west land became scarcer and the U.S. government granted 10 percent of Plains land to settlers and rail...
Custer’s first assignment was helping Major General Winfield S. Hancock carry out a shock-and-awe campaign to overwhelm the tribal nations. At the end of the campaign, Custer deserted and joined his wife at Fort Riley. He was court-martialed in 1867 and suspended without rank and pay for one year. The fact that Custer—a highly-decorated and well-re...
In 1873, Custer faced a group of attacking Lakota at the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey at Yellowstone. It was his first encounter with Lakota leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, but it wouldn’t be his last. Little did Custer know at the time the two Indigenous leaders would play a role in his death a few years later. In 1868, the U.S. governme...
The U.S. Army dispatched three columns of soldiers, including Custer and his 7th Cavalry, to round up Indigenous people and return them to their reservations. The plan was for Custer’s cavalry and Brigadier General Alfred Terry’s infantry to rendezvous with troops under the command of Colonel John Gibbon and Brigadier General George Crook. They’d t...
The exact events of Custer’s Last Stand are unclear. What is known is that neither Benteen or Reno helped Custer despite admitting later they’d heard heavy gunfire coming from Custer’s position. Custer and his men were left to face scores of Native American warriors alone. Some historians believe many of Custer’s men panicked, dismounted from their...
In the end, Custer found himself on the defensive with nowhere to hide and nowhere to run and was killed along with every man in his battalion. His body was found near Custer Hill, also known as Last Stand Hill, alongside the bodies of 40 of his men, including his brother and nephew, and dozens of dead horses. Custer had suffered two bullet wounds,...
The Battle of the Little Big Horn didn’t end with the massacre of Custer and his men. The Native Americans quickly regrouped and pursued Reno’s and Benteen’s battalions. The troops fought until General Terry’s reinforcements finally arrived. Now it was the Native Americans who were outnumbered so they packed up camp and fled, bringing the largest d...
The Battle of the Little Bighorn—aka Custer’s Last Stand—is steeped in controversy. To this day, many people question his actions that fateful day. He’s often accused of arrogance for not following the original battle plan and leading his men to certain death. Yet it’s possible Custer believed reinforcements were on the way and wanted to strike bef...
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
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. Custer and all the men under his immediate command were slain.
Dec 19, 2023 · Learn about the 1876 battle between the US Army and the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes at Little Bighorn, Montana. Explore the history, culture, and memorials of this place of reflection.
Dec 2, 2009 · 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 pivotal battle in the Plains Indian War.
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.
May 17, 2024 · Things to do. Visit the museum and Bookstore. Watch the video "Triumph & Tragedy Along The Little Bighorn" as an orientation to the Battlefield. Walk down the Deep Ravine trail. Visit Custer's Last Stand Hill, 7th Cavalry Monument, and Indian Memorial. Drive the 4.5 mile tour road to Reno - Benteen Entrenchment site and walk the self-guided tour.
