Little Big Horn Battlefield

Picnic shelter at camp site

After breaking camp at the KOA campground in Sheridan, MT we continued west on I-90.  Visiting the Little Big Horn Battlefield was on our tour schedule.

Over 5,000 military graves, from
Little Big Horn to Vietnam
Click to enlarge

We did some pre-reading to expand our understanding beyond the Hollywood storyline as portrayed  in the 1941 film They Died With Their Boots On. A Visitor Center film gave us the national historical context of why this event occurred.

In 1868 a treaty with the plains Indians created the Great Sioux Reservation. The sacred Black Hills were included. A large adjacent tract of land to the west, called the Unceded Indian Territory, was not part of the reservation, but open to the tribes for hunting. Tribes not recognizing the treaty found refuge in the unceded territory.

In 1873 a world economic depression gripped the US.  To the relief of many desperate Americans, gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874.

Beautiful metal sculpture at Indian Memorial

Hoards of Easterners flooded the sacred Black Hills. The government unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the Black Hills. The Indians responded by raiding white settlements outside the reservation. Custer’s mission was to force the Indians back to the reservation.

In our view, Custer’s failure was as much due to his arrogance as it was his unwillingness to believe his  intelligence sources. Historians noted that Indians had assembled in the flat valley along the Little Big Horn River for the annual Sun Dance ceremony.  Here they gathered to pray for healing.  Individuals made promises and personal sacrifices on behalf of the community. Custer was to face not a few hundred, but thousands of Native American Indians.

Stone Obelisk

The main attraction of the park is the stone
obelisk marking the hill where Custer and the last 40 of his 210 men took their last stand. Nearby is an equally impressive monument to the Native American Indians who fought in the battle.

Quotes from Indian Leaders fill the
stone memorial 

A four mile circular roadway allows one to follow the battle.  At the far end is where Major Reno first attacked the Indian village in the valley and then retreated to higher ground.  Reno’s troops survived due to reinforcements from Captain Benteen. Simultaneously, Custer rode along a ridge paralleling the Little Big Horn River hoping to swoop down on the far end of village to capture woman and children fleeing Reno’s attack. These family members were to be used as hostages to force the warriors to capitulate.

Spot where Custer fell marked black

Stone markers show were Custer’s men fell as they retreated. You can see clusters of 12 or more stones where platoons took a stand.  Sometimes just a single stone is seen. Custer’s marker is just below the ridge line near the obelisk, marked with black for identification.

Battle won, war lost.  The Black Hills were lost, the reservation land reduced, and Custer became a quasi-American hero. Go figure.