Montana Meandering: Where Custer fell

  • Published
  • By John Turner
  • 341st Missile Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  The Lakota Sioux remember it as "the Battle at the Greasy Grass," the place where spiritual leader Sitting Bull's prophetic vision of a major victory over the Army was fulfilled.

The Cheyennes recall it as "where Longhair was wiped away," referencing the distinctive strawberry-blond mane that Civil War hero and national celebrity Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer was famous for.

But to many Americans, The Battle of Little Bighorn is most easily recognized by its popular name: "Custer's Last Stand."

In 1876, Custer, the field commander of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry regiment, was ordered to force Sitting Bull and his followers onto established reservations. President Grant's administration had grown impatient with the "peace policy" that sought to encourage Plains Indians to willingly concentrate at designated agencies in exchange for rations and gifts. Sitting Bull was a voice of opposition that resisted the encroachment of white settlers and construction of the railroad across Native American land.

When Custer's 1874 military expedition confirmed there was gold in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota--land then controlled and held sacred by the Lakotas--the United States attempted to buy the Black Hills area and open it for mining. Sitting Bull was defiant. The commissioner of Indian Affairs countered by imposing a Jan. 31, 1876, deadline requiring all Native Americans to report to the reservations or they would be considered hostile. The Army was tasked with enforcing this ultimatum.

As Custer approached the Little Bighorn River June 25, 1876, near present-day Garryowen, Montana, he believed the large Native American encampment his scouts had discovered that morning would offer little resistance. Concerned that his column had already been discovered and that the Native Americans ahead would scatter and flee, Custer decided to advance one day ahead of schedule and forego infantry support. He divided his regiment into three battalions and went into action.

Initially surprised by Custer's audacious mid-afternoon cavalry assault on their encampment and families, approximately 1,500 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors quickly organized a counter-attack. Custer and all of the approximately 225 men with him were enveloped and annihilated.

Approximately four miles away, the remaining 350-400 men of the Seventh Cavalry regiment lay surrounded and under fire. The siege would last into the next day, giving the Native Americans time to pack and travel away from approaching infantry.

While the Plains Indians won the battle, news of Custer's defeat shocked the nation towards retribution. Congress quickly scrapped its intentions to reduce the Army and instead increased the cavalry by 2,500 recruits. A heightened military presence in Montana that winter would hasten the end of the Great Sioux War.

Custer's last hours of life remains a mystery that has intrigued the public for 139 years. Generations of historians have attempted to piece together the final movements of his command while theorizing the factors most responsible for Custer's defeat.

Ultimately, a tour of the swelling ridges, deep ravines, and undulating coulees of the battlefield reveals how terrain influenced the outcome. Men could easily become isolated in the green folds of earth and disoriented in a clinging veil of gun smoke and dust. White and red marble headstones mark where individual soldiers and warriors fell on the field of contest, and serve as poignant testimony to the ferocity of the battle. The National Park Service's visitor center houses artifacts and displays, and daily park ranger programs help guests understand the battle.

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is approximately 55 miles east of Billings, Montana. To visit, take I-90 east to Crow Agency, Montana and follow the signs at exit 510 to the battlefield.

The battlefield is a fee area. Visit www.nps.gov/libi for seasonal hours and fees. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument can also be contacted at (406) 638-3204.

Independent tour guides can be hired between Memorial Day and Labor Day and tours last one hour. Additionally, NPS has 30 audio recordings that visitors can listen to on their cell phones for free as they walk along pedestrian trails or drive the self-guided tour in their own vehicles.

And for those who enjoy theatrics, the Real Bird family will present the 25th Annual Battle of Little Bighorn Reenactment June 26, 27 and 28 at 1 p.m. The event is on private property along a section of the Little Bighorn River that was central to the battle. Signs near the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument entrance will direct traffic to the event. Parking is available and photography is allowed. More information can be found at www.littlebighornreenactment.com including detailed driving directions.

Take the time to explore the rolling green ridges and sharp river bluffs of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument this summer. The scenery is inspiring in its beauty, yet evokes the imagination towards what happened when two cultures collided in warfare. And as you mull over this dramatic episode in American and Montana history, perhaps you'll draw your own conclusions as to what happened during those fateful two days of conflict.