Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument- Custer's Last Stand

After an early dinner, Scott and I head over to Crow Agency, Montana and went to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, the place of Custer's Last Stand.  It was a short 15 minute drive from our rig to the site and the park didn't close until 8 p.m. and the visitor center at 7:30 p.m.  We arrived when the clouds were dark and so some photos are a bit dark and others are super pretty with the red light backgrounds before sunset.

So, to understand what this monument is the EXACT site of where the men of the 7th Cavalry, as well as George Armstrong Custer and Indians died on the day of June 25-26, 1875.  It represents two things, (1) the preservation of the Northern Plains Indians and their way of life and (2) the death of more than 260 soldiers sent to force the more than 1,000 Indians to move from their lands.  

Custer and Sitting Bull

While this particular battle was won by the Indians, in the end, they lost the war at Wounded Knee.  For decades they had been pushed out of their lands and they had had enough.  In 1868, believing it was "cheaper to feed than to fight the Indians," representatives of the United States Government signed a treaty at Fort Laramie, WY with the Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne and other tribes of the Great Plains and eastern Wyoming was designated a permanent Indian reservation.  The government promised to protect the Indians "against the commission of all depredations by people of the United State".  However, when gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, all that went out the window.  The Black Hills was in the heart of this new reservation.  While the army tried to keep them out, it didn't work as greedy gold seeking settlers violated the treaty.  So, the government tried to buy the Black Hills from the Indians to no avail.  Long story short, the Campaign of 1876 was to force the Indians off the Black Hills lands.  Generals George Armstrong Custer, George Crook and Alfred Terry and Colonel John Gibbon were sent to combat Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and other war chiefs including Pretty Nose, a female war chief who fought in the battle.

The story is too long to explain here, but needless to say, Little Bighorn was a disaster - with EVERY man in 5 companies losing his life - shot, scalped and speared plus hundreds of horses.  Not only were soldiers killed, but civilians also including Boston Custer, George Custer's brother, Mark Kellogg, a reporter and Henry Armstrong Reed, Custer's nephew.  Here is an in-depth history if you're interested.

archives.iupui.edu

Things you can do at this monument:

• Watch the 25 minute orientation video (here 3 podcasts videos)
• Walk up to Last Stand Hill where the 7th Cavalry Monument and Indian Memorial are located
• Walk the Deep Ravine Trail (1/2 mile round trip)
• Take an auto tour of the park (plan on spend 1.5 hours doing this)
• Here is a link to the auto tour stops
• Drive the 4.5 mile tour road to the Reno-Benteen Battlefield site at the far end of the park.

We started at the visitor center first to get oriented.  We looked around at the bookstore and then the exhibits while we waited for our orientation video to start.

I think the most impressive part of the exhibit was the painting I believe entitled, Here Fell Custer by Eric von Schmidt.  It is a 13 foot painting is the first to show the battle from the vantage point of the soldiers on Custer's Hill .  The details were amazing and thought provoking.

The visitor center exhibits were outstanding.  The political leaders of the day were Sitting Bull and President Ulysses S. Grant.  I've divided the exhibits in two groups - Col. Custer and his men of the 7th Cavalry and then Sitting Bull and his Indians.  Every item in the exhibit is authentic. I found the facial reconstruction of two of Custer's men quite interesting.

Elizabeth Bacon Custer (She is a very distant cousin)

Following the movie and museum, we drove to the top of the hill and parked at the 7th Calvary Monument and wrought iron enclosed fence.

The black stone belongs to George Custer.
If you look closely, there are many more stones down the hill.

Just across from the memorial is the Indian Memorial.

I found this interesting...Custer vowing never to kill another Cheyenne in 1869.

Indian prayer scarves are very sacred and never to be disturbed.

Sioux Warrior in the Battle.

Also, from the Monument and Memorial, you look down on Custer National Cemetery, as well.  Graves there are of Curly, Custer's Indian Scout as well as men and women of various wars.

It important to realize that where they stones are placed on the ground is the exact place these men died.  Everywhere you look, there are white stones.  If I remember correctly, the army remains stayed here for a year until proper burial was completed.  Some stones have no names while others do have names.  It was quite stirring and humbling.

A self-guided tour of Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument cell phone audio tour consists of multiple stops where you can listen to a narrative of solider and warrior accounts as you look out upon the graves.  Dial (406) 214-3148 to listen and click the link above for the tour stops.  There are 17 stops on the tour but, I'll just supply the map and details and you can get the ideas from the arrows.  I'll just give you photographs of the tour.  I've also put the map at full-size so you can see details.

(1) Indian Encampment, (2) Custer's Advance, (3) Valley Fight, (4) Retreat, (5) Hilltop Defense, (6) Sharpshooter Ridge, (7) Wier Point, (8) Medicine Tail Coulee, (9),Medicine Tail Ford, (10) Deep Coulee, (11) Greasy Grass Ridge, (12) Lame White Man Charge, (13) Calhoun Hill, (14) Keogh-Crazy Horse Fight, (15) Deep Ravine, (16) Last Stand Hill, (17) Memorial Markers.  Black lines is the motor route.

Also, there were Indians killed in the skirmish.  Many have brown stones on the battlefield while the army had white stones.

On the far side of the fight was Colonel Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen who were under Custer's command.  Reno was told to head to the Indian encampment of about 10,000 Indians from one angle and Custer would come in on another.  Once Reno got there, he freaked out and retreated.  Benteen received an urgent note from Custer ordering him to bring ammo pack and join him in a surprise attack on the Indian location.  Because Reno and Benteen didn't comply, it resulted in Custer's death and the complete annihilation of 5 of the 12 companies of the 7th Army!  While one could argue that they were the problem of this battle, even Pres. Grant's response couldn't be blunter: "I regard Custer's Massacre as a sacrifice of troops, brought on by Custer himself, that was wholly unnecessary".  Custer did have his faults...perhaps if he waited for the entire 7th Army to get there, things would have been much different with lives spared on both sides.  Maybe these actions are why he was last in his graduating class at West Point in 1861.

Sunset over the battlefield.

While up by Reno-Benteen's side, there was a HUGE spider on the walkway.

We were the last car to go to Ren-Benteen's area.  The park ranger came to herd us back to the visitor center as the gates were going to close.  While the visitor center was closed when we got back, we were able to go to the Custer National Cemetery.

Curly, Custer's Scout

This was a memorable experience.  I'm glad to have had the opportunity to come today.  There is a gallery online of photographs that are impressive through the NPS, as well.