The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains tribes as the Greasy Grass Fight and popularly called Custer’s Last Stand, took place near the Little Bighorn River in Montana on June 25, ۡ1876. A combined force of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors clashed with the Uُ. S. Army’s Seventh Cavalry Regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
The battle, which ended in a decisive victory for the indigenous forces over Uُ. S. soldiers, was the most significant engagement of theGreat Sioux War of 1876. The events leading up to the battle were marked by profound tensions.
The Great Plains had long been one of the last strongholds of Native Americans in theUnited States. Before the Civil War, few permanent settlements had taken root therere due to the arid climate and the region’s vast indigenous population. After the war, as land grew scarce further west, the federal government pursued ambitious plans for the Plains, including railroad constructionand attractive land offers for settlers. Conflicts between Plains tribes and settlers, as well as government forces, became inevitable.
By the late 1860s, most Native Americans had been either confined to reservations or killed. Determined to avoid asimilar fate, other indigenous groups prepared for prolonged and intense resistance. To disrupt their way of life, the government allowed hunters to decimate buffalo herds to facilitate railroad expansion, explicitly encouraging them to kill as many animals as possible. As hunters slaughtered buffalo indiscriminately, indigenous anger boiled over, leading many to launch violent attacks on hunters, settlers, and railroad workers, regardless of age or gender.
Custer, who had served the Union during the Civil War, arrived in the region in 1866. By that time, hostilities between the military and Plains tribes were already in full swing. In the following years, he scored victories against indigenous forces, including successful campaigns against Cheyenne settlements. However, he recognized this was a different kind of war from fighting Confederate troops, acknowledging that the indigenous warriors were fast riders withfar greater knowledge of the terrain
In 1868, the Uُ.
S. government signed a treaty recognizing the Black Hills of South Dakota as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. Yet, in1874, a military expedition led by Custer discovered gold in the Black Hills. Despite theUnited States recognizing the hills as Sioux territory, the government attempted to purchase the land, but the Sioux refused to sell, regarding it assacred ground.
Exactly one year earlier, in1873, during a survey of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Yellowstone, Custer had encountered an attacking party of Lakota Sioux. That marked his first confrontation with Lakota leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, though it would not be the last
Custer was tasked with relocating all indigenous people from the region to reservations by January3, 1876. Those who failed to comply would be considered hostile. Instead of complying, many indigenous people left their reservations headed to Montana, joining the rapidly growing camp of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
The group, consisting of thousands, eventually established their settlement along the banks of the Little Bighorn River. Witnesses to the massive encampment remarked they had never seen anything so large. According to Oglala Lakota warrior He Dog, it had formed around March or April. Indigenous people arriving from distant reservations along the Missouri River reported that troops were advancing toward battle, forcing various tribal camps to draw closer together.
At least six or seven camps stood side by side, with the Cheyenne to the north and the Sioux to the south. Among the Sioux, the Hunkpapa band occupied the southernmost edge. Scattered along the river’s bends were the San Arc, Brulé, Miniconjou, Santee, and Oglala bands
Before the coming fight, Sitting Bull performed a Sun Dance ceremony to seek spiritual guidance and a vision of what was to come. He painted his body yellow asa symbol of the sun.
The ritual began with him cutting strips of flesh from his arms until they were soaked in blood. He then began to dance, and his people followed suit. The dance continued for two straight days until Sitting Bull finally received a vision. He foresaw a victory in battle, but the vision carried a warning: warriors must take nothing from the bodies of fallen soldiers, or the Lakota would suffer terribly.
Earlier, Sitting Bull had experienced many visions that had correctly predicted future events, greatly boosting indigenous morale
For the campaign, the Uُ. S. Army deployed three columns of troops, including Custer and his Seventh Cavalry, to round up the indigenous people and return them to their designated reservations. Soldiers were armed with Springfield single-shot carbine rifles and Colt.
45 revolvers. In mid-June, General Alfred Terry, Colonel John Gibbon, and Lieutenant Colonel Custer met up. After a group of Crow and Arikara scouts serving with the U. S.
Army found an indigenous trail leading toward the Little Bighorn Valley, they decided Custer would advance, surround the Indians, and wait for a larger force
Around noon on June25, Custer’s scouts located Sitting Bull’s camp. Instead of waiting for reinforcements as planned, Custer decided to launch a surprise attack the next day. While advancing toward the camp, his force of over600 men shot several indigenous people along the way, then divided into four groups. He ordered a small battalion to remain with the supply wagons, while two other groups, led by Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno, were instructed to attack from the south to prevent the indigenous people from escaping.
He sent Benteen to scout to the southwest to ensure no other indigenous force threatened them from behind, and ordered Reno to advance west and attack the camp’s southern flank. Custer led the final group of about210 men, planning to strike from the north
Reno’s group launched the first attack from the south. Startled, the indigenous people quickly grabbed their weapons, formed up, and began returning fire. Reno’s force of around100 soldiers engaged the enemy.
Among the indigenous warriors were He Dog and Brave Bear, who rode on horseback and circled the soldiers behind asmall hill. At that critical moment, Crazy Horse arrived swiftly witha strong force, vastly boosting indigenous morale. Facing attacks from two sides and realizing they were heavily outnumbered, Reno’s soldiers rapidly retreated, with the indigenous warriors chasing them up a hill. By the time they reached the summit, later known as Reno Hill, at least3 soldiers had been killed while trying to regroup
Meanwhile, Custer advanced rapidly northward.
He looked toward the Cheyenne camp and saw mostly women and children. He then divided his force, sending two companies west toward the river to relieve pressure on Reno. Custer and his remaining three companies continued north, seeking asuitable place to cross the river. On the south bank, hearing gunfire, Benteen’s troops rushed to aid Reno, and the combined battalions united.
At that moment, Crazy Horse and his warriors withdrew back toward the center of the great camp. Spotting soldiers advancing north on the opposite bank, they feared asecond attack on the camp
During this time, alakota Sioux group led by White Thunder began advancing eastward. Soon, many other indigenous warriors joined them, firing at the soldiers from within the tall grass. A massive number of indigenous fighters advanced from the south on that side of the river, soon attacking the two companies.
The soldiers fell back toward higher ground. Meanwhile, Crazy Horse continued his northward advance. In fact, White Thunder remarked that Custer had already been surrounded before the fighting even began. Custer ordered his men into defensive positions while he searched for asuitable place to cross the river.
Local indigenous warriors charged the soldiers’ first line, which was overwhelmed and scattered. They pressed the attack, and the second defensive line came under intense pressure. Custer moved to higher ground and sent troops to confront indigenous fighters approaching from another direction. After fierce fighting, many soldiers in the second line were killed or wounded and fell back toward the reserve line.
By then, Crazy Horse had effectively encircled the soldiers. As warriors attacked from one side, Crazy Horse charged directly into the midst of the soldiers, fully trapping them. Numerous soldiers were killed, while others fled toward Custer’s position, chased by indigenous warriors. Custer’s men, disoriented, dismounted and used their horses asshields.
Completely surrounded, Custer’s final position offered no further resistance. It became a massacre. The indigenous warriors charged once more, and Custer was killed along with every member of his battalion. He had suffered two gunshot wounds: one near his heart and another to the head
Some of Reno’s officers, who had gone out with their men after hearing gunfire, spotted from a distance ahill covered with indigenous people who appeared to be aiming at objects on the ground.
These warriors were no longer engaged in battle but were killing the wounded. Moreover, disregarding Sitting Bull’s warning, they were looting items from the dead soldiers. Officers stationed at Weir Point also saw ahuge group of indigenous people advancing toward them, the largest they had ever seen. Reno’s and Benteen’s soldiers formed acircular defensive position, and soon gunfire erupted.
They fought throughout the day until additional forces led by General Terry arrived. By that stage, the indigenous warriors were outnumbered, so they packed up their camp and withdrew, bringing an end to the worst defeat in Uُ. S. Army history during the Plains Wars.
By the battle’s end, nearly280 Uُ. S. soldiers had been killed, while indigenous losses were estimated at around160