Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument serves as a memorial for those lost in the clash between the 7th Regiment of the U.S. Calvary and warriors from the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. The battle itself has been more commonly referred to as "Custer's Last Stand" due in part to the actions that cost General George Armstrong Custer and a majority of the regiment to lose their lives fighting an overwhelming amount of Native American fighters. In the decades since this infamous battle, scholars and historians alike have been trying to determine why Custer, an experienced military leader in the Civil War, made the fateful decision to divide his forces and advance against a substantial force of Native American warriors. While he was remembered as a martyr by most white Americans for the first century after the battle, most today focus on his ill-advised decisions and the military skill of Native American leaders such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Aftermath
Almost a year after the battle and due to the Army's efforts in tracking down those involved many native Americans had been caught or killed. In 1877 Crazy Horse surrendered to the U.S. Army, and was later killed for getting into a fight with an Officer. Sitting Bull would surrender in 1881, and was later killed by Indian Agent Policemen in 1890. The Battle of Little Bighorn was overall a short-lived victory for the Native Americans as they would later lose what they were fighting for.
Legacy
The battle to this day plays an interesting piece in American Military History and many theories have emerged about it describing the events. Some believe Custer was too aggressive in his actions and led his men to their fate, another theory is that Custers officers didn't move to relieve Custer's force as they were too afraid to move, which could have changed the outcome. Many of the fallen were buried at the sight of the battle when the Army first returned, Some were transferred for private funerals, and Custer was eventually buried at West Point.
Sources
Accessed February 25, 2019. https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/battle-story.htm
2. McDermott, Annette. What Really Happened at Custer's Last Stand?. History. February 13, 2019. Accessed May 10, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/what-really-happened-at-custers-last-stand.
3. Connell, Evan S. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876. EyeWitness to History. 1997. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/custer.htm.