Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Day 2 of my April 2014 road trip saw me continuing to cross Montana from north-west to the south-east where a legend awaited. At the junction of I-90 and US 212 is the Little Bighorn National Monument. As a child of the 60's I was raised on tales of 'Cowboys & Indians' and the wild west and, as with all kids tales they were heavily dramatised and full of absolute nonsense but many begin with some semblance of truth at their core, as it the case with 'Custers Last Stand'
The Battle of Little Bighorn (Named after the Little bighorn River) took place on the 25th &26th June 1876 when a force of 700 Soldiers from the US 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer were defeated by a force comprised of approximately 1500 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans.
Of the 700 US Soldiers 268 died and 55 were injured, amongst the dead was George Armstrong Custer, two of his brothers, his nephew and brother in law. The Native American Tribes losses are difficult to reconcile owing to lack of record but Sioux Chief Red Horse told Colonel W H Wood in 1877 that 136 died and 160 were wounded.
Last stand hill is little more than a bump in a wide open prairie with many such bumps around it, once there it is difficult to say that it would have been chosen as 'high ground' by Custer and makes the report of Battalion Captain Frederick Benteen who visited the site the day after the battle more plausible, in short Benteen reported "I went over the battlefield carefully with a view to determine how the battle was fought. I arrived at the conclusion I hold now – that it was a rout, a panic, until the last man was killed…"
From the visitor centre there is a concrete pathway that leads up to the hill and the small cemetery that marks the position of the fallen in that area, for those who are mobility impaired there is also a road to drive up. I should note there is a $10 entrance fee.
The Battle of Little Bighorn (Named after the Little bighorn River) took place on the 25th &26th June 1876 when a force of 700 Soldiers from the US 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer were defeated by a force comprised of approximately 1500 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Native Americans.
Of the 700 US Soldiers 268 died and 55 were injured, amongst the dead was George Armstrong Custer, two of his brothers, his nephew and brother in law. The Native American Tribes losses are difficult to reconcile owing to lack of record but Sioux Chief Red Horse told Colonel W H Wood in 1877 that 136 died and 160 were wounded.
Last stand hill is little more than a bump in a wide open prairie with many such bumps around it, once there it is difficult to say that it would have been chosen as 'high ground' by Custer and makes the report of Battalion Captain Frederick Benteen who visited the site the day after the battle more plausible, in short Benteen reported "I went over the battlefield carefully with a view to determine how the battle was fought. I arrived at the conclusion I hold now – that it was a rout, a panic, until the last man was killed…"
From the visitor centre there is a concrete pathway that leads up to the hill and the small cemetery that marks the position of the fallen in that area, for those who are mobility impaired there is also a road to drive up. I should note there is a $10 entrance fee.
Looking down across the prairie from Last Stand Hill you cannot help but think that this was a miserable and desolate place to breathe your last. This army of (mainly) Europeans who had left their homes so far away to pursue a new life and new hope in America died in panic on a hill in the middle of nowhere for a nation they were helping to shape.
The marker stone of George Armstrong Custer whose 'heroic death' as depicted by hollywood turns out to be (as is always the case with hollywood) far from the reality of that terrible day. Historians and military experts have torn apart the leadership involved in the battle and made accusations ranging from incompetence to naivety, none of which will change the outcome.
At the top of the hill is the US Army memorial stone and to the right you can see the visitor centre and parking area. To the far right out of shot is the Native American monument.
Between the two memorials are scattered markers showing where Native American warriors died, here on the left a brave named Limber Bones and on the right Closed Hand, the stones state that they fell whilst defending the Cheyenne way of life.
The Native American memorial is actually much more impressive than the US Army memorial above, the circular stone walls bear marble inserts that hold the names of the warriors from each tribe, many of which are intriguing on their own; 'One Who Walks With The Stars' for instance, how did he come by such a name, it clearly has a story all of its own.
Looking in the opposite direction from inside the Native American memorial is an excellent depiction which was selected following a national competition in1997 by a committee comprised of members from the Indian nations involved in the battle, historians, artists and landscape architects
The purpose of the gaps in the structure is to welcome the dead through the 'Spirit Gate' into the circle, the Spirit Gate looking northeast to the US Army monument is intentionally there to welcome the dead of the 7th Cavalry into the circle.
The site is also now home to the Custer National Cemetery which if walked through reads like a history of the US with graves of women and children from frontier outposts to those who have received the medal of honour in any one of the seemingly constant conflicts that continue to this day.
Side by side these two memorials demonstrate how little has changed in 140 years except perhaps we are now much more efficient in the killing of our fellow human beings so our graveyards need to be much bigger.
Side by side these two memorials demonstrate how little has changed in 140 years except perhaps we are now much more efficient in the killing of our fellow human beings so our graveyards need to be much bigger.