I visited the battlefield of Little Bighorn because I’ve heard of “Custer’s last stand” all my life, but only vaguely remembered the details from my school history classes.  I had generally planned to head west again from Devil’s Tower, but Little Bighorn was only about two hours out of my way, and two more back, and a four hour detour has really become no big deal for me on this trip!

Going to the visitor’s center there, I was just on time for a 45 minute lecture by one of the rangers on the history and events of the battle, which was excellent, and easy enough to follow in spite of the detail.  At least one of the rangers there was a retired history teacher, though I’d say that he had a flair for drama as well, and he had us all engaged, adults and children alike!  Again, I can’t say enough good about the park rangers!!  I’m not going to recount the history of Little Bighorn here, but it’s interesting reading if you want to do your own research.

The monument at the top of the hill was engraved with the names of all the men of the 7th Cavalry who died there.

Several of days after the battle, the men were buried where they were killed, either on the hill during the last stand or elsewhere on the fields, but in very shallow graves.  Within a few years animals and weather had exposed the bodies, so they were later reinterred.  The body of Gen. George Armstrong Custer is now at West Point, and the officers were mostly returned to their families, but the bones of many of the unknown soldiers that died there are buried beneath the monument.  Markers indicating where they fell and were found are scattered across the landscape, some of them in peaceful but lonely spots.

While those who died with Custer in the last stand are clustered together near the top of the hill.  The site where Custer’s body was found is indicated by the marker with the dark shield.

Although fewer Native Americans were killed here, and many of them were returned to their families for burial immediately after the battle, there are still a few markers that indicate where some of them fell, these in dark marble instead of white.

During his last stand, Custer and his men were surrounded on a bare hill, and were being fired upon by the Indians.  In order to get some form of cover, they shot their horses and hid behind their bodies, which must have been very difficult for cavalrymen, and shows their desperation.  The horses were later buried together and a marker remains honoring them as well.

Custer as an individual, and the events of this battle, remain very controversial.  Accounts of Custer have him as both a brilliant and driven man, and also as an arrogant and overly ambitious officer.  Certainly he was noteworthy, and at 23 years old he was the second youngest general ever in the American Army.  It’s my understanding that this battle came about because in 1876 most of the remaining Native American tribes of the area were being forced to sign treaties and live on reservations, receiving government support.  A few bands, led by leaders such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, were refusing to sign and still living on their ancestral lands.  Custer and others were sent to control them, and with strong emotions on both sides, this battle broke out.  The Indians were protecting their way of life, and the Americans were clearing what they thought was a way for westward expansion.  Although the men of the 7th cavalry at the battle were all killed, and the Indians won a great victory, it was the last, and within a short time they were all living on the reservations.  So in a way, this was a last stand for them as well.

There’s a memorial on the battlefield for the Indians who fought in this battle as well, and lists many of their names.  Do you remember Rain-in-the-Face, who’s name I liked so well?  He was one of the leaders here.

Here are some of my favorite sounding Indian names from the memorial:  Rain in the Face, Singing Bear, One Who Walks With the Stars, Face Turner, Useful Heart, Brave Thunder, Good Weasel, etc.  But I also had to keep myself from laughing at some of the other names at this reverent site, because quite honestly, some of them were hilarious!  This is what happens when your friends get to name you (these are real names on the monument below):  Skunk Guts, Don’t Get Out of the Way, Scabby Head, Pretty Legs, Bad Warrior, Big Ankles, The Rump, Looks Like a Dog, Makes Widows Cry, Don’t Amount to Anything, Afraid of Eagles, Wounded Lice, etc.

When you look around at the grasslands, where they rode their horses and hunted bison long before the white men came along, you can see what they were fighting to preserve.  And you can see why the white men wanted this land for themselves.

There’s a cemetery at the battlefield, but I didn’t spend much time there, as it doesn’t hold the remains of many of the people who died in the battle.  It was a national cemetery until it was closed to further expansion in 1978, and holds the remains of veterans and their spouses from the Indian Wars, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War.

As I was leaving, looking out across the wide and wild, beautiful grasslands, thinking of the men who died here and their families, and all the consequences of this battle… I came across this group riding down the road.  A bit different than Indians hunting bison on horseback… but it was a beautiful day for a ride.