The grave of the unknown soldier
The battlefield.
A rare spot of light relief in the museum itself.
Our next stop was the Wyoming border.
The region we travelled across is termed the 'Northern Plains' however it was often hilly and interesting country to ride through. It was a shame that otherwise extensive vistas were curtailed by the still prevalent haze from distant fires.
We stopped briefly in Sturgis (of which more tomorrow) and then to our hotel in Rapid City. Had a good chat over beers and then most of the team ate together in the hotel restaurant. Tomorrow being a tour of the immediate locale - we went to bed with the welcome prospect of being out on parade ready to ride at 9 am rather than the customary 7 or 7.30 am.
Summary of Custer's Last Stand (from https://www.history.com/news/what-really-happened-at-custers-last-stand)
In 1868, the U.S. government signed a treaty recognising South Dakota’s Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. However, after gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, the government had a change of heart and decided to break the treaty and take over the land.
Custer was tasked with relocating all Indians in the area to reservations by January 31, 1876. Any Indian who didn’t comply would be considered hostile. The Native Americans, however, didn’t take the deception lying down. Those that could, left their reservations and travelled to Montana to join forces with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at their fast-growing camp. Thousands strong, the group eventually settled on banks of the Little Bighorn River.
The U.S. Army dispatched three columns of soldiers, including Custer and his 7th Cavalry, to round up the Indians and return them to their reservations. Custer forged ahead but things didn’t go as planned. Around midday on June 25, his scouts located Sitting Bull’s camp. Instead of waiting for reinforcements, however, Custer planned a surprise attack for the next day. He moved it up when he thought the Indians had discovered his position. Custer divided his more than 600 men into four groups. He ordered one small battalion to stay with the supply train, and the other two to attack from the south and prevent the Indians from escaping. Custer would lead the final group—210 men strong—and planned to attack from the north.
Reno’s group attacked first but swiftly embarked on a disorganised retreat after realising they were completely outnumbered. By the time they’d regrouped, at least 30 troops were dead. Benteen’s troops came to Reno’s aid and the combined battalions joined forces on what is now known as Reno Hill. They remained there despite Custer’s order.
The exact events of Custer’s Last Stand are unclear. What is known is that neither Benteen or Reno helped Custer despite admitting later they’d heard heavy gunfire coming from Custer’s position. Custer and his men were left to face scores of war-hungry Indians alone. Some historians believe many of Custer’s men panicked, dismounted from their horses and were shot dead as they fled.
Most of Custer’s men were armed with Springfield single-shot carbine rifles and Colt .45 revolvers; they were easily outgunned. Custer’s line and command structure quickly collapsed, and soon it was every man for himself. In the end, Custer found himself on the defensive with nowhere to hide and nowhere to run and was killed along with every man in his battalion. His body was found near Custer Hill, also known as Last Stand Hill, alongside the bodies of 40 of his men, including his brother and nephew, and dozens of dead horses.
After the battle, Indians stripped, scalped and dismembered their enemy’s corpses on the battlefield, possibly because they believed the souls of disfigured bodies were doomed to walk the earth forever.
The Battle of the Little Big Horn didn’t end with the massacre of Custer and his men. The Indians quickly regrouped and pursued Reno’s and Benteen’s battalions. The troops fought valiantly until General Terry’s reinforcements finally arrived. Now it was the Indians who were outnumbered so they packed up camp and fled, bringing the largest defeat of the U.S. Army during the Plains Indian Wars to an end. The Indians revelled in their victory for a time, but their celebration was short-lived, as was their freedom. When word of Custer’s death reached Americans proudly celebrating their nation’s centennial on July 4, they demanded retribution.
The U.S. Army intensified their efforts to hunt down all Indian outlaws and either wipe them out or force them back onto reservations. Within a year, most had been rounded up or killed. In May 1877, Crazy Horse surrendered at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, where he was later bayoneted and killed after an altercation with an army officer. After fleeing to Canada, Sitting Bull eventually surrendered in 1881 and lived on Standing Rock Reservation until he was killed by Indian agent policemen during a conflict at his house in 1890.
The dead at the Battle of the Little Big Horn were given a quick burial where they fell by the first soldiers who arrived at the scene. Custer was later disinterred and reburied at West Point. Other troops were also disinterred for private burials.
In 1881, a memorial was erected in honour of those who lost their lives. A trench was dug below the memorial to re-inter the remaining battlefield remains and a marker was erected where each soldier had fallen in battle.
While Custer never had the chance to defend his actions at the Battle of Little Big Horn, he needn’t have worried about his legacy because his widow Libbie had it safely in hand: She wanted her husband to go down in honour and boldly promoted him as a brave hero cut down in the prime of his life while defending his country. It seems Libbie Custer’s efforts paid off. No matter how it’s interpreted over 140 years later, Custer’s Last Stand is still one of the most recognized events in U.S. history.
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