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120-574: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 25 and 26, 1876, Battle of the Little Bighorn , near Crow Agency, Montana , in the United States . It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Armstrong Custer 's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota - Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho force. Custer National Cemetery , on the battlefield,

240-471: A bar and officers club housing. The First Hospital in Fort Laramie was built from adobe bricks with a log roof in 1856. It had two rooms with eight beds each. The First Hospital was expanded in 1858 with an additional room, kitchen, dinning, and laundry area. Then in 1871 a new hospital was built in Fort Laramie originally based on a military standardized hospital plan. The first wing of this hospital

360-475: A beaver dam. The river was named "Laramie" in his honor, and later settlers used this name for the Laramie Mountains , the fort, and the towns of Laramie, Wyoming and Fort Laramie, Wyoming . The original fort was constructed in the 1830s, probably in 1833–1834 by William Sublette and Robert Campbell . The overland fur trade was still prosperous when Jim Bridger and Tom Fitzpatrick bought

480-691: A brutal Wyoming blizzard. In the late 1860s, the fort was the primary staging ground for the United States in the Powder River Country during Red Cloud's War . In 1868 the parties reached a peace agreement codified as the second Treaty of Fort Laramie . The discovery of gold in the Black Hills touched off another period of conflict with the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne , as the United States violated their previous promise to keep

600-573: A day with the 7th since their appointment in July 1866. Three second lieutenant vacancies (in E, H, and L Companies) were also unfilled. The Army's coordination and planning began to go awry on June 17, 1876, when Crook's column retreated after the Battle of the Rosebud , 30 miles (48 km) to the southeast of the eventual Little Bighorn battlefield. Surprised and according to some accounts astonished by

720-564: A day, and could hold up to 40 prisoners in the lower level. The New Guardhouse was built to relieve the Old Guardhouse from overcrowding in 1876. Many ruins of old structures are present at Fort Laramie Historic Site, with the remaining structures making up only a third of the buildings that were once at Fort Laramie. With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the troops at Fort Laramie were withdrawn to fight

840-696: A firm Indian alliance with the Arikaras and the Crows during the Lakota Wars. The fight was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall , and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull ( Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ). The U.S. 7th Cavalry, a force of 700 men, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (a brevetted major general during

960-434: A grave and interred all the human bones that could be found, in all, parts of four or five different bodies. This grave was then built up with wood for four feet above ground. The mound is ten feet square and about eleven feet high; is built on the highest point immediately in rear of where Gen'l Custer's body was found ... Lieutenant Charles F. Roe and the 2nd Cavalry built the granite memorial in July 1881 that stands today on

1080-430: A lack of laborers, the cold winters, lack of water, and a limited supply of wood and stone in the surrounding area. One solution to these issues was the use of adobe bricks in building. Adobe bricks were a cheaper material that could provide needed insulation in the cold climate. Alongside adobe bricks, many buildings are made using concrete and some wood use as well. This use of multiple building materials gives Fort Laramie

1200-446: A lateral scouting mission when it had been summoned by Custer's messenger, Italian immigrant bugler John Martin (Giovanni Martino) with the handwritten message: "Benteen. Come on, Big Village, Be quick, Bring packs. P.S. Bring Packs." This message made no sense to Benteen, as his men would be needed more in a fight than the packs carried by herd animals. Though both men inferred that Custer was engaged in battle, Reno refused to move until

1320-431: A powerful argument in favor of peace, when the question of peace or war came to be discussed. On Custer's decision to advance up the bluffs and descend on the village from the east, Lt. Edward Godfrey of Company K surmised: [Custer] expected to find the squaws and children fleeing to the bluffs on the north, for in no other way do I account for his wide detour. He must have counted upon Reno's success, and fully expected

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1440-666: A professor at the University of Oklahoma . Battle of the Little Bighorn Most battles in the Great Sioux War, including the Battle of the Little Bighorn, were on lands those natives had taken from other tribes since 1851. The Lakotas were there without consent from the local Crow tribe, which had a treaty on the area. Already in 1873, Crow chief Blackfoot had called for U.S. military actions against

1560-547: A quarter mile ( 400 m). The companies remained pinned down on the bluff, fending off the Indians for three hours until night fell. The soldiers dug crude trenches as the Indians performed their war dance. Benteen was hit in the heel of his boot by an Indian bullet. At one point, he led a counterattack to push back Indians who had continued to crawl through the grass closer to the soldiers' positions. The precise details of Custer's fight and his movements before and during

1680-590: A semblance of an attack on the women and children" would draw the warriors back to the village, according to historian John S. Gray. Such was their concern that an apparent reconnaissance by Capt. Yates' E and F Companies at the mouth of Medicine Tail Coulee (Minneconjou Ford ) caused hundreds of warriors to disengage from the Reno valley fight and return to deal with the threat to the village. Some authors and historians, based on archaeological evidence and reviews of native testimony, speculate that Custer attempted to cross

1800-427: A small contingent of Indian sharpshooters effectively opposed this crossing. White Cow Bull claimed to have shot a leader wearing a buckskin jacket off his horse in the river. While no other Indian account supports this claim, if White Bull did shoot a buckskin-clad leader off his horse, some historians have argued that Custer may have been seriously wounded by him. Some Indian accounts claim that besides wounding one of

1920-573: A thin staircase. Next, was the construction of the Cavalry Barracks in 1872-1874. This two story building is the only barracks left at Fort Laramie. The Cavalry Barracks had two large rooms on the second floor, each would hold roughly 60 men. Another quarters, known as the Post Surgeon quarters was finished in 1875 and lived in for the next 15 years by the surgeon and his family. The post surgeon quarters have been reconstructed to resemble

2040-500: A unique aesthetic Built in 1849, Old Bedlam is the oldest known U.S. military structure in Wyoming and Fort Laramie's most commonly noted building. Old Bedlam served as the original officer quarters for Fort Laramie. It was used by officers of various rank and marital status, since no other housing was yet available. Old Bedlam offered very little privacy utilizing public kitchen areas and soldiers often sharing rooms. In 1881 Old Bedlam

2160-524: A westerly direction toward the Bighorn and Little Bighorn Rivers . As this was the likely location of Native encampments, all army elements had been instructed to converge there around June 26 or 27 in an attempt to engulf the Native Americans. On June 22, Terry ordered the 7th Cavalry, composed of 31 officers and 566 enlisted men under Custer, to begin a reconnaissance in force and pursuit along

2280-531: A while as Fort John ) was a significant 19th-century trading post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte Rivers . They joined in the upper Platte River Valley in the eastern part of the present-day US state of Wyoming . The fort was founded as a private trading-post in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade ; in 1849, it

2400-582: Is noteworthy to pinpoint that John Martin was temporarily assigned to serve as one of Custer's bugler-orderlies. As Custer and nearly 210 troopers and scouts began their final approach to the massive Indian village located in the Little Bighorn River Valley, Martino was dispatched with an urgent note for reinforcements and ammunition. Newspaper accounts of the period referred to him as "Custer massacre survivor" and "the last white man to see Custer alive". From his observation, Custer assumed

2520-542: Is part of the national monument . The site of the connected military action led by Marcus Reno and Frederick Benteen is also part of the National Monument, but is about 3 miles (4.83 km) southeast of the main site. The geography of the site is complex, consisting of dissected uplands, rugged bluffs, the Little Bighorn River, and adjacent plains. Vegetation varies widely from one area to

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2640-476: Is the sounds of nature. If you're here by yourself during that time, I know you'll feel like Indian people feel when they're here." Nighthorse Campbell is descended from one of the Cheyenne leaders who fought General Custer. The warriors' red speckled granite memorial markers dot the ravines and hillsides, just as do the white marble markers representing where soldiers fell. Since then, markers have been added for

2760-535: Is today Weir Ridge or Weir Point. From this vantage point, Weir could see that the Indian camps comprised some 1,800 lodges . Behind them he saw through the dust and smoke hills that were oddly red in color; he later learned that this was a massive assemblage of Indian ponies. By this time, roughly 5:25 pm, Custer's battle may have concluded. From a distance, as well as looking though his spyglass , Weir witnessed many Indians on horseback and on foot shooting at items on

2880-616: The 6th Infantry moved along the Yellowstone River from Fort Buford on the Missouri River to set up a supply depot and joined Terry on May 29 at the mouth of the Powder River . They were later joined there by the steamboat Far West , which was loaded with 200 tons of supplies from Fort Abraham Lincoln. The 7th Cavalry had been created just after the American Civil War (1861-1865). Many men were veterans of

3000-530: The 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer 's immediate command, Companies C and G of the 17th Infantry , and the Gatling gun detachment of the 20th Infantry departed westward from Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory on May 17. They were accompanied by teamsters and packers with 150 wagons and a large contingent of pack mules that reinforced Custer. Companies C, D, and I of

3120-400: The American Civil War ), suffered a major defeat. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were wiped out, and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, his nephew, and his brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (6 died later from their wounds), including 4 Crow Indian scouts and at least 2 Arikara Indian scouts. Public response to

3240-688: The Confederate States Army in the east. To take their place, a series of volunteer regiments soon arrived at Fort Laramie, including the 11th Ohio Cavalry , serving until they were mustered out in 1866. Between October 1864 and October 1866 at least two companies from various units of " Galvanized Yankees " (Confederate prisoners of war recruited in the Union Army) were stationed at Fort Laramie. On Christmas night in 1866, John "Portuguese" Phillips ended his historic horseback ride at Fort Laramie after riding 236 miles (380 km) from

3360-536: The Great Sioux War varied in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Custer's widow Libbie Custer soon worked to burnish her husband's memory and during the following decades, Custer and his troops came to be considered heroic figures in American history. The battle and Custer's actions in particular have been studied extensively by historians. By the 1930s Custer's heroic public image began to tarnish after

3480-538: The Powder River Country . His entire unit had been killed in a fight with the Sioux under Red Cloud , and he had ridden to get reinforcements for Fort Phil Kearny . Legend maintains that Phillips' thoroughbred horse dropped dead upon arriving at the fort; it is unclear whether Phillips kept the same mount for the entire ride. Phillips crossed hostile Indian country, and had to make most of the journey during

3600-632: The Sans Arc Lakota warrior Long Road and the Minniconjou Lakota Dog's Back Bone . On June 25, 2003, an "unknown Lakota warrior marker" was placed on Wooden Leg Hill, east of Last Stand Hill to honor a warrior who was killed during the battle, as witnessed and reported by the Northern Cheyenne warrior Wooden Leg . The battlefield is the final resting place of the western historian and author Stanley Vestal ,

3720-461: The Sioux Wars , which took place from 1854 to 1890. While some of the indigenous people eventually agreed to relocate to ever-shrinking reservations , a number of them resisted, sometimes fiercely. On May 7, 1868, the valley of the Little Bighorn became a tract in the eastern part of the new Crow Indian Reservation in the center of the old Crow country. There were numerous skirmishes between

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3840-593: The Washita River in the Battle of Washita River , an attack which was at the time labeled a "massacre of innocent Indians" by the Indian Bureau . By the time of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, half of the 7th Cavalry's companies had just returned from 18 months of constabulary duty in the Deep South , having been recalled to Fort Abraham Lincoln , Dakota Territory to reassemble the regiment for

3960-580: The Yellowstone River . Brig. Gen. George Crook 's column of ten companies (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, L, and M) of the 3rd Cavalry , five companies (A, B, D, E, and I) of the 2nd Cavalry , two companies (D and F) of the 4th Infantry , and three companies (C, G, and H) of the 9th Infantry moved north from Fort Fetterman in the Wyoming Territory on May 29, marching toward the Powder River area. Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry 's column, including twelve companies (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, and M) of

4080-415: The "scatteration" of the non-combatants with the pony herds. The probable attack upon the families and capture of the herds were in that event counted upon to strike consternation in the hearts of the warriors and were elements for success upon which General Custer fully counted. The Sioux and Cheyenne fighters were acutely aware of the danger posed by the military engagement of non-combatants and that "even

4200-523: The 1880's. Following this was the construction of the Lt. Col. Quarters known as Burt House in 1884. Made with lime grout concrete, Burt House was intended for the Lt. Col. and his family. Burt House is currently restored to 1887-1888 when Lt. Col. Andrew Burt and his family lived there. Fort Laramie also has two surviving guardhouses. The Old Guardhouse, built in 1866, was the second guardhouse in Fort Laramie. This building usually had guards on duty for 24 hours

4320-443: The Battle of the Little Bighorn, he asserted: Indians contemplating a battle, either offensive or defensive, are always anxious to have their women and children removed from all danger ... For this reason I decided to locate our [military] camp as close as convenient to [Chief Black Kettle's Cheyenne] village, knowing that the close proximity of their women and children, and their necessary exposure in case of conflict, would operate as

4440-587: The Big Bitter Cottonwood Creek. The earliest surviving photograph of Fort Laramie, taken in 1858 by Samuel C. Mills , shows the remains of the old adobe walled fur trade fort (Fort John) flanked by a cluster of scattered wood and adobe buildings around the parade grounds. After Fort Laramie was purchased by the military on June 26, 1849, numerous buildings were constructed in the following years. As construction began many different factors were hindering progress. Amongst these issues included

4560-681: The Crow. It was located near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers, about 40 miles (64 km) north of the future battlefield. The area is first noted in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie . In the latter half of the 19th century, tensions increased between the Native inhabitants of the Great Plains of the US and encroaching settlers. This resulted in a series of conflicts known as

4680-496: The Indian Agents that no more than 800 "hostiles" were in the area. The Indian Agents based this estimate on the number of Lakota that Sitting Bull and other leaders had reportedly led off the reservation in protest of U.S. government policies. It was in fact a correct estimate until several weeks before the battle when the "reservation Indians" joined Sitting Bull's ranks for the summer buffalo hunt. The agents did not consider

4800-449: The Indians had begun massing in the open area shielded by a small hill to the left of Reno's line and to the right of the Indian village. From this position the Indians mounted an attack of more than 500 warriors against the left and rear of Reno's line, turning Reno's exposed left flank. This forced a hasty withdrawal into the timber along the bend in the river. Here the Native Americans pinned Reno and his men down and tried to set fire to

4920-488: The Indians to prevent them from picking off men in the rear. The retreat was immediately disrupted by Cheyenne attacks at close quarters. A steep bank some 8 feet (2.4 m) high awaited the mounted men as they crossed the river; some horses fell back onto others below them. Indians fired on the soldiers from a distance, and within close quarters pulled them off their horses and clubbed their heads. Later, Reno reported that three officers and 29 troopers had been killed during

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5040-514: The Lakota and Northern Cheyenne were present "in force and not running away." Reno advanced rapidly across the open field towards the northwest, his movements masked by the thick belt of trees that ran along the southern banks of the Little Bighorn River. The same trees on his front right shielded his movements across the wide field over which his men rapidly rode, first with two approximately forty-man companies abreast and eventually with all three charging abreast. The trees also obscured Reno's view of

5160-645: The Laramie River". The remaining structures are preserved as the Fort Laramie National Historic Site by the National Park Service . In 1815 or 1816, Jacques La Ramee and a small group of fellow trappers settled in the area where Fort Laramie would later be located. He went out alone to trap in 1819 or 1820 and was never seen again. Arapahoe Indians were accused of killing La Ramee and burying his body in

5280-544: The Little Bighorn River. At sunrise on June 25, Custer's scouts reported they could see a massive pony herd and signs of the Native American village roughly 15 miles (24 km) in the distance. After a night's march, the tired officer who was sent with the scouts could see neither, and when Custer joined them, he was also unable to make the sighting. Custer's scouts also spotted the regimental cooking fires that could be seen from 10 mi (16 km) away, disclosing

5400-465: The Native American village until his force had passed that bend on his right front and was suddenly within arrow-shot of the village. The tepees in that area were occupied by the Hunkpapa Sioux. Neither Custer nor Reno had much idea of the length, depth and size of the encampment they were attacking, as the village was hidden by the trees. When Reno came into the open in front of the south end of

5520-460: The Native Americans that his subordinate Benteen, who was with the pack train, would provide support. Rifle volleys were a standard way of telling supporting units to come to another unit's aid. In a subsequent official 1879 Army investigation requested by Major Reno, the Reno Board of Inquiry (RCOI), Benteen and Reno's men testified that they heard distinct rifle volleys as late as 4:30 pm during

5640-550: The North Platte. The strategic site on the eastern plains also had large grazing areas, where migrants could rest their draft animals before tackling the mountains. People could set up camps, do laundry, and heal before beginning anew the rigors of the westward trail. In 1845, the nearby Fort Bernard was established about 8 miles (13 km) east, farther down the North Platte River, in hopes of getting some of

5760-522: The Oregon-bound settlers and Mormons heading to Utah, and westward travelers were estimated to number between 20,000 and 40,000 in 1849. The fort itself occupied a location where the westward trail diverged in the direction of either Oregon, Salt Lake City or California. Based on contemporary accounts travelers would remain at the fort several days to mail letters, exchange or purchase cattle , replenish their provisions and reset wagon tires. The fort

5880-469: The Rosebud, with the prerogative to "depart" from orders if Custer saw "sufficient reason". Custer had been offered the use of Gatling guns but declined, believing they would slow his rate of march. While the Terry–Gibbon column was marching toward the mouth of the Little Bighorn, on the evening of June 24, Custer's Indian scouts arrived at an overlook known as the Crow's Nest, 14 miles (23 km) east of

6000-551: The Sioux and Crow tribes, so when the Sioux were in the valley in 1876 without the consent of the Crow tribe , the Crow supported the US Army to expel the Sioux (e.g., Crows enlisted as Army scouts and Crow warriors would fight in the nearby Battle of the Rosebud ). The geography of the battlefield is very complex, consisting of dissected uplands, rugged bluffs, the Little Bighorn River, and adjacent plains, all areas close to one another. Vegetation varies widely from one area to

6120-700: The Superintendent of Mounted Recruiting Service and commander of the Cavalry Depot in St. Louis, Missouri , which left Lieutenant Colonel Custer in command of the regiment. The ratio of troops detached for other duty (approximately 22%) was not unusual for an expedition of this size, and part of the officer shortage was chronic and was due to the Army's rigid seniority system: Three of the regiment's twelve captains were permanently detached, and two had never served

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6240-400: The U.S. troops. On Memorial Day , 1999, the first of five red granite markers denoting where warriors fell during the battle were placed on the battlefield for Cheyenne warriors Lame White Man and Noisy Walking . The Indian Memorial (2001–2003) was designed by John R. Collins and Alison J. Towers, who won a national competition in 1997 set out by Congress. Constructed of sandstone, it takes

6360-409: The attack. With Reno's men anchored on their right by the protection of the tree line and bend in the river, the Indians rode against the center and exposed left end of Reno's line. After about 20 minutes of long-distance firing, Reno had taken only one casualty, but the odds against him had risen (Reno estimated five to one), and Custer had not reinforced him. Trooper Billy Jackson reported that by then,

6480-400: The banks of the Little Bighorn River. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument honors those who fought on both sides. In 1805, fur trader François Antoine Larocque reported joining a Crow camp in the Yellowstone area. On the way he noted that the Crow hunted buffalo on the " Small Horn River ". St. Louis -based fur trader Manuel Lisa built Fort Raymond in 1807 for trade with

6600-550: The battle are largely conjectural since none of the men who went forward with Custer's battalion (the five companies under his immediate command) survived the battle. Later accounts from surviving Indians are useful but are sometimes conflicting and unclear. While the gunfire heard on the bluffs by Reno and Benteen's men during the afternoon of June 25 was probably from Custer's fight, the soldiers on Reno Hill were unaware of what had happened to Custer until General Terry's arrival two days later on June 27. They were reportedly stunned by

6720-415: The battle's outset. Having isolated Reno's force and driven them away from their encampment, the bulk of the native warriors were free to pursue Custer. The route taken by Custer to his "Last Stand" remains a subject of debate. One possibility is that after ordering Reno to charge, Custer continued down Reno Creek to within about a half-mile (800 m) of the Little Bighorn, but then turned north and climbed up

6840-480: The battle. Custer had initially wanted to take a day to scout the village before attacking; however, when men who went back looking for supplies accidentally dropped by the pack train, they discovered that their track had already been discovered by Indians. Reports from his scouts also revealed fresh pony tracks from ridges overlooking his formation. It became apparent that the warriors in the village were either aware or would soon be aware of his approach. Fearing that

6960-501: The battle. He had died after the Rosebud battle, and it was the custom of the Indians to move camp when a warrior died and leave possessions with the body. The Lone Teepee was an important location during the Battle of the Little Bighorn for several reasons, including: The first group to attack was Major Reno's second detachment (Companies A, G, and M) after receiving orders from Custer written out by Lt. William W. Cooke , as Custer's Crow scouts reported Sioux tribe members were alerting

7080-464: The best-equipped and supplied regiment in the Army. Of the 45 officers and 718 troopers then assigned to the 7th Cavalry (including a second lieutenant detached from the 20th Infantry and serving in Company L), 14 officers (including the regimental commander) and 152 troopers did not accompany the 7th during the campaign. The regimental commander, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis , was on detached duty as

7200-425: The bluffs, reaching the same spot to which Reno would soon retreat. From this point on the other side of the river, he could see Reno charging the village. Riding north along the bluffs, Custer could have descended into Medicine Tail Coulee. Some historians believe that part of Custer's force descended the coulee, going west to the river and attempting unsuccessfully to cross into the village. According to some accounts,

7320-439: The brush to try to drive the soldiers out of their position. Reno's Arikara scout Bloody Knife was shot in the head, splattering brains and blood onto Reno's face. The shaken Reno ordered his men to dismount and mount again. He then said, "All those who wish to make their escape follow me." Abandoning the wounded (dooming them to their deaths), he led a disorderly rout for a mile next to the river. He made no attempt to engage

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7440-467: The camp and secure non-combatant hostages", and "forc[e] the warriors to surrender". Author Evan S. Connell observed that if Custer could occupy the village before widespread resistance developed, the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors "would be obliged to surrender, because if they started to fight, they would be endangering their families." In Custer's book My Life on the Plains , published two years before

7560-499: The campaign. About 20% of the troopers had been enlisted in the prior seven months (139 of an enlisted roll of 718), were only marginally trained and had no combat or frontier experience. About 60% of these recruits were American , the rest were European immigrants (primarily Irish and German )—just as many of the veteran troopers had been before their enlistments. Archaeological evidence suggests that many of these troopers were malnourished and in poor physical condition, despite being

7680-578: The community, as well as for making personal vows and resolutions. Towards the end of spring in 1876, the Lakota and the Cheyenne held a Sun Dance that was also attended by some "agency Indians" who had slipped away from their reservations. During a Sun Dance around June 5, 1876, on Rosebud Creek in Montana , Sitting Bull , the spiritual leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota , reportedly had a vision of "soldiers falling into his camp like grasshoppers from

7800-457: The day, and young boys taking thousands of horses out to graze south of the village. Custer's Crow scouts told him it was the largest native village they had ever seen. When the scouts began changing back into their native dress right before the battle, Custer released them from his command. While the village was enormous, Custer still thought there were far fewer warriors to defend the village. Finally, Custer may have assumed when he encountered

7920-400: The death of Elizabeth Bacon (Libby) Custer in 1933 at the age of 90 and the publication of the book "Glory Hunter - The Life of General Custer" by Frederic F. Van de Water, which was the first book to depict Custer in unheroic terms. The timing of both instances, combined with the cynicism of an economic depression and historical revisionism, lead to a more jaded view of Custer and his defeat on

8040-496: The early principal owner-trappers was William Sublette , and the fort was called Fort William before being sold to the American Fur Company in 1841. (John Jacob Astor, the founder, had left his company a decade before.) The name was changed to Fort John after John Sarpy, a partner in the company. The 1846 treaties established relatively stable western territories after viable routes west had become well published. By

8160-445: The end of the battle). Custer's body was found near the top of Custer Hill, which also came to be known as "Last Stand Hill". There the United States erected a tall memorial obelisk inscribed with the names of the 7th Cavalry's casualties. Several days after the battle, Curley , Custer's Crow scout who had left Custer near Medicine Tail Coulee (a drainage which led to the river), recounted the battle, reporting that Custer had attacked

8280-433: The ford and returning to Custer Ridge. The Lone Teepee (or Tipi ) was a landmark along the 7th Cavalry's march. It was where the Indian encampment had been a week earlier, during the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876. The Indians had left a single teepee standing (some reports mention a second that had been partially dismantled), and in it was the body of a Sans Arc warrior, Old She-Bear, who had been wounded in

8400-414: The form of a circular low wall that is topped with sculptor Colleen Cutschall (Oglala and Sicangu)'s bronze figure procession Spirit Warriors . Then-Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell spoke at the dedication of the monument:  "[...] Come back sometime early in the morning after a rain when the fog is laying in the valleys and things are quiet and the moon is waning, and perhaps all you can hear

8520-580: The forthcoming engagement. Three companies were placed under the command of Major Marcus Reno (A, G, and M) and three were placed under the command of Captain Frederick Benteen (H, D, and K). Five companies (C, E, F, I, and L) remained under Custer's immediate command. The 12th, Company B under Captain Thomas McDougall , had been assigned to escort the slower pack train carrying provisions and additional ammunition. Unknown to Custer,

8640-588: The ground, perhaps killing wounded soldiers and firing at dead bodies on the "Last Stand Hill" at the northern end of the Custer battlefield. Some historians have suggested that what Weir witnessed was a fight on what is now called Calhoun Hill some minutes earlier. The destruction of Keogh's battalion may have begun with the collapse of L, I and C Company (half of it) following the combined assaults led by Crazy Horse , White Bull , Hump, Gall , and others. Other native accounts contradict this understanding, however, and

8760-460: The group of Native Americans seen on his trail was actually leaving the encampment and did not alert the rest of the village. Custer's scouts warned him about the size of the village, with Mitch Bouyer reportedly saying, "General, I have been with these Indians for 30 years, and this is the largest village I have ever heard of." Custer's overriding concern was that the Native American group would break up and scatter. The command began its approach to

8880-517: The growing Emigrant Trail trade with western bound wagon trains. This much smaller fort undersold the Laramie operation. It offered a connection south via a crude mule-train road to the Santa Fe Trail via Colorado. Fort Bernard burnt down in 1866, and was never rebuilt. Only a few years later the transcontinental railway joined the two American sea coasts and train travel largely replaced

9000-406: The hills limited to the Sioux. Miners invaded the territory, and US forces came into conflict during the Great Sioux War of 1876 . Fort Laramie served as a major staging point for supplies and troops. After the completion of the transcontinental railroad , the fort's importance gradually decreased. Fewer wagon trains journeyed west, and regional Native Americans had been largely subdued. The fort

9120-419: The horses for the troopers in firing position, with 5 to 10 yards (5 to 9 m) separating each trooper, officers to their rear and troopers with horses behind the officers. This formation reduced Reno's firepower by 25 percent. As Reno's men fired into the village and by some accounts killed several wives and children of the Sioux chief Gall (in Lakota, Phizí ), the mounted warriors began streaming out to meet

9240-415: The huge encampment; he then persisted in his efforts to "seize women and children" even as hundreds of warriors were massing around Keogh's wing on the bluffs. Yates' wing, descending to the Little Bighorn River at Ford D, encountered "light resistance", undetected by the Indian forces ascending the bluffs east of the village. Custer was almost within "striking distance of the refugees" before abandoning

9360-534: The increasing strife of the 1860s, the fort took on a more military posture. Fort Laramie was never seriously threatened by Indian attacks during the quarter-century of intermittent warfare sparked by the Grattan massacre. However, a number of civilians were killed in the immediate area and their property destroyed or stolen during this period of hostilities on the plains. The last known death occurred in March 1877 on

9480-476: The leaders of this advance, a soldier carrying a company guidon was also hit. Troopers had to dismount to help the wounded men back onto their horses. The fact that either of the non-mutilation wounds to Custer's body (a bullet wound below the heart and a shot to the left temple) would have been instantly fatal casts doubt on his being wounded and remounted. Fort Laramie Fort Laramie ( / ˈ l ær ə m i / ; founded as Fort William and known for

9600-466: The many thousands of these "reservation Indians" who had unofficially left the reservation to join their "unco-operative non-reservation cousins led by Sitting Bull". Thus, Custer unknowingly faced thousands of Indians, including the 800 non-reservation "hostiles". All Army plans were based on the incorrect numbers. Although Custer was criticized after the battle for not having accepted reinforcements and for dividing his forces, it appears that he had accepted

9720-465: The native intruders. The steady Lakota incursions into treaty areas belonging to the smaller tribes were a direct result of their displacement by the United States in and around Fort Laramie , as well as in reaction to white encroachment into the Black Hills , which the Lakota consider sacred. This pre-existing Indian conflict provided a useful wedge for colonization, and ensured the United States

9840-479: The newly-established Fort Platte , built by Lancaster Lupton about a mile away from Fort William. The American Fur Company hired workers from Santa Fe to construct an adobe fort to replace Fort William. This fort was named Fort John, after John Sarpy, a partner in the company. In 1849, the U.S. Army purchased the fort as a post to protect the many wagon trains of migrant travelers on the Oregon Trail, and

9960-435: The news. When the army examined the Custer battle site, soldiers could not determine fully what had transpired. Custer's force of roughly 210 men had been engaged by the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the north of Reno and Benteen's defensive position. Evidence of organized resistance included an apparent skirmish line on Calhoun Hill and apparent breastworks made of dead horses on Custer Hill. By

10080-617: The next. The battlefield is known as "Greasy Grass" to the Lakota Sioux , Dakota Sioux , Cheyenne , and most other Plains Indians ; however, in contemporary accounts by participants, it was referred to as the "Valley of Chieftains". Among the Plains Indians , the long-standing ceremonial tradition known as the Sun Dance was the most important religious event of the year. It is a time for prayer and personal sacrifice for

10200-457: The next. The first memorial on the site was assembled by Captain George K. Sanderson and the 11th Infantry. They buried soldiers' bodies where they were found and removed animal bones. In his official report dated April 7, 1879, Sanderson wrote: I accordingly built a mound out of cord wood filled in the center with all the horse bones I could find on the field. In the center of the mound I dug

10320-630: The north bank of the Platte and North Platte, the fort was a junction for westbound travelers. It was an anchor roughly a quarter of the way to either California or Oregon on the famous Oregon Trail. To the west, the common trail leaving Fort John-Laramie later spins off to the Mormon and California trails further west along the road to the Rogue River Valley. The main trail passed northwest to Oregon's Willamette Valley and Oregon City . One of

10440-403: The north, including distinct volleys at 4:20 pm, Benteen concentrated on reinforcing Reno's badly wounded and hard-pressed detachment rather than continuing on toward Custer's position. Benteen's apparent reluctance to reach Custer prompted later criticism that he had failed to follow orders. Around 5:00 pm, Capt. Thomas Weir and Company D moved out to contact Custer. They advanced a mile to what

10560-590: The overland travel along the Emigrant Trails. The fort was purchased from Bruce Husband, a member of the American Fur Company, for $ 4,000 in June 1849 by US Army Lt. Daniel P. Woodbury on behalf of the United States Government . Three companies of cavalry arrived at the fort that same month, and Company 'G', 6th Infantry, which was the post's permanent garrison for many years, arrived on August 12, 1849. By 1849, gold seekers had joined

10680-541: The packs arrived so his men could resupply. The detachments were later reinforced by McDougall's Company B and the pack train. The 14 officers and 340 troopers on the bluffs organized an all-around defense and dug rifle pits using whatever implements they had among them, including knives. This practice had become standard during the last year of the American Civil War , as Union and Confederate troops used knives, eating utensils, mess plates and pans to dig effective battlefield fortifications. Despite hearing heavy gunfire from

10800-478: The place. The fort was located near the confluence of two rivers, so it commanded a broad plain with water on two sides; these formed a partial natural moat. In addition, the nearby confluence of the North Platte's waters had a ford easily used by travelers on what later became the northern overland emigrant trails following the North Platte River west from Nebraska. With the opening of the Mormon Trail on

10920-429: The regiment's position. Custer contemplated a surprise attack against the encampment the following morning of June 26, but he then received a report informing him several hostiles had discovered the trail left by his troops. Assuming his presence had been exposed, Custer decided to attack the village without further delay. On the morning of June 25, Custer divided his 12 companies into three battalions in anticipation of

11040-484: The region. Fort William was founded by William Sublette and his partner Robert Campbell in 1834. In the spring of 1835, Sublette sold the fort to Thomas Fitzpatrick , a local fur trader. After a rendezvous in 1836, it was sold to the American Fur Company , which still had a virtual monopoly on the western fur trade. Starting as early as the fall of 1840, the American Fur Company began competing with

11160-482: The retreat and subsequent fording of the river. Another officer and 13–18 men were missing. Most of these missing men were left behind in the timber, although many eventually rejoined the detachment. Atop the bluffs known today as Reno Hill, Reno's depleted and shaken troops were joined about a half-hour later by Captain Benteen's column (Companies D, H and K), arriving from the south. This force had been returning from

11280-415: The river at a point further north they refer to as Ford D. According to Richard A. Fox, James Donovan, and others, Custer proceeded with a wing of his battalion (Yates' E and F companies) north and opposite the Cheyenne circle at that crossing, which provided "access to the [women and children] fugitives." Yates's force "posed an immediate threat to fugitive Indian families..." gathering at the north end of

11400-596: The river or village was his final position on the ridge. Chief Gall's statements were corroborated by other Indians, notably the wife of Spotted Horn Bull. Given that no bodies of men or horses were found anywhere near the ford, Godfrey himself concluded "that Custer did not go to the ford with any body of men". Cheyenne oral tradition credits Buffalo Calf Road Woman with striking the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died. Hurrah boys, we've got them! We'll finish them up and then go home to our station . — Reported words of Lieutenant Colonel Custer at

11520-534: The same official government estimates of hostiles in the area which Terry and Gibbon had also accepted. Historian James Donovan notes, however, that when Custer later asked interpreter Fred Gerard for his opinion on the size of the opposition, he estimated the force at 1,100 warriors. Additionally, Custer was more concerned with preventing the escape of the Lakota and Cheyenne than with fighting them, as reported by John Martin (born in Italy as Giovanni Martino ), It

11640-443: The sky." At the same time US military officials were conducting a summer campaign to force the Lakota and the Cheyenne back to their reservations , using infantry and cavalry in a so-called "three-pronged approach". Col. John Gibbon 's column of six companies (A, B, E, H, I, and K) of the 7th Infantry and four companies (F, G, H, and L) of the 2nd Cavalry marched east from Fort Ellis in western Montana on March 30 to patrol

11760-535: The steeper foothills terrain to the west (sometimes called "High Plains") that ascends to the east side of the Rocky Mountains proper. This ascent was among the few roadways accessible by the wagons pioneers used to the west. It passed through the continental divide and reached the west slopes of the Rockies along a network of river valleys connecting to the far west via South Pass near the head waters of

11880-493: The subsidiary northern emigrant trails which split off further west. These included the California and Mormon Trails . The middle reaches of the Mormon trail stayed on the north banks of the Platte and North Platte rivers, and merged with the other emigrant trails heading west over the continental divide from Fort John-Laramie. The name "Fort Laramie" gradually came into use, likely as a convenient shortening of "Fort John at

12000-403: The time element remains a subject of debate. The other entrenched companies eventually left Reno Hill and followed Weir by assigned battalions—first Benteen, then Reno, and finally the pack train. The men on Weir Ridge were attacked by natives, increasingly coming from the apparently concluded Custer engagement, forcing all seven companies to return to the bluff before the pack train had moved even

12120-529: The time the westward migration along the Oregon Trail had markedly increased, the US Army had become tenants in the fort as well. The fort was located along the Laramie River just south of its mouth onto the North Platte River . On the opposite bank, the town of Fort Laramie , developed (both were later renamed to match the river's eponym). Geographically, the site is situated just east of

12240-425: The time troops came to recover the bodies, the Lakota and Cheyenne had already removed most of their own dead from the field. The troops found most of Custer's dead men stripped of their clothing, ritually mutilated, and in a state of decomposition, making identification of many impossible. The soldiers identified the 7th Cavalry's dead as well as they could and hastily buried them where they had fallen. Custer's body

12360-450: The top of Last Stand Hill. They also reinterred soldiers' remains near the new memorial, but left stakes in the ground to mark where they had fallen. In 1890 these stakes were replaced with marble markers. The bill that changed the name of the national monument also called for an "Indian Memorial" to be built near Last Stand Hill. Markers honoring the Indians who fought at Little Big Horn, including Crazy Horse , have been added to those of

12480-443: The unusually large numbers of Native Americans, Crook held the field at the end of the battle but felt compelled by his losses to pull back, regroup, and wait for reinforcements. Unaware of Crook's battle, Gibbon and Terry proceeded, joining forces in early June near the mouth of Rosebud Creek . They reviewed Terry's plan calling for Custer's regiment to proceed south along the Rosebud while Terry and Gibbon's united forces would move in

12600-401: The village after attempting to cross the river. He was driven back, retreating toward the hill where his body was found. As the scenario seemed compatible with Custer's aggressive style of warfare and with evidence found on the ground, it became the basis of many popular accounts of the battle. According to Pretty Shield , the wife of Goes-Ahead (another Crow scout for the 7th Cavalry), Custer

12720-480: The village at noon and prepared to attack in full daylight. With an impending sense of doom, the Crow scout Half Yellow Face prophetically warned Custer (speaking through the interpreter Mitch Bouyer), "You and I are going home today by a road we do not know." As the Army moved into the field on its expedition, it was operating with incorrect assumptions as to the number of Indians it would encounter. These assumptions were based on inaccurate information provided by

12840-434: The village would break up into small bands that he would have to chase, Custer began to prepare for an immediate attack. Custer's field strategy was designed to engage non-combatants at the encampments on the Little Bighorn to capture women, children, and the elderly or disabled to serve as hostages to convince the warriors to surrender and comply with federal orders to relocate. Custer's battalions were poised to "ride into

12960-412: The village, he sent his Arikara/Ree and Crow Indian scouts forward on his exposed left flank. Realizing the full extent of the village's width, Reno quickly suspected what he would later call "a trap" and stopped a few hundred yards short of the encampment. He ordered his troopers to dismount and deploy in a skirmish line , according to standard army doctrine. In this formation, every fourth trooper held

13080-400: The village. Ordered to charge, Reno began that phase of the battle. The orders, made without accurate knowledge of the village's size, location, or the warriors' propensity to stand and fight, had been to pursue the Native Americans and "bring them to battle." Reno's force crossed the Little Bighorn at the mouth of what is today Reno Creek around 3:00 pm on June 25. They immediately realized that

13200-578: The war, including most of the leading officers. A significant portion of the regiment had previously served 4½ years at Fort Riley , in Kansas , during which time it fought one major engagement and numerous skirmishes, experiencing casualties of 36 killed and 27 wounded. Six other troopers had died of drowning and 51 in cholera epidemics. In November 1868, while stationed in Kansas, the 7th Cavalry under Custer had routed Black Kettle 's Southern Cheyenne camp on

13320-479: The warriors had been sleeping in on the morning of the battle, to which virtually every native account attested later, giving Custer a false estimate of what he was up against. When he and his scouts first looked down on the village from the Crow's Nest across the Little Bighorn River, they could see only the herd of ponies. Later, looking from a hill 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (4 km) away after parting with Reno's command, Custer could observe only women preparing for

13440-467: Was completed in 1873-1874 but the original plans were never finished. Porches were added around the building to help with the harsh weather. Over the years Fort Laramie was operational, several more buildings were built for housing. Firstly, The Captains Quarters were built from 1868-1870. The plans for the Captains Quarters were altered midway through construction, resulting in a duplex with

13560-407: Was decommissioned in 1890. The original abandonment order was issued in 1889, and four of the infantry companies stationed there at that time went to Fort Logan , near Denver, Colorado that fall. In March 1890, about 30 cavalry soldiers and civilian mechanics under the command of Lt. C. W. Taylor arrived at the fort and removed doors, windows, flooring, and any other material from the buildings that

13680-491: Was established, which became the Fort Laramie National Historic Site in 1960. In a 1983 document, the National Park Service (NPS) describes a 536-acre historic district within the larger national historic site containing all of the historic structures, buildings, ruins, and sites, as well as a separate area containing a bridge. The NPS identified 36 significant physical remains that provide

13800-563: Was found with two gunshot wounds, one to his left chest and the other to his left temple. Either wound would have been fatal, though he appeared to have bled from only the chest wound; some scholars believe his head wound may have been delivered postmortem. Some Lakota oral histories assert that Custer, having sustained a wound, committed suicide to avoid capture and subsequent torture. This would be inconsistent with his known right-handedness, but that does not rule out assisted suicide (other native accounts note several soldiers committing suicide near

13920-465: Was killed while crossing the river: "...   and he died there, died in the water of the Little Bighorn, with Two-bodies, and the blue soldier carrying his flag". In this account, Custer was allegedly killed by a Lakota called Big-nose. However, in Chief Gall's version of events, as recounted to Lt. Edward Settle Godfrey , Custer did not attempt to ford the river and the nearest that he came to

14040-604: Was purchased by the United States Army . The site was located east of the long climb leading to the best and lowest crossing-point over the Rocky Mountains at South Pass and became a popular stopping-point for migrants on the Oregon Trail . Along with Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River , the trading post and its supporting industries and businesses were the most significant economic hub of commerce in

14160-490: Was taken over by the Army largely to protect and supply emigrants along the emigrant trails. In 1851, the first Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed, resulting in relatively peaceful relations between the whites and the Native Americans during the 1850s, though troops from the fort made up the small force that was killed during the Grattan massacre of 1854 under the command of Second Lieutenant John Lawrence Grattan . During

14280-467: Was thought to be of value to the government. The last soldiers left Fort Laramie on April 20, 1890. All but one of the structures were sold at auction to private citizens. The entire military reservation, which was nine miles long and six miles wide, was opened up to homesteaders for settlement on October 5, 1891. The federal government repurchased the site in 1938 and began reconstructing the fort for preservation purposes. The Fort Laramie National Monument

14400-512: Was turned into a duplex. Also originally built in 1849 was the Post Traders store. This store provided supplies for all sorts of people including the Army, Native Americans, and pioneers traveling west. Throughout the years the fort was running, numerous additions were added to the Post Traders store and complex. In 1852 the northern section was built from stone, this became the store headquarters. Additions were made again in 1883 to serve as

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