The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, was a victory for the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes against the US cavalry led by Lt. Col. Custer in 1876. The battle was caused by anger over white settlement in Indian Territory. The US cavalry underestimated the number of Native Americans and their terrain, resulting in their defeat. Custer and his men were eliminated by a pincer move by Oglala Sioux forces commanded by Crazy Horse. The battle was a disaster for the US military and the pinnacle of Native American power, but their power was slowly eroded afterward.
In the summer of 1876, the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes achieved one of their greatest victories against the US cavalry, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, which soon became known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The battle is also known as Custer’s Last Stand. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was the result of growing anger over the growing amount of white settlement in the sacred Black Hills of Indian Territory. The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians formed an alliance and left their designated reservation. Civil War hero Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his army, the Seventh Cavalry, were sent to drive the Native Americans back to their reservations.
The US cavalry lost the Battle of the Little Bighorn primarily due to underestimating the number of Native Americans who would fight and the terrain where the battle took place, which was around the Little Bighorn River in Montana. Lieutenant Colonel Custer divided his troops into three columns. One column was led by Captain Frederick Benet, who was given the task of preventing Native Americans from escaping upriver.
Major Marcus Reno was supposed to pursue the enemies across the river and attack their camps. His mission proved difficult due to his unit’s unfamiliarity with the Native American encampment territory and the sheer strength of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indian soldiers. Reno and his troops eventually had to retreat as Native American soldiers were hot on their heels.
Meanwhile, other Sioux and Cheyenne soldiers fought Lt. Col. Custer and over 200 of his men, the Third Column. The US cavalry unit was faced with a mixture of gunfire and brilliant warfare strategies. Just as Custer and his men were forced to retreat by Cheyenne and Hunkpapa Sioux forces, they were engulfed in a pincer move by Oglala Sioux forces, commanded by Native American leader Crazy Horse. This strategy allowed the Native Americans to completely eliminate Custer and his men.
Reno’s and Benet’s columns continued to fight long after Custer’s defeat. However, they managed to escape, as reinforcements arrived and forced the Native American troops to retreat. After the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the bodies of dead American soldiers were chiseled and mutilated by Native Americans, as, according to their beliefs, the souls of the soldiers would then roam the earth for eternity without ever ascending to heaven.
Lt. Col. Custer’s body was not touched, and to this day there are many questions as to why this was the case. One theory is that his hair was too short to be properly scalped. Another theory is that he was left alone out of respect, but this idea is far-fetched, since many of the Native American soldiers would not have known who he was.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn turned out to be one of the worst disasters in American military history, while it was the pinnacle of Native American power. The latter, however, proved to be ephemeral. Backup plans surrounding the Black Hills were rewritten to exclude the sacred area in order to allow for more white settlement, and battles between Native Americans and US cavalry intensified as Americans angered by the results of the Battle of Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel Custer. Whatever power Native American tribes had was slowly eroded after the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
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