Crazy Horse Research Paper

Of course, as soon as rumors that the Black Hills contained gold began to circulate, this promise became as empty as any others made by the 'Great White Father' to native peoples. And on May 17th 1876, the breaking of this treaty precipitated the crushing defeat of the 7th Calvary at the hands of the Sioux nation led by the defiant, "You need not bring any guides; you can find me easily. I will not run away" , Sitting Bull (Cooke 136) in the Battle of Little Bighorn (Cooke 133-151). But this battle, though a victory over the Anglo invaders, was temporary and short-lived. By September 5, 1877 Crazy Horse was dead, Sitting Bull was in exile in Canada and "…in all the Great Plains, from Canada south, there was no longer a free tribe or a "wild" Indian. It had not taken long; in 1840 the boundary of the permanent Indian Country had been completed and the Great Plains were to belong forever to Indians. A mere thirty-seven years later every solemn promise had been broken and no bit of ground large enough to be buried in remained to any Indian that could not--and probably would--be arbitrarily taken from him without warning" (Andrist 300). The Westward expansion was on, and the push to break up and the sell the Great Sioux Reservation was supported by a "westward-pushing railroad [and] promoters eager for cheap land to be sold at high profits to immigrants"

Social. "The honor of his country weighed lightly in the scale against the glorious name of ‘Geo. A Custer’. The hardship and danger to his men were worthy of little consideration when dim visions of a star (promotion) floated before the excited mind of our Lieutenant-Colonel." T Ewert, Private 7th Cavalry. Custer was a glory hunter and would let nothing stand in his way. The pact that he had made with the Lakota meant nothing when it impeded the progression of his military career.

“The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which occurred on June 25 and 26, 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory, was the most famous action of the Great Sioux War of 1876.”i Was this battle led by a courageous General or a desperate man is search of being seen as an American hero by the eyes of America?

Here is a little background on George Armstrong Custer. He was born December 5, 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio. Custer was known for leading his men against Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of Little Bighorn and all his men ended up dying, but he remained to be one of the best generals to lead men in a war/battle. Custer was a very smart and knowledgeable man, but he wasn’t trusted by many others. “According to Reno’s own testimony, he did not trust Custer’s judgement; as a result,

George Armstrong Custer was a United States cavalry officer who served with distinction in the American Civil War and was the youngest ever brevet brigadier general at age twenty-three (History.com Staff, 2009). Custer had various disciplinary issues throughout his career ranging from abandoning his post for romantic reasons to leaving the field without searching for a slain reconnaissance unit (History.com Staff, 2009). His expedition in 1874 that led to the discovery of gold, was in violation of the treaty of 1868 wherein the Black Hills were recognized to belong to the Sioux Nation. Custer was known to have a reckless temperament and was often at odds with superior officers. Nevertheless, as a Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the Seventh Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Riley, Kansas, Custer was tasked to lead the force against Sitting Bull’s alliance (History.com Staff, 2009).

Sitting Bull was born in 1834 into the tribal traditions of the nomadic northern plains Indians6. Sitting Bull displayed great potential in his tribe as a hunter and began to participate as a warrior of the tribe. Through his actions during conflicts and the leadership he displayed, Sitting Bull was given the honor to be inducted into the Strong Heart Warrior Society, an honor bestowed only to the bravest warriors. By the mid 1850’s he began to assert political influence on his tribe by taking control of the Strong Hearts7. Sitting Bull knew about the relocation of the Eastern tribes by the whites and the tactics used to push them off their land. Sitting Bull not only dealt with relocating eastern Indian tribes, but also settlers who continued to push into the Sioux lands. The settlers knew the boundaries of the Sioux area and continued to push into the land disregarding the boundaries. Sitting Bull was never elected to be chief in his tribe, but his prestige and influence was greater than other high-ranking political leaders in his tribe8. Sitting Bull demonstrated his ability as a leader through the constant pursuit he displayed

Crazy Horse was born in the fall of 1841 to the Hunkpatila band of the Oglala tribe of the Sioux Nation. At the time of his birth, his band was camped near a stream called Rapid Creek in the

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an Army expedition in the Black Hills (present-day South

Custer divided the 7th Cavalry into three battalions under himself, Major Marcus Reno, and Captain Frederick Benteen. Unsure of the surrounding terrain, Custer sent Benteen south to “scour the country and pitch into anything he might find.” Two hours later and four miles from the valley, Custer’s own scouts spied “a good-sized party of Indians in flight between the troops and the river.” Custer ordered Reno’s battalion to charge the enemy, telling Reno he “will be supported by the entire outfit.” Instead of following, however, Custer advanced onto high ground east of the village.

Sitting Bull was trying to gather all of the Lakota under a common banner. Crazy Horse moved his camp to his, and between their reputations, they had gathered the largest Lakota force in history.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as “Cluster’s Last Stand,” which was fought on June 25, 1976 in Montana, U.S. The outcome was indulged for the Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne tribes, who presumably will defeat the U.S Army under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and its 7th Calvary. This trounce defeat by the tribes, will consider Indians bloodthirsty by the demise of their enemy. The Indians overwhelmed the 200 men by a cluster of 3,000 men. This insisted the battle was lost by the west, and will always be known as “Cluster’s Last Sand.” A battle that only lasted shortly, and took part of the “Great Sioux War of 1876,” will consider Indians unpredictable in the battle field.

Sitting Bull was great leader and a great warrior. He was recognized for many things including the Battle of Little Big Horn and the leader of Strong Hearts, He was the Sash Wearer. He spent much of his life taking care of his tribe and all Native Americans. Sitting Bull is the greatest Sioux chief and one of the greatest Native American chiefs ever.

Custer was born on December 5, 1839 in New Rumley, Ohio he spent much of his early childhood living with his half-sister and brother-in-law in Monroe, Michigan where he went to school. Custer attended the McNeely Normal School in Hopedale, Ohio he then entered the United States Military Academy. While he attended McNeely with classmate William Enos Emery, was

Highly respected for his bravery and insight, Sitting Bull became one of the head chiefs of the Lakota nation around 1868. Anderson goes on in the book to talk about the defense of the homeland of the Lakota's from the government, by Sitting Bull and the other tribes. Sitting Bull had no intention of selling any land and made that clear to the Americans. Land boundaries became a large issue between the Americans and the Lakotas. Americans pushed the Indians to define the territories so that purchases could be made.

Let me tell you about a man named Geronimo. Geronimo was an Apache Indian, and maybe one of the most famous Indians of the 19th century. He was born in No-Doyohn Canyon in 1829. He had many tragic events in his life, his capture and escape, the killing of his family, the many wars he fought in, his surrender, etc. Since the killing of his family Geronimo seeked revenge against the Spanish Government. He attacked Spanish troops multiple times in his life until his surrender to U.S. troops in 1886.