Custer's Response To The Battle Of Little Bighorn

People know about the conflict between the Indian's cultures and the settler's cultures during the westward expansion. Many people know the fierce battles and melees between the Indians and the settlers that were born from this cultural conflict. In spite of this, many people may not know about the systematic and deliberate means employed by the U.S. government to permanently rid their new land of the Indians who had lived their own lives peacefully for many years. There are many strong and chilling reasons and causes as to why the settlers started all of this perplexity in the first place. There was also a very strong and threatening impact on the Native Americans

Information. The Indians knew the 7thCavalry were coming allowing Sitting Bull to mass his forces. Custer had no idea of the size, location, or weapons prior to the actual conflict. Had he known these factors he wouldn’t have split his forces leaving him spread thin at Custer hill and he would have taken a different approach to attacking the Native Americans.

“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?

The Lakota and Northern Cheyenne Indians along with a few other defiant tribes, joined forces under the Lakota holy man, Sitting Bull, in an active resistance to U.S. expansion (Gregory, 2016). In 1876, federal troops were dispatched to force the noncompliant Indians onto their reservations and to pacify the Great Plains (Powers, 2010).

The conflict that occurred between the U.S. Government and the Native American Indian tribes, known as the Great Sioux War. It was a lengthy, disjointed struggle between the U.S. Army and the allied tribes of the Teton Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians that occurred in the span of fifteen months between, March 1876 and May 18771. Hostilities between the U.S. Government and the Native American Indian tribes grew due to the movement of settlers on the land promised to them. The Northern Plains, which consist of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana, is where the majority of the war took place. The most prominent battle of this war was the Battle of Little Big Horn, due to the amount of casualties taken by the U.S. 7TH Cavalry led

The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Massacre at Wounded Knee were both significant and terrible events that took place in American history during the 1800’s. These two eyewitness documents provide information and details about two important Indian battles against American troops. These events occurred 14 years apart but both were the result of the Sioux Indians being unsatisfied with their freedom taken from them.

The natives felt strongly about the issue because Custer was attacking their homes. Now mind you these homes contained women and children, and the army had a custom of having no mercy. The army would kill every single person, including babies.

“Custer’s luck! The biggest Indian village on the continent!” Supposedly, these were the last words recorded to have been uttered by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer before the infamous battle that would claim his life and the lives of hundreds of soldiers (Dippie 2). Nearly a century and a half later, this conflict is immersed in just as much controversy as it was the day it occurred. The Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand is perhaps more famous due to the difficulty of differentiating the myths versus the facts, rather than its actual historical significance in the 19th century. The different interpretations via historians, archaeologists, and Native Americans have contributed to the positive and negative versions of the battle that exist today. However, by understanding the basics, conflict, and research that surrounds the Battle of Little Bighorn and Custer’s Last Stand, one can form their own opinion and better interpret the ways in which it is portrayed in media and throughout time by interested persons and descendent communities.

In 1874 the US Army sent a force under Colonel Custer into South Dakota. When gold was discovered in the area, the federal government declared that all Sioux Indians not in reservations would have to be subjugated by Custer’s troops. Many Sioux refused to cooperate, and Custer began to attack. At the battle of Little Bighorn, in June 1876, Custer split his troops, and a larger force of Indians wiped out all of his men. After this defeat, the army took a different course by harassing the Sioux in attrition. Indians eventually lost the will to resist as these strategies were commonly successful against the Sioux. In the December of 1890, approximately 300 Indians were killed by US troops at Wounded Knee. This massacre was the indication to the end of Indian opposition. The Plains Indians were eventually conquered and forced into reservations.

The Battle of Little Bighorn may have been a defeat but the brave men who became patriots that fought for their country will forever be named for their devotion. Those men gave their lives to save future generations. The men that would give their lives for ours should be honored for their bravery. We are the people they fought to save and for that we owe them our approval. They started their journey with the march.

The Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 was perhaps the greatest victory for the Native Americans against the white European settlers. The Battle of Little Bighorn is also known as Custer's Last Stand and it was a fight between the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The Native Americans were led by "Crazy Horse" and "Sitting Bull," while the 7th Cavalry Regiment was led by General George Armstrong Custer. Custer's orders were to locate the Sioux camp in the Big Horn Mountains in Montana and wait for back up to arrive and help.

The dawn of the new American republic saw also the birth of U.S. Indian policy. In observing the bureaucracy of the United States government, one could clearly note the American view of proper dealings with Native peoples. It was the official U.S. policy to deal with the Indian tribes as separate foreign entities, grouping Choctaws, Shawnee, Cherokee and Creek peoples with the Spaniards, English and French. Curiously enough, the Secretary of War, not the Secretary of State, became responsible for Indian affairs. Clearly, the United States saw the Indians as a threat, either real or potential. In addition, the United States saw the Indians as a barrier to new and prosperous lands in the Western territories. An unofficial policy of provocation emerged. Using a multi-pronged assault, Americans would often enter Indian land and commit a crime worthy of retaliation by native peoples. Such an event precipitated Lord Dunmore's War; John Logan, a prominent Indian favored by many white men, was horrified to find his family murdered by white intruders. Vowing revenge, Logan led an attack on white settlements and the event quickly escalated to a full-blown war between the Shawnee and the whites, culminating in an Indian defeat and a subsequent land session. Such

The Battle of the Little Bighorn was one of the greatest defeats in American history. It was one of the key military engagements during the Great Sioux War of 1876 and would lead to the Agreement of 1877, establishing permanent Indian reservations. The battle was an attempt to force the Sioux and Cheyenne back to their reservations. The 7th Cavalry of the United States Army, led by Lt. Colonel George A. Custer, suffered an excruciating defeat. “In the Battle of Little Bighorn on 25 July 1876 Custer's forces (between 600 and 700) met an Indian force, mostly Sioux and Cheyenne, under the joint leadership of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, numbering in warrior strength about 2,000.” (Flores 142) Over one third of the regiment were killed, including

Little Crow watched the same thing happening to his band of Lakota as was happening with other Indians. A treaty would be made with big promises. White settlers would move in by the thousands. Gold would be found. More whites would move in ignoring the treaty. Buffalo would be exterminated. The Indians began to starve. But, rather than fight the whites, Little Crow thought he could save his people by giving into their demands. People like Little Crow were distrusted by people like Sitting Bull. They were seen as imitation white men.

George Custer – gave the Indians the ultimatum that either they be on the reservations by January 31, 1876 or if not then they have declared war on the settlers (knowing fully well that they could not meet this demand)