Little Bighorn Battle Analysis
The Battle of the Little Bighorn River, which took stage on the 25th and 26th of June 1876, was known to the Lakota as the Battle of the Greasy Grass. This Battle was also one of the last important stands of the American Indians against the United States of America. The Battle took place in the Montana Territory between the combined Indian tribes of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. These Indian tribes led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and other Indian leaders battled the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The Indian forces were victorious during this battle where they faced their much smaller in number opponent led by General George Armstrong Custer. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the events that led to the conflict, the environment of the battle ground, the disposition and composition of each side, actions, inactions taken as well as the their significance.
The Indians, threatened by the expansion of the white settlements west of the Mississippi River, this endangered their way of life that revolved around the Buffalo and eventually led to their confinement to reservations. The United States Government claimed a large portion of their lands for other uses but did grant the plain Indians with an area exclusive to them known as the Great Sioux Reservation, established by the treaty of 1868. It also allowed them hunting ground and grazing land for the Buffalo outside the reservation.
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).
Despite that, the United States government told the Indians that they would not invade their lands. They soon heard that the Indians had fertile land and decided to allow settlers to move west. “After hearing tales of fertile land and a great mineral wealth in the West, the government soon broke their promises established in the Treaty of Fort Laramie by allowing thousands of non-Indians to flood into the area.”. (Victoriana) To make more land available to the settlers the government had to make reservations that would separate the Indians from the whites. In exchange for the Indians moving to
On June 25, 1876, The Battle of Little Bighorn took place near the Black Hills in Montana. This was one of the most controversial battles of the 20th century and the line between good guys and bad guys was grey at best. Gen. George Armstrong Custer (reduced to LTC after the civil war) had 366 men of the 7thU.S. Cavalry under his command that day. Sitting Bull (A Medicine Man) led 2000 braves of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes (Klos, 2013). At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indians savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7thcavalry to tell what really happened.
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led an Army expedition in the Black Hills (present-day South
How would you feel if the government seized your land, sold it, expected you to change your lifestyle and then tried to convince you it is for your own benefit? In 1887, the United States Government did exactly that to the Native American tribes with the Dawes Act. The Dawes Act effectively split up Native American land so that non-Native American people could take possession of it. The Native American people had worked the land their entire lives, and now they were faced with moving from their homeland and way of life for the government.
“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?
During his presidential term Jackson passed laws that forcibly removed native American from their land and for them to move west by foot this dangerous journey through the Mississippi River became known as the trail of tears. In the year 1830, almost 25,000 Native Americans lived on millions of acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Florida their ancestors had lived there for many generations, by then end of the 18th century there were almost no Native Americans left in the Southeastern part of the United States. This was because of the “Indian Removal” Act that President Andrew Jackson signed he for many years was a strong advocate of taking Indian land and offering it to white farmers. The Indian-removal process continued. In 1836, the federal government drove the Creeks from their land around 3,500 of the 15,000 Creeks who set out for west did not survive the trip, this event became known as the trail of tears. This expansion and removal of the Natives was caused by many things, but a major cause was Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was a belief many Americans had that it was their duty and their right to expand towards the west and form their civilization from coast to coast. This belief helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico, they wanted more land to grow crops, they wanted Native Americans removed to make more farms by taking their land. In 19th century many Native Americans were placed in Indian Reservations. These were legal designation for an area of land managed by a Native Americans rather than the state governments of the United States in which they are located on. “The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 authorized the creation of Indian areas in what is now Oklahoma. Native peoples were again forced to move to even smaller parcels of land now called reservations. The
Land was not divided, it was shared. Teepees were set up in a circle and ceremonies and dances were held in the center. Even when the Indians were short on something, they always managed to share what they had with other tribes in need. They did not do this because they had to, it was the code that they lived by. When a neighboring tribe of Black Elk’s was on the move without any food or clothing, they gave them as much food and clothing as possible even though they were short themselves. Nature also played a large role in the Indian’s lives. “Birds make their nests in circles, for their religion is the same as ours” (APT 315). The traditional Sioux way of life created interdependence between man and nature. Respect for the cycle of the seasons and animal life was necessary in order to secure food, clothing, and shelter. When the Indians lived in cooperation with nature, those necessities were available to them. They were available in such plenty, that their very existence seemed proof of the care of the Great Spirit. Bison were very important to the Native Americans. Even though they hunted and killed them they had great respect and love for them. They only hunted what they needed to survive. When they did kill a bison, every part of it was used. The meat was used for food, and the fur was used for clothes. The bones were even used as tools and weapons. Nothing was wasted.
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 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 the Alamo was a devastating battle between the Texan and Mexican Army that occurred in the midst of the Texas Revolution and had an everlasting effect on the country and then state of Texas. The Alamo wasn’t built with the intention of being a fort.
The defeat of the first United States army by a coalition of Native Americans is the focus in Collin Calloway’s The Victory with No Name. In this historical account, Calloway addresses what occurred on November 4th, 1791, when an Indian army consisting of a variety of Indian tribes, led by Little Turtle and Blue Jacket, ambushed the first American army near the Wabash River to protect themselves from American expansion of the Northwest Territory. The American army, led by Revolutionary War veteran Arthur St. Clair, was ill-equipped with men, horses, and weaponry, and ignorant about Indian whereabouts and tactics. Calloway organizes his argument by describing America’s desire for land, the invasion and settlement of Indian land, and the resistance formed by Native Americans. Calloway continues by illustrating the defeat of the American army and the aftermath of the battle between Native Americans and the U.S. By drawing on extensive historical evidence that illustrated the events before, during, and after the battle, Calloway presents a detailed historical narrative that challenges the idea that “winners write the history…even when they lose” and offers a narrative that shows both the Native American and the U.S. perspective, ultimately giving credit to the Indians for their victory. However, Calloway provides information that is irrelevant to his argument and the book, which makes it difficult to follow along throughout the story.
The Battle of the Alamo is probably the most famous battle to take place in the history of, and in the state of, Texas. The battle has given Texans the will to persevere against tough odds and the courage to endure through seemingly impossible situations for many generations. Many a Texan would draw inspiration during the fights following the defeat at the Alamo. This inspiration eventually led them to victory during the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto. Had the Texas military correctly utilized their intelligence and combat assets available to them at the time, they would have been able to properly reinforce the Alamo. This would have allowed Texan leadership to develop an effective strategy to defeat the Mexican army
Texans are full of pride and have been since the term Texan was created. The Texas revolutionary war was a great battle between Mexican Republic and the Texas Colonists. The Texas Revolution was also known as the Texas War of Independence. What will be discussed throughout the research paper are the battles that took place throughout the revolutionary war. The paper will explain how these battles shaped the way Texas Independence was won and how it shaped the future for Texan colonists. The battles of Gonzales, Goliad, The Alamo, and the final battle of San Jacinto played the biggest roles in the Texas Revolution
In the Last Stand, written by Nathaniel Philbrick he discusses a big leader in the Civil War, George Armstrong Custer and how he led his troops with reckless courage. Philbrick wrote this book which can be viewed in many ways: a bloody massacre that is a big part of American history, or a tale of crazy arrogance and even unmatched bravery. One way that this book can be viewed as is the Last Stand being viewed as an account of a well-known battle that encapsulates the treatment of Native Americans during the “Indian Wars.” The next option is that the Last Stand is a retelling story of a history that does not glorify the United States Army in the Indian Wars, but shows the hubris and reckless of the leaders and army. Finally, the Last Stand can be viewed as a double meaning, both the last stand for Custer and the Last Stand for the Sitting Bull and the Lakota Sioux. In this essay, I’m going to discuss the ways in which Custer leads his troops and how he was a powerful leader during this time.