William F. Benteen, By The Mini Series Son Of Morning Star

The movie Glory can be described as a classic “underdog story.” It is a true story about a group of African American soldiers known as the 54th Massachusetts Regiment who faced constant prejudice and resentment by white soldiers and officers throughout the Union. However, under the leadership of Colonel Robert Shaw, they were able to prove themselves as a formidable fighting force at the battle of Fort Wagner. Although the 54th Regiment suffered heavy casualties they showed the Union that African American soldiers could be just as effective as white soldiers. While the movie Glory did paint an accurate picture of the Civil War, the 54th Regiment, and the Battle of Fort Wagner, it did have its fair share of stereotypes.

Following the civil war the Army was downsizing. Custer was a captain in the regular army. In July 1866 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel made second in command of the 7th Calvary at Fort Riley Kansas. As the settlers, along with the railroad, were pushing west, there were conflicts with Indians. Custer’s mission was to tract down these roving Indian, war parties. This was a new type of war for Custer. It was guerrilla warfare. Custer tried to track down the Indians as if they were the confederates. He would camp on hill tops so he could see all around him. At night, his men would build big fires. The Indians would see this and flee. This lack of success drastically brought the morale down in Custer and his men. Before long, a group of 15 men deserted, Custer ordered them to be tracked down and shot. He then went on a forced march with his men just so he could spend a day with his wife regardless of the repercussions to his career. Major General Hancock gave a court martial to Custer for the execution of his men without trial. Custer was suspended in pay for one year.v

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.

The concept of contrasting social class is manipulated using innovative cinematic techniques, including non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scène, bright lighting and various camera techniques and angles. The scene instigates with calm and composed music being played during the beginning of the

When Reno and his company crossed the river the lakota and cheyenne was surprised and rushed to defend their village from the oncoming attackers. Reno then held his troops and formed them into a skirmish line, in which they began to fire upon the oncoming attackers. Reno had to retreat two times, the first time was when his left flank was endangered, and the second time he had to retreat to the east side of river. During the retreat Lakota and Cheyenne warriors rode down the troops inducing heavy casualties to Reno’s men. Reno’s company regrouped with the main the group after Benteen confirmed that there was no Indians following. A written message from Custer was sent by a messenger to Benteen stating “ Come on, Big Village. Be Quick. Bring Packs. P.S Bring Packs.” para. 11 (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument). Captain Weir’s company made an effort to locate and communicate with Custer’s men after heavy gunfire was heard. (Little Bighorn Battlefield National

Reno barely made it out alive; he inspired the men to fight to stay alive (Eyewitness to History The Battle of Little Bighorn 1876). Reno told his men to stand up and don’t let the Indians beat you (Eyewitness to History The Battle of Little Bighorn 1876). Reno didn’t shelter any of his men in the many hours of the day (Eyewitness to History The Battle of Little Bighorn 1876). Reno made it out but didn’t pursue to the sound of gunfire at Custard’s location (9112 West Legends The Battle of Little Bighorn Weiser). General Terry later rescued Reno and the last of his men (9112 West Legends The Battle of Little Bighorn Weiser).

The Battle of the Alamo was an extremely important Battle for the Southern States, and one of the well-known civil engagements in United States History. The battle only lasted 13 days, but was a major strategic point for both forces, the Mexicans and Americans. During the battle, many factors played roles in the outcome of March 6. Many of those factors belong to the Mexicans and the way they approached the battle. In addition, the facts that have lived in infamy since that day are well known throughout the people of the United States; the courage of those men and the famous men we know as Bowie and Crockett. However, there are many other facts that are widely unknown to those

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.

Custer lost the battle because he underestimated the number of people on the Indians side. He went in there thinking it would be easy. Clearly, it wasn’t.

Moving east was a column led by Col. John Gibbon from Fort Ellis Montana. Under the command of Gen. George Crook from Fort Fetterman Wyoming, a column was deployed from the south near Wyoming Territory. On May 17th, Brigade General Alfred Terry moved west from Fort Abraham Lincoln Dakota. Gen. Alfred Terry’s column consisted of 879 personnel, the majority being of the 7th Cavalry under LTC George A. Custer. On June 22nd, Gen. Terry detached Custer and the 7th Cavalry to flank from the southeast and force the Indians upstream where he planned to engage them with a smaller force along Little Bighorn River. Custer moved to the headwaters of the Tongue and Bighorn Rive and on June 25th Custer’s Soldiers were approximately 25 miles out from a large Indian encampment southwest of his position. Custer sent out scouts, along with Crow scouts (Indian scouts/linguist) to gather intel on the native encampment. Scouts reported a larger number than expected, an estimated 8,000 personnel including 1,500 native warriors present in the village. They also reported that the unit’s fires could be spotted from the crow’s nest, giving away Custer’s position. Assessing the situation, Custer decided to advance on the enemy’s position towards Wolf Mountain which was 12 miles from the encampment. With the information gathered by the crow scouts weighing heavily on Custer’s mind, he decided to attack the encampment the next day to prevent losing contact of the Sioux. Custer split his Regiment into three squadrons: a supply train consisting of 125 personal, commanded by Cpt. Frederick Benteen, a three troop force consisting of 175 personnel, led by Maj. Marcus Reno, and a five troop force consisting of 210 personnel with

Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman observed to a Southern friend that, "In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics. . . .You are bound to fail." While Sherman's statement proved to be correct, its flaw is in its assumption of a decided victory for the North and failure to account for the long years of difficult fighting it took the Union to secure victory. Unquestionably, the war was won and lost on the battlefield, but there were many factors that swayed the war effort in favor of the North and impeded the South's ability to stage a successful campaign.

The 7th Cavalry Regiment's destruction at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876 is the subject of over a century of debate. LTC George A. Custer failed to exercise four key responsibilities that were expected of him as the regiment’s commander. He failed to understand the problem and environment, visualize a feasible solution, clearly describe it to his subordinates, and effectively direct his forces. These four aspects of mission command are integral to the operations process and help Soldiers understand and execute their commander's intent. Custer's failure to properly fulfill his role in the operations process resulted in his death and a strategic defeat for the nation.

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.

This movie was pleasantly surprising. It was an enjoyable watch and told a story that kept the plot line and details close to the real history of the Sioux Indians’ lives, starting with The Battle at Little Big Horn.

Theorist Vsevolod Pudovkin claims that narrative films are mainly a “product of construction” and cautious compilations of “selections of images that have been shot” (Renée).