Preview

The Battle Of Little Big Horn Summary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
5236 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Battle Of Little Big Horn Summary
The Battle of Little Big Horn: The Prelude to Disaster
It is hard to say how many years ago the Dakota Indians of the Northern Mississippi River began to spill over the Missouri in search of game, and became hostile toward the other tribes claiming the western country. Dakota was their traditional tribal name, but as they crossed this Northwestern Rubicon they became known by the name the Chippewas had given them years ago: "Sioux". It was by that moniker they became known as the most numerous and powerful nation of Native Americans -- warriors, women, and children -- to be found in the Northern Hemisphere. They were proud warriors when they launched out on their expedition of conquest west of the Missouri. The Yellowstone river belonged
…show more content…

A quick run brought him to the ford; his soldiers plunged through, and began to climb the bank on the western shore. He expected from his orders to find an unobstructed valley, and five miles away the lodges of the Indian village. It was with surprise and grave concern that he suddenly rode into full view of a huge camp, whose southern border was less than two miles away. As far as he could see, the dust cloud rose above an excited Indian Camp. Herds of war horses were being run in from the west. Old men, women, children, and ponies were hurrying off toward the Big Horn. Reno realized that he was in front of the congregated warriors of the entire Sioux Nation in preparation for battle. Most people think that Custer expected Reno to lead a dashing charge into the heart of the Indian Camp, just as Custer had done at Washita. Reno did not dash as Custer had expected. The sight of the Assembled Sioux Nation removed any desire Reno had ever had to dash into the camp. Reno attacked, but the attack was tentative and half-hearted. He dismounted his men, and advanced them across a mile or so of the prairie. He fired as he got within range of the village. He did not meet any resistance. The appearance of Reno's command apparently came as a surprise to the Uncapapa and Blackfeet, who were on the South side of the camp. The scouts had given sign of Custer's troops coming down the ravine. …show more content…

Lieutenants Harrington and Jack Sturgis. About 30 men had made a run for their lives down a little gully. The banks of the gully were teamed with Indians, who managed to shoot down the escaping soldiers as they ran. One officer was reported by the Sioux to have managed to break through the deadly circle of Indians, the only white man to do so that day. Five warriors gave chase. It is reported that as the pursuing band was worn down, and giving up the chase, the officer concluded that all was lost, and took his pistol, and shot himself in the head. This soldiers skeleton was pointed out to the officers of the Fifth Cavalry the following year by one of the pursuers. It had not been found before then. Was it Harrington or could it have been Sturgis? Some years later yet another skeleton was found even further from the battle scene. Remnants found at the scene indicated that it was a cavalry officer. If so, all the missing would be accounted for.
Of the twelve troops of the Seventh Cavalry, Custer led five that hot Sunday into eternity and infamy at the battle of the Little Big Horn, and of his part of the regiment only one living thing escaped the deadly skill of the Sioux warriors. Bleeding from many arrow wounds, weak, thirsty and tired, there came straggling into the lines some days after the fight Keogh's splendid horse "Comanche". Who can ever even imagine the scene as the soldiers thronged around the gallant


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Prior to the Wagon Box fight, the Sioux Indians were considered the best light infantry fighters in the world. They were revered to as such great fighters due to their mobility, skill, tactics, horsemanship, and proficiency with their weapons. “Their main tactic was known as “grabbing them by the belt”.” (“Wagon Box Fight,” n.d.). To perform this tactic, an individual would get closer to the opponents’ weapon in order to make the opponent’s weapons less effective. The tactical challenge of using this strategy was figuring out how to get close to your opponent. For the Indians, their main offensive tactic was that they would fight at night and ambush their enemy in…

    • 1236 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    John Mason and his army approaching the hillocks were noticed by residents. The Pequot tribe were not so sure if they should or should not trust Mason and his army. As soon as reality struck, they ran for cover. The Pequot tried with everything they had to fight a good fight but were unsuccessful in their attempts. The Pequot men, women, and children ran for their lives with the slight hope of surviving from the attackers throughout the day.…

    • 757 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ltc Custer Case Summary

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages

    They left one officer’s badly wounded horse, named Comanche, which managed to survive. Many years afterward Comanche appeared in 7th Cavalry parades, saddled but rider less.” LTC Custer’s body would be recovered by the U.S. Army and sent to West Point, New York where he would be laid to rest. Below is a picture of his statute at United States Military Academy.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tȟašúŋke Witkó in Standard Lakota Orthography,[2] IPA:tχaʃʊ̃kɛ witkɔ), literally "His-Horse-Is-Crazy";[3] c. 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the United States Federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876.…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    George Armstrong Custer was considered a renowned All American Army general who famously lost his life at the hands of Native American warriors at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Philbrick notes that Custer was “a true prodigy of war—charismatic, quirky and fearless” (p.xvi). With these attributions he soared to become one of the youngest brigadier generals at the young age of 23. Lieutenant General Philip Sheridan wrote praising Custer to his wife. "Permit me to say, Madam," he wrote, "that there is scarcely an individual in our service who has contributed more to bring about this desirable result than your gallant husband" (Wert, 1996, p.225). However, Custer is known only for one day, the day he died, and the day his entire military career…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The excerpt, Little War on the Prairie does an excellent job telling us what the conflict they faced, hope they had, and remembrance for the indigenous people of Minnesota. The war was one of the biggest fights between the Native Americans and Americans in history. This was the largest mass hanging in American history. It was very challenging living during these for each side.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Warriors began firing on the soldiers, to start the battle, which led to the killing of four warriors and one Indian woman, with no U.S. casualties. Twiggs had fled back to Fort Scott without Neamathla which led Major General Gaines to send Lieutenant Colonel Arbuckle, along with 300 troops to once again try and capture the elusive chief. On November 23, unbeknownst to the U.S. troops Neamathla and the rest of the Creek settlers had retreated into the swamp baiting a trap for U.S. troops. When Lt. Col. arrived, he found Fowltown had been abandoned and began foraging the village for supplies when Neamathla’s warriors emerged from the swamp and started attacking the U.S. troops. When they ran low on ammunition and feared being overcome they retreated into the swamp.…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the infamous Last Stand certain witnesses, and Hollywood have put a courageous spin of Custar's Last Stand. Turning Custer and the 7th Company into heroes, and villainizing Sitting Bull and the Lakota. Philbrick does not shy from the fact that Custer desecrated the dead of the Lakota found in an abandoned village, or that Sitting Bull took a defensive attitude towards the soldiers, and ordered his warriors to only attack in defense.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dexter, Christian A. Review of Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians. By James Welch and Paul Stekler. New York: W.W Norton Company, 1994.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first video clip from, They Died with Their Boots On, had one specific part to it that stood out. Just like any paintings, it showed a brief couple of seconds of George standing on top of the hill alone, and even though he was surrounded by Indians he went down swinging. The way this clip showed the 7th was in a very interesting way, they showed none of the other soldiers standing except for George. This made it easy to pick out which one he was but also it made it easy to show that he was a proud strong fighter with courage. It also showed him dying like a hero. He was surrounded by Indians and out of ammo in both of his pistols, yet he still pulled out his sword and looked death directly in the eyes.…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is crucial to understand the history of the Battle of Little Bighorn before delving into Caldwell’s legacy, even though the two are inevitably entwined. On June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry went to confront the northern tribe Indians, including the Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho. The indian’s decided that they had had enough of the white men invading their territory. They decided to wage war against Custer and his 7th Cavalry (Nightengale). Custer and his 7th Cavalry broke up into three groups to push the Indians back to their reserves. First he sent Maj. Marcus Reno with three companies of cavalry and the scouts across the upper part…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 2-7 Cavalry marched towards landing zone Albany, and the 2-5 Cavalry marched towards landing zone Columbus. When the lead elements of McDade’s column reached the landing zone, Lieutenant Colonel McDade gathered his company commanders away from their units, not knowing that the enemy commander, Colonel Nguyen Huu An, had a Battalion marching towards landing zone X-Ray to engage American forces there. Not knowing that the Americans had left X-Ray the North Vietnamese commander established an ambush for the American units as they closed in on landing zone Albany, asking for assistance from a nearby Battalion of the North Vietnam’s 33rd Regiment. When the North Vietnamese attacked the column, the fighting was brutal; many of the American unit’s commanders where away from their men with McDade and the North Vietnamese got in close and stayed close to the Americans to prevent the use of air support and artillery against them (Tucker, 2011, p.…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Davy Crockett

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Georgie Russell is ambushed while scouting for the Native American positions, but Crockett is able to track the Creeks back to camp. In exchange for Russell's life, Crockett challenges Red Stick, the Creek tribe's remaining chief, to a tomahawk duel. Crockett emerges victorious but spares the life of Red Stick on condition he will sign the American peace treaty.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The families who lost them, and the grooms, infantrymen and cavalrymen who took charge of them and helped train them up, all tell their stories. It was a traumatic change. Transported to the ports, they were hoisted onto ships…

    • 523 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    English Speaking Countries Capital cities 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 History 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 What is it? 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Where is it?…

    • 978 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays