the battle of little bighorn - milwaukee (town), …...thesis the indians and americans fought a...

The Battle of Little Bighorn

Cormac Moloney Junior Division

Individual Project Historical Paper

Paper Length: 2022

Thesis

The Indians and Americans fought a fierce battle, The Battle of Little Bighorn, in

1876, our nation's centennial. Many Indian tribes joined together in order to become a

stronger force. One of our country’s best commanders at the time, George A. Custer,

took his last stand against the united Indians. The Lakota Sioux and the Cheyenne

stood firm to protect their homeland and claimed triumph. Custer and his men suffered

tragedy in their defeat with the loss of 268 soldiers in one day of fighting. On both sides

people mourned for the loss of loved ones who died during the battle. This battle served

as an important step to unite the Indians allowing them to defend their land. Though

they proved triumphant in this battle by uniting their forces, they suffered tragedy later

when they were moved to reservations.

Rising Tensions in the Quest for Land (1800-1883)

In the early 1800s trappers and settlers started moving westward to California

and Oregon. There were no major wars with the Great Plain Indians because the

settlers so far were not stopping and settling there (Uschan 10). The major conflict for

this area started because of the term Manifest Destiny, which gave settlers the belief

that they could take land from the Indians because they thought their way of life was

superior (Uschan 11).

When the Civil War ended in 1865, a new movement of settlers headed west.

Some were farmers, but many were looking for gold. These settlers went right through

Sioux territory. As more people traveled, conflicts broke out between settlers and the

Indians so the U.S. government built roads and forts to protect them (Uschan 12). In

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1868 U.S. officials were very eager to stop the fighting. The Treaty of Fort Laramie gave

the Indians protection of their traditional home, the Black Hills. The U.S. government

said that the Black Hills would always belong to the Plains people (Uschan15).

However, gold was discovered by settlers in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This new

discovery of gold changed the government’s perspective on promising to stay out of the

Black Hills (Fradin 15). Chief Red Cloud, head of the Oglala Sioux tribe stated, “They

made us many promises, more than I can remember, but they never kept but one. They

promised to take our land, and they took it” (Uschan 15).

Invasion of the Black Hills (1874-1875)

When George A. Custer took the 7th calvary into the Black Hills on July 1, 1874,

he knew he was breaking the treaty that Americans made with the Indians (Appendix

A). He took a geologist to confirm the presence of gold to the government (Ferrell 67).

The Lakota called Custer wagon trails “thieves trails.” The Indians called George Custer

“chief of thieves.” (Josephson 17). Sitting Bull, a Sioux chief said, "I don't want to sell

any of my land to the government." He picked up a piece of dirt and said," not even this

much land." (Anderson 17). Many of the Indians were angry with the government and

the people moving west. They wanted their land to themselves. The geologist with

Custer confirmed the presence of gold in the Black Hills and by 1875 there were 11,000

miners there (Josephson 17).

In December of 1875 the U.S. declared that they were taking back the Black

Hills. They told the Indians there, the Cheyenne and Sioux, that they must move to

reservations or be considered hostile. Thousands of Indians gathered in Montana with

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leaders Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gall of the Sioux, and Two Moons of the Cheyenne.

In the spring of 1876 they had gathered around seven thousand Indians there (Fradin

17). At the same time the U.S. Army gathered their forces to fight what they had

proclaimed as the “hostile” Indians (Fradin 18).

While most of the nation celebrated the centennial in 1876, the Indians had no

reason to celebrate (Fradin 11). Around the year 1500 the Indian population was a few

million in the United States. By 1865, that number was reduced to 250,000. Most Indian

tribes were forced to sell their land at low prices (Fradin 13). If they refused to sell, they

were forced off by settlers or the army. Those who remained were forced to live on

reservations filled with hunger, disease, and hardship (Fradin 13).

Being moved to reservations did not fit the nomadic life of the Great Plain

Indians. They had adapted this nomadic life in order to survive the seasons and food

migration. They followed the buffalo for their survival (Uschan 7) (Appendix B). In 1872

Secretary of Interior, Columbus Delano state, “ Our civilization ought to take the place of

their barbarous habits. We claim the right to control the soil they occupy, and we

assume that it is our duty to coerce them, if necessary, into adoption and practice of our

habits and customs” (Uschan 10).

Battle of Rosebud Creek (June 17, 1876)

Indians made a camp on Rosebud Creek. General Crook was on his way to

Rosebud Valley and enemy scouts spotted him (Ferrell 79). During the Battle of

Rosebud Creek, General Terry and Colonel Gibbon attacked from the North, while

General Crook attacked from the south with 1,028 soldiers. Sitting Bull led a surprise

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attack on Crook’s army. Even with being outnumbered, the Indians fought a fierce battle

against the Americans. Both sides needed more ammunition after fighting for only a little

time, so both sides retreated. Crook said they won, but neither side could claim victory.

This fight increased tensions between the two sides. The soldiers and Native Americans

knew the next battle would be the final battle (Their Shots Quit Coming).

Routes to the Little Bighorn River (1876)

After the Battle of Rosebud Creek, Indians retreated to The Little Bighorn River.

The Americans set up at a new fort, Fort Lincoln. When the Indians were at Little

Bighorn, Sitting Bull led a Sun Dance with the tribes. During this the Indians danced and

cut flesh from their bodies as a sacrifice. After this the Great Spirit gave Sitting Bull a

vision. In his vision Sitting Bull saw American soldiers falling down from the sky. Sitting

Bull knew this meant that the Indians would win, but also some of the Indians would die

(Josephson 19).

On the U.S. side, General Terry ordered Custer to take his 7th Cavalry to go

along Rosebud Creek to Little Bighorn River. General Terry and Colonel Gibbon went

along the Yellowstone River to get to the Little Bighorn River. General Terry knew

Custer would get there first, so he ordered him to wait until Colonel Gibbon and other

soldiers arrived. However, at the end of Terry’s note he told Custer, “Go with your heart”

(Their Shots Quit Coming). Custer decided to fight alone with his 7th cavalry (Their

Shots Quit Coming). When the message got to General Terry that Custer was going to

attack, Terry stated, “I have had but little experience in Indian fighting, and Custer has

had much, and he is sure he can whip anything he meets” (Josephson 24). Custer

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thought he could win even though a third of the 7th Cavalry were raw recruits (Ferrell

65).

Americans Attack Little Bighorn River (June 25, 1876)

Custer ordered Major Marcus Reno to go south of the camp to make an attack

with three companies. He ordered Captain Frederick Benteen to block off the southwest

exit with his three companies (Erwin). Custer would back up Marcus Reno, and then

make his main attack from the bluffs north of the camp. Reno attacked first by charging.

The three companies Custer had given Major Reno were losing badly. Major Reno

ordered his men to retreat into the woods. Indians started circling around Major Reno’s

men, so he decided to retreat again, this time to the bluffs to create a defensive position

(Their Shots Quit Coming). By this time he had already lost a third of his men

(Josephson 30).

Custer attacked from the bluffs with 210 soldiers (Appendix C). Fighting next to

him were his 2 brothers, Tom and Boston. Three groups of Indians surrounded Custer

and his men. The Cheyenne were on one side with the Sioux and Hunkpapa, led by

chief Gall, and they attacked from east. Crazy Horse and the Oglala warriors attacked

from west (Josephson 31). Captain Benteen returned to the hills and asked, “Where is

Custer?” (Their Shots Quit Coming). Reno answered, “Custer attacked.” Just then they

heard cries and they knew their soldiers were dying.

After the defeat of Custer, the Indians made their way up the hill to Reno and

Benteen’s soldiers. Reno and Benteen retreated to the hills where they would have the

upper ground. With this position the soldiers took long shots. The Indians could easily

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hit the soldiers though because the soldiers weren’t taking cover (Their Shots Quit

Coming). The Indians soon killed Benteen and Reno’s soldiers. The U.S. soldiers

suffered a terrible tragedy. The Indians had won a great triumph (Josephson 31). Sitting

Bull said this a year later after the battle, when somebody interviewed him:

I was not in the battle, but my warriors tell me that they decided to surround

Long Hair's (Custer’s) soldiers. When Long Hair found that he was so

outnumbered and threatened on his flanks, he took the best course he could

have taken. The bugle blew. It was an order to fall back. They could not fire fast

enough, though. But from our side it was so. They could not stand up under such

a fire. The soldiers kept in pretty good order. Some great chief must have

commanded them all the while. They would fall back across a coulee and make a

fresh stand beyond, on higher ground. There was one party driven out there,

away from the rest, and there a great many men were killed. There were no

cowards on either side. (Burdick Native American.co.uk)

General Terry and Colonel Gibbon arrived the next day. The stragglers showed

them to the village. General Alfred Terry and Colonel Gibbon were shocked at the

defeat (Their Shots Quit Coming). They buried all of the dead bodies on Last Stand Hill,

where George Armstrong Custer died. Custer was buried next to his two brothers, Tom

and Boston. The cemetery remains there today and honors those who fought in the

Battle of Little Bighorn. Most wives never saw their husbands again. In the New York

Times Newspaper a person wrote, “Sitting Bull’s band of Indians were alienated and

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enraged at the time; and nothing but the interposition of friendly Indians prevented a

massacre of the Commissioners sent out to treat the Sioux” (An Indian Victory). This

was a difficult time in U.S. history, but a triumphant time in Indian history.

Conclusion

The Battle of Little Bighorn boosted Indian morale and how they felt about their

future. They made a mark on their land and stated it was theirs. Without this great

triumph, there would have been no choice for them, but to be immediately forced to live

on reservations. Sadly, the move to reservations was inevitable. The great Indian victory

solidified the white American’s perspective on the Indians. White Americans had

believed Indians were dangerous and complicated the ability to settle in the west.

However, the Battle of Little Bighorn made most Americans believe that the Indians

were savages and needed to have their population contained to limited areas-

reservations. These reservations did not supply enough food and clothing for the

Indians to live and often were filled with diseases. This lifestyle was very terrible for

them as it took away their nomadic way of living. Sadly, while the Indians won the Battle

of Little Bighorn, their triumph soon became their tragedy. Over the next five years they

were all confined to life on reservations (History.com) (Appendix D).

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Appendix A

This picture shows Custer leading his initial expedition to the Black Hills. This was illegal according to the treaty of Fort Laramie and was unfair to the Indians (Fradin 16).

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Appendix B

This painting of an Indian hunting buffalo shows their nomadic way of life. Hunting and following herds was crucial for their survival (Fradin 14).

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Appendix C

This map shows the approximate routes taken by the Indians and the Americans during the Battle of Little Bighorn (Ferrell 95).

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Appendix D

This is Sitting Bull with his family after he surrendered to the South Dakota reservation. The white woman on the far right was interested in Sitting Bull’s plight (Fradin 36).

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Works Cited

Primary Sources

Biossat, E. R., editor. "The Indian War." Library of Congress, Louisiana Democrat,

chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003389/1876-07-12/ed-1/seq-2/#words=dead+Cust

er&date1=1876&sort=date&date2=1876&searchType=basic&state=&rows=20&proxtext

=custer+dead&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=2. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019.

This website had a newspaper article that gave me information on how people felt at the

time of the defeat. The newspaper took me deep into this topic. The website and

newspaper let me know some interesting facts that I never knew.

"Death of Gen. Custer." Timemachine.nytimes.com, New York Times, 7 May 1881,

timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1881/05/07/98555099.pdf. Accessed 14 Jan.

2019. This website told the story of Sitting Bull’s perspcetive of the battle and how he

felt. This website had a newspaper article and also told me facts on what he thought on

Custer's side of the battle.

"An Indian Victory." Timesmachine.nytimes.com, New York Times, 7 July 1876,

timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1876/07/07/84623536.pdf. Accessed 10 Jan.

2019. This website had a newspaper article from the New Yortk Times. This website was

a primary source, with a lot of information.

"Savage Sioux." Library of Congress, Loc.gov,




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I found information on an article in the newspaper. This gave me information on what it

felt like during the time period and how people were affected. Also it told me how the

Americans didn't like the Sioux.

"Terrible Indian Massacre." Library of Congress,




This website gave me a newspaper article on the Battle of Little Bighorn and told me

what the Americans thought of the Indians. The Indians were treated pretty badly in this

newspaper article. This also told me facts on Custer's side of the battle.

Secondary Sources

Anderson, Paul Christopher. George Armstrong Custer: The Indian Wars and the Battle of the

Little Bighorn. New York, PowerPlus Books, 2004. This book gave great information on

Custer's side of the battle and it had good pictures of him. It talked all about his life and

his last stand at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

"Battle of the Little Bighorn." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 Dec. 2009,

www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/battle-of-the-little-bighorn. Accessed

30 Nov. 2018. This site was very helpful. I found good pictures and information about the

Battle of the Little Bighorn. This website helped me learn people involved in the battle

and how the battle started. This website also told me how the battle ended too.

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Burdick, Usher L. "1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn Sources." nativeamerican.co.uk, Chris

Smallbone, July 2007 www.nativeamerican.co.uk/lbhsources.html. Accessed 11 Jan

2019. This website had a bunch of quotes, including one from Sitting Bull that talked

about Custer's part of the battle.

Duffield, Katy. The Battle of Little Bighorn: Legendary Battle of the Great Sioux War. Lake

Elmo, North Star Editions, 2017. From this book I found great pictures of the battle, and I

learned a lot more about the topic. It had some great facts on the battle and why this

battle happened.

Erwin, Gregory J.W. "The Battle of the Little Bighorn." Encyclopaedia Britannica, revision June

18, 2018, Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc., 13 June 2016,

www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Little-Bighorn. Accessed 30 Nov. 2018. This

book gave me a lot of good information. It introduced me to my topic and took me deep

into The Battle of Little Bighorn.

Ferrell, Nancy Warren. The Battle of the Little Bighorn in American History. Springfield, Enslow

Publishers, 1996. In this book there were many pictures of the Battle and it told me how

this battle changed history. This book was full of very good facts before the battle and

after the battle.

Fradin, Dennis B. Custer's Last Stand. New York, Benchmark, 2007. In this book I found some

of the commanders of the battles, and saw what they did. I saw many important facts on

George Custer and how he made a difference in the war. It gave facts on Indians too. This

book had quotations from different Indians.

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Josephson, Judith Pinkerton. Who Was Sitting Bull?: And Other Questions about the Battle of

Little Bighorn. Minneapolis, Lerner Publications, 2011. This book gave me great facts on

Sitting Bull and who he was. It also told what he did to help the Indians through rough

times. He was a very good man, and was not treated very well by Americans.

Mort, T. A. Thieves' Road: The Black Hills Betrayal and Custer's Path to Little Bighorn.

Amherst, Prometheus Books, 2015. In this book I got information on what happened

before the battle and how it affected the battle. It also gave me facts on the Battle of the

Little Bighorn.

Rielly, Edward J. Sitting Bull: A Biography. Westport, Greenwood Press, 2007. This book gave

me quotes from Indians. This book also let me know about Sitting Bull's life, and how it

affected the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

"Terrible Battle with Indians." Newspapers.com, 17 Feb. 2017,

www.newspapers.com/clip/20908605/newspaper_report_of_the_battle_of_the/. Accessed

9 Jan. 2019. This website showed me a newspaper article on the Battle of the Little

Bighorn. This website gave me information and what it felt like to be in that time period.

Their Shots Quit Coming. Narrated by William C. Everhart, produced by Ralph J. Tangney,

2002. This video gave me great information on the battle. This video let me feel like I

was in the event. I got some great facts and quotations from both sides of the battle.

Uschan, Michael V. The Battle of the Little Bighorn. U.S. ed., Milwaukee, World Almanac

Library, 2002. In this book I learned a lot about the landmark of Little Bighorn River and

I learned a lot about the Indians. It also had very useful background information on the

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rising tensions that caused the battle. It had great pictures of the Little Bighorn, and the

Indians. It had good pictures of the Americans too. It also gave good facts on the battle.

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