The Battle of Little Bighorn

Introduction

            It is also known as Lakota and was engaged between the combined armies of the Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho and Lakota tribes against the seventh Cavalry Regiment of the U.S Army. It took place in June twenty five and twenty six in eighteen seventy six, close to Little Bighorn River in the eastern territory of Montana ( Henretta, A, 2005).The rutted federal army was led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer from the year eighteen thirty nine and eighteen seventy six. Tensions between the two had been there since gold discovery on the lands of Native Americans. Confrontations always occurred when some tribes missed a federal deadline to go to reservations. The lieutenant was not aware of the number of Indians who fought under the Sitting Bull command at the river. This led to his forces being outnumbered and rapidly overwhelmed which resulted to Custer’s Last Stand ( Henretta, A, 2005).

            Between the year eighteen forty and eighteen seventy seven, the Sioux leaders on the Great Plains resisted strongly the efforts of American government in the mid nineteenth century to detain people to reservations. The tribes did not want to leave the area due to a number of reasons and one of them was that the region was well watered (Sandoz, 1978).The other reason was that the Yellowstone Rivers was known to be a well productive ground of hunting. The tribes gathered regularly in huge numbers during the spring carry out celebrations of their yearly ceremony of sun dance. The ceremony had occurred almost two weeks earlier near the present day and during the ceremony, Sitting Bull received a vision of soldiers who fell upside down into the village. He prophesied that soon there would be a great victory for his people. ON the twenty second of June, General Terry detached the seventh cavalry in order to make a wide bordering march to approach the Indians from the south and the east (Sandoz, 1978).

In eighteen seventy five, after the discovery of the   gold in the Black Hills of Dakota the United States Army ignored the earlier treaty that was agreed on and attacked the region. The tribesmen of Cheyenne and Sioux felt betrayed and made them to abandon their reservations to join the Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse in Montana. Almost ten thousand Native Americans had assembled in a camp at the Little Bighorn River by the late spring of eighteen seventy six.  This was to defy the United States war department order to go back to their reservations or risk an attack (Welch, 2008). Three columns of the American soldiers lined up against the camp in mid June and prepared to march. A twelve thousand force of the Native Americans had turned back the column on the seventeenth of June. After five days, General Alfred Terry ordered the seventh Cavalry of George Custer to scout ahead for the troops of the enemies. On twenty fifth June memory, George drew close to the camp and decided to go ahead instead of waiting for reinforcements. At midday of the same day, six hundred men of Custer had entered the Valley of Little Bighorn. Word rapidly spread among the Native Americans about the looming attack. The old among the Sitting Bull brought the warriors and managed to save women and children. The Crazy Horse on the other hand, went with a big force to the attackers and despite the desperate attempts by Custer to regroup his men, they were overwhelmed quickly (Welch, 2008). Two hundred men and Custer were attacked in his battalion by more than three thousand Native Americans in an hour. This led to the death of Custer and all his soldiers to die. This Battle then marked the most crucial Native American success and the worst defeat of the Indian war in the long plains. The Custer’s demise and his men irritated many white Americans and set their image of the Indians being wild and bloodthirsty. The United States government meanwhile raised their efforts to restrain the tribes. After five years, nearly all of the Cheyenne and Sioux were to be confined into reservations (Welch, 2008).

Conclusion

            The paper has discussed that the Battle of the Little Bighorn took place on the twenty fifth of June in the year eighteen seventy six. This happened close to the Little Bighorn River in the territory of Montana. It has also discussed that rutted federal troops were led by Lieutenant Colonel Custer in from eighteen thirty nine to eighteen seventy six. The troops were against a band of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. The paper has discussed that there had always been tension between the groups due to the gold discovery on the lands of the Native Americans. The leaders did not agree with the efforts of the United States government to move their people to reservations. After the discovery of gold the U.S government ignored the earlier agreement and attacked the region. The paper has also discussed that Custer and his two hundred men were attacked and died within an hour.

 

 

 

 

References

Henretta, A, 2005 A Concise History, 1865, 5th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin's, 01/2012.

Sandoz, M. (1978). The battle of the Little Big Horn. Lincoln [Neb.: University of Nebraska Press.

Welch, James. (2008). Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians. Paw Prints.