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In June, 1876 Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led his command of 260 soldiers to an encampment of Sioux and other Indian tribes. Custer and his command were destroyed by the Indians after years of unequal battles with them. Little Bighorn National Monument, designated in 1946, is located immediately off Interstate-25 in Montana and provides spectacular views to the surrounding Bighorn Valley.
After years of fighting with the Sioux and many other Indian Tribes, Custer let his guard down and led his Troops of the 7th U.S. Cavalry into a battle they could not win. Apparently, not realizing that this time his enemy was a much greater force, of at least 2000 warriors. He ordered his horse mounted troops to attack the encampment. Sioux lookouts detected his presence and warned all to be prepared. In minutes, a swarm of eager Indian warriors, made up of Sioux, Arapaho and Northern Cheyenne Indians, came out of the camp and charged up the hill to meet their enemy. Sheer numbers decided the issue in a few minutes. Custer and his command were destroyed. The Battle of Little Bighorn is also known as Custer’s Last Stand.
The Indian victors soon moved on, leaving the Army corpses where they fell. A few believe that the bodies of the soldiers were mutilated by the women, who were looking for souvenirs. Other Army groups appeared, buried the dead and left the scene, in pursuit of the Indians. Another interesting fact is that this was not only Custer’s last battle, but the last battle for the Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho as well. The U.S. Government dispatched many more armed forces into their reservations and hunting grounds and most of the Indians surrendered within a year.
This important moment in American history has been preserved as the Custer Battlefield and National Monument / Cemetery at Little Big Horn. Although Little Big Horn may seem isolated and out of the way, it is well worth the visit. It is a distant destination, accommodations and reservations are a must. Plan your driving times and hotel accommodations carefully. Over 400,000 thousand people visit the park each year.
The visitor's center is immediately adjacent to the cemetery with several tour opportunities, focusing on different points of the battle, including a teepee and soldier's barracks as they would have been in the 1870s. In 1996, the National Park Service, ordered an Indian Memorial to be erected to remember the losses of the Indians in the various battles.
When you enter the park you will be provided with a map and several tours you can take. The staff at the park is very helpful and friendly. If you have any questions about the park or it’s history they can be answered. The cost is $12 to get in per vehicle, well worth the money. The countryside is pristine and mostly undisturbed, it is composed of 765 acres.
Little Bighorn Monument is in a vast lonely area of rolling prairie. Except for the monument and facilities, it appears very much as it did in 1876. Standing out there on the hillsides, it is very easy to conjure up images of the desperate and doomed soldiers. The noise and confusion of the surrounding cities is far away; you can almost imagine what it was like. You can see Little Big Horn in an hour or spend half the day, depending on the desired complexity of the tour you choose. There are several trails to wander on and some hiking nearby also. The self-guided driving tour is approximately seven miles if you want to take the entire tour. Points on the map inform about places of interest. You can walk through the cemetery of forlorn and leaning grave markers of the unknown U.S. Soldiers. In fact, these were the original temporary grave markers, erected in 1876. Headstones are sporadically placed along the hillside, eerily marking where it is thought each soldier fell. The bodies were later moved to a place near the big commemorative monument and re-interred in a common grave. The graveyard is named Custer National Cemetery, and contains over 5,000 graves of various people.
If you visit The Little Bighorn National Monument, be sure to walk up the steep hill to the point of the final confrontation between Custer's troops and the Indians and imagine what the battle must have been like.
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