Conflict: Plains Indian Wars
Combatants: Americans vs. Lakota (Sioux)/Arapaho/Cheyenne
Location: Montana (USA)
Outcome: Lakota victory
Sent to cut off the withdrawal of Crazy Horse's army of Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne warriors, Lt. Colonel George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry launched an ill-advised attack on its waiting adversary. Custer divided his 600 troopers into three columns and led one column against the enemy center. Custer and all 212 men in this column were killed in the ensuing battle. The remaining 7th Cavalry troopers staved off attacks for two days before the main body of the army arrived to rescue them.
Points of Interest:
The career George Armstrong Custer and the Battle of Little Bighorn have been depicted, with dubious historical accuracy, in numerous films including Little Big Man (1970) and They Died with Their Boots On (1941) to name just two.
The Battle of Little Bighorn was the greatest defeat of US forces in the Plains Indian Wars, but did little to slow the expansion of settlements into American Indian territory.
When Custer's body was found, it had been mutilated post-mortem. One of his fingers had been removed and an arrow had been shoved into his genitals.
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Sources:
Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).
Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.
Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Wert, Jeffery D. (1996). Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer. New York: Simon & Schuster.
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