In memoriam....

[Captainkirk]

140 years ago tomorrow, the Battle of the Greasy Grass (also known as Custer's Last Stand and the Battle of the Little Bighorn) was fought, resulting in 267 soldier deaths plus their headstrong jackass of a commander, Lt. Col (Gen'l) George Armstrong Custer.
I have read about and studied this battle numerous times and find it has all the makings of a fine Greek tragedy. Like Fetterman before him, Col. Custer died with the blood of his troops on his hands; the whole fiasco could have been avoided had he followed the orders given him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn

I always pause to remember the brave soldiers (and Indian warriors) who died those two bloody days in June, 1876.

[mike116]

Hi Capt.    Have visited the battle site in Montana?    I have been within a mile of the site and not actually visited.   I always regret driving past there at least 20 to 30 times and not stopping. 

[G Dog]

Captain's reference to Greek Tragedy is apt.  Custer was full of hubris. 

Like the Greeks said:  “Character is fate”.

[Bishop Creek]

I visited Custer Battlefield in 1977, a year after the centennial of the battle. There was no one else there the day my wife and I walked the battlefield. It was emotional to hike all the way down to the river and back up and see all the markers where U.S. soldiers fell fighting valiantly. At the same time, as I have a few American Indian friends, I admired the Cheyenne and Sioux warriors tactics which led to their victory in the battle.

[Captainkirk]

I visited Custer Battlefield in 1977, a year after the centennial of the battle. There was no one else there the day my wife and I walked the battlefield. It was emotional to hike all the way down to the river and back up and see all the markers where U.S. soldiers fell fighting valiantly. At the same time, as I have a few American Indian friends, I admired the Cheyenne and Sioux warriors tactics which led to their victory in the battle.

The place is said by some the be haunted by the spirits of the dead. Probably all looking to wring Custer's scrawny neck. I have never visited there but if I ever get back out west it's a must-do.

[Bishop Creek]

Captain,

It is amazing to look out across the wide plain across the river where the Indians were camped and then stand on the small hill (by Western U.S. geographical standards) where the battle took place.

I read that a few years after my visit, a brush fire went through the area exposing hundreds of battlefield artifacts including many, many .44 Henry rim fire cartridges fired by the Indians which overwhelmed the single shot Springfield 45-70 carbines of the troops.

[Captainkirk]

Captain,

It is amazing to look out across the wide plain across the river where the Indians were camped and then stand on the small hill (by Western U.S. geographical standards) where the battle took place.

I read that a few years after my visit, a brush fire went through the area exposing hundreds of battlefield artifacts including many, many .44 Henry rim fire cartridges fired by the Indians which overwhelmed the single shot Springfield 45-70 carbines of the troops.

BC, in a number of books I read (but especially "Battle of the Little Bighorn" by Mari Sandoz) much attention was focused on the fact that the .45/70 cartridge cases used by the Army in 1876 had a high copper content and would swell and stick in the breech of the Trapdoor Springfields. Many reports from Indians after the battle attested to the fact that troopers were shot like fish in a barrel as they sat trying to pry the stuck casings out of their red-hot trapdoors, many throwing them away in frustration and resorting to whatever they had left as armament. Many of the Lakota and Cheyenne were armed with Henry or Winchester repeaters (as your testimony states) and in addition to being outnumbered, the troops were outgunned as well.
Gatling guns? Who needs them....