Today marks the 149th anniversary of the destruction of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s command at the Little Bighorn in modern Montana — a place known to the Lakota as Greasy Grass.
Art by Charles M. Russell
Custer’s command was part of a multi-pronged expedition sent out that summer to chastise and round up native peoples of the northern plains who had refused to come in to reservations and give up their claim to the Black Hills, where gold had been discovered and a gold camp called Deadwood had arisen.
The Lakota (Sioux) and many Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho had gathered together in what would be a last summer of freedom on the plains — and Custer ran into an unexpectedly vast village camped along the stream known at the Little Bighorn. When he divided his command to assault the village, he doomed himself and many of his men.
Thomas Powers described the fight from the Indian perspective in what I consider to be one of the very best works in the Frontier Partisans library: The Killing of Crazy Horse. Smithsonian Magazine excerpted it:
The fighting was intense, bloody, at times hand to hand. Men died by knife and club as well as by gunfire. The Cheyenne Brave Bear saw an officer riding a sorrel horse shoot two Indians with his revolver before he was killed himself. Brave Bear managed to seize the horse. At almost the same moment, Yellow Nose wrenched a cavalry guidon from a soldier who had been using it as a weapon. Eagle Elk, in the thick of the fighting at Calhoun Hill, saw many men killed or horribly wounded; an Indian was “shot through the jaw and was all bloody.”
Calhoun Hill was swarming with men, Indian and white. “At this place the soldiers stood in line and made a very good fight,” said Red Hawk. But the soldiers were completely exposed. Many of the men in the skirmish line died where they knelt; when their line collapsed back up the hill, the entire position was rapidly lost. It was at this moment that the Indians won the battle.
In the minutes before, the soldiers had held a single, roughly continuous line along the half-mile backbone from Calhoun Hill to Custer Hill. Men had been killed and wounded, but the force had remained largely intact. The Indians heavily outnumbered the whites, but nothing like a rout had begun. What changed everything, according to the Indians, was a sudden and unexpected charge up over the backbone by a large force of Indians on horseback.
This charge was led by Crazy Horse — Tashunka Witko — one of the all-time great Frontier Partisan warriors.
Crazy Horse at Little Bighorn by Andy Thomas.
Flying Hawk said he had followed Crazy Horse down the river past the center of camp. “We came to a ravine,” Flying Hawk later recalled, “then we followed up the gulch to a place in the rear of the soldiers that were making the stand on the hill.” From his half-protected vantage at the head of the ravine, Flying Hawk said, Crazy Horse “shot them as fast as he could load his gun.”
“There was a great deal of noise and confusion,” said Waterman, an Arapaho warrior. “The air was heavy with powder smoke, and the Indians were all yelling.” Out of this chaos, said Red Feather, Crazy Horse “came up on horseback” blowing his eagle bone whistle and riding between the length of the two lines of fighters. “Crazy Horse…was the bravest man I ever saw,” said Waterman. “He rode closest to the soldiers, yelling to his warriors. All the soldiers were shooting at him but he was never hit.”
After firing their rifles at Crazy Horse, the soldiers had to reload. It was then that the Indians rose up and charged. Among the soldiers, panic ensued; those gathered around Calhoun Hill were suddenly cut off from those stretching along the backbone toward Custer Hill, leaving each bunch vulnerable to the Indians charging them on foot and horseback.
The soldiers’ way of fighting was to try to keep an enemy at bay, to kill him from a distance. The instinct of Sioux fighters was the opposite—to charge in and engage the enemy with a quirt, bow or naked hand. There is no terror in battle to equal physical contact—shouting, hot breath, the grip of a hand from a man close enough to smell. The charge of Crazy Horse brought the Indians in among the soldiers, whom they clubbed and stabbed to death.
Crazy Horse was a badass, and should be remembered as the militant leader that he was.
If you haven’t watched Jocko Willink’s multi-part staff ride on the Little Bighorn, today would be a good day. It’s worthy.
Craig Rullman says
Like many, I nurture a long-running fascination with the fight. So many incredible stories that emerged from it–dribbled out, really, and so many lost when Indians wouldn’t speak about it all for fear of reprisal. Even decades later. Nevertheless, the battlefield remains fascinating to walk and the stories–particularly the first person narratives from the Indian side–endlessly enriching. I think the Fetterman site runs a close second in terms of spiritually moving frontier battlefields.
Quixotic Mainer says
Might have to watch Son of the Morning Star for the umpteenth time. That Jocko breakdown is a really good one too though!
Wayne says
When you visit the site, the weight of the event washes over you. It is a disturbing place.
slm says
Always thought Son of the Morning Star one of the best history books written. Begins at the end and cycles back through the beginning to the end again.
Greg Austin Walker says
I agree with Craig – visiting / walking these sacred battle sites is a moving and thoughtful experience.
Several years ago Carol and I visited our friends (Nez Perce) beginning with the Chief Red Heart ceremony at Fort Vancouver in Washington State. We then traveled along the battle fields they fought at during Chief Joseph’s effort to take his people into Canada.
We visited Kamiah / Heart of the Monster, the birthplace of the Nez Perce. Then White Bird, Clearwater, crossing over Lolo Pass and then down to Big Hole. The battlefield at Big Hole was haunting, much as I imagine Little Big Horn is.
“Big Hole National Battlefield is a U.S. National Park Service site in Montana, preserving the location of the Battle of the Big Hole, fought between the U.S. Army and the Nez Perce tribe in 1877. It is a sacred place where the remains of those who died, including women and children, are still present. The battlefield is located in a remote area, offering a place for reflection and remembrance.”
Our next journey will be to the Bear Paw battle field in northern Montana – the site of the last battle between the Nez Perce and the U.S. cavalry.
Several years ago I purchased (estate sale) a small knife recovered by then 1st LT Baird after the Bear Paw fight. The knife was recovered from a Nez Perce warrior killed during the battle – his body found near the banks of Snake Creek. Baird was wounded at Bear Paw and for his actions that day he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/george-w-baird
I researched this knife with one of the tribal historians, Mr. Otis Halfmoon, and although it is impossible to identify the warrior who carried it Mr. Halfmoon did provide me with a list of the Nez Perce (to include three women) who perished there. And he, after seeing pictures of the knife, concurred it is historically accurate to include the handmade leather sheath for it.
This is a nice synopsis of the Big Hole fight – which was a 180 from the Little Big Horn battle in that the U.S. cavalry were successful in surprising the Nez Perce in their camp (thanks to Cheyenne scouts working for the CAV).
https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/nepe/greene/notes12.htm
“These places hold power,” Park Superintendent Mandi Wick said. “There’s something to say about being on the place where these tragedies happened.”
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/life/2017/08/03/big-hole-battle-continues-resonate-140-years-later/472407001/
Whether Little Big Horn or Big Hole the common theme for those Native American tribes who fought is expressed forever in this manner.
“While there are no specific Nez Perce quotes solely about the Big Hole battle, the Nez Perce account of the broader conflict, including the Big Hole, is one of deep sorrow and loss. They emphasize the suffering of their people, the heavy casualties, and the desperation of trying to escape the pursuing US Army. Chief Joseph, in his famous surrender speech, expressed the emotional toll of the war, stating, “I will fight no more forever,” highlighting the immense sadness and weariness caused by the conflict.”
At the same time – “The “Good-by” Volley: Yellow Wolf also describes a final act of defiance, a “Good-by” volley fired at the soldiers before the Nez Perce retreated, showcasing their resilience even in defeat.”
Yellow Wolf’s book “Yellow Wolf – His Own Story” by Nez Perce historian L.V. McWhorter is, according to the Nez Perce elders today, the finest and most accurate account of the Nez Perce and their fight at Big Hole.
It would be remiss of me not to mention Frontier Partisans’ publication of how and why the Nez Perce adopted our Special Forces company during the ramp up for the ground war in Iraq in 2002/2003, and then honored us with the title “Warrior-Brothers” in a traditional ceremony at the yearly Chief Looking Glass gathering. Thank you, Jim –
https://frontierpartisans.com/24955/the-black-scarves-have-come-home/