The Montana Battlefield Where Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse Defeated Custer’s 7th Cavalry

The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana

The grass still whispers stories at Little Bighorn. This Montana battlefield marks where Lakota and Cheyenne warriors faced Custer’s 7th Cavalry in 1876, changing the American West forever.

Both sides lost lives here, but their legacy lives on in the rolling hills and stone markers. This is what happened during America’s most famous last stand.

Battle That Shook America

On June 25-26, 1876, Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors fought U.S. troops along Montana’s Little Bighorn River.

Lt. Colonel George Custer led 600 men of the 7th Cavalry against Native forces defending their way of life.

Gold discovery in the Black Hills violated the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and fueled tensions. When tribes refused to return to reservations by January 1876, the Army moved in.

The battle ended with 210 soldiers dead, including Custer himself. This Native victory became their greatest triumph against U.S. forces.

It marked both a high point for tribal freedom and the beginning of increased military pressure on Plains Indians.

Custer Splits His Forces

Custer made his worst decision around noon on June 25 when he divided his regiment into three parts.

He sent Major Reno to attack from the south and Captain Benteen to scout the southwest. Custer kept five companies to strike from the north, breaking the military rule of keeping forces united.

He expected to trap the village between his units. Army scouts warned him about the village’s massive size, but Custer ignored them.

He thought he faced 800 warriors, but over 2,000 waited for him. He rejected waiting for General Terry’s reinforcements scheduled to arrive the next day.

Instead, he rushed into battle without proper reconnaissance. His divided troops couldn’t support each other when fighting started.

Warriors Unite For Battle

The Little Bighorn valley held the largest gathering of Plains Indians ever recorded.

Over 10,000 Native Americans had assembled for their summer hunting and Sun Dance ceremony.

Sitting Bull, spiritual leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota, had experienced a vision of soldiers falling upside down into their camp.

This prophesied their coming victory. Five Lakota groups joined with Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho fighters.

These normally independent bands worked together perfectly during the battle.

Around 200 warriors carried repeating Winchester rifles that outmatched the soldiers’ single-shot carbines.

Others fought with traditional bows, war clubs, and lances. The “Strongheart Society” of respected warriors helped coordinate their massive camp.

Crazy Horse Leads The Attack

Oglala war chief Crazy Horse organized the most effective attacks during the battle.

Rather than charging individually as in past fights, he directed coordinated movements from multiple directions.

When soldiers approached from the north, Crazy Horse led warriors through ravines that hid their movements.

They struck from unexpected angles, keeping the cavalry off-balance. He positioned fighters to cut off all escape routes from the ridges where Custer’s men made their stand.

This prevented any soldiers from breaking out. By attacking in waves, Crazy Horse kept constant pressure on the troops.

Fresh warriors replaced tired ones while soldiers had no reinforcements. His battlefield genius created a perfect trap that closed around Custer’s command.

Soldiers Get Surrounded

The encirclement began at 3:15 PM when Reno’s initial attack failed. His soldiers retreated across the river in disarray, several drowning during the crossing.

As Reno’s men scrambled up the bluffs, Custer moved north along the ridges. Warriors who had repelled Reno quickly redirected toward Custer’s column.

Captain Benteen reached Reno’s position around 4:20 PM. Despite hearing heavy gunfire from Custer’s direction, they stayed to defend their wounded.

Warriors on horseback quickly outflanked Custer’s men who had dismounted to fight. Within an hour, his five companies were completely cut off.

Fighters attacked from every direction, catching soldiers in crossfire with no cover except the sparse sagebrush.

Last Stand On The Hill

Custer and about 40 men made their final stand atop what’s now called Last Stand Hill. Warriors closed in from all sides as the soldiers formed a rough skirmish line.

The fighting turned hand-to-hand as ammunition ran low. Soldiers shot their horses to create makeshift barricades as their formation broke apart.

Cheyenne accounts credit Buffalo Calf Road Woman with knocking Custer from his horse. Lieutenant Cooke, Custer’s adjutant, died clutching his message book with a slashed throat.

The entire fight on the hill lasted only about 20 minutes. By 5:00 PM, all defenders had fallen.

Custer died from two gunshot wounds – one near his heart, another at his left temple.

Heroes Of The 7th Cavalry

Captain Myles Keogh, an Irish-born Civil War veteran, died with his Company I men formed in a defensive circle.

His wounded horse Comanche became the battle’s only military survivor. Brothers Boston and Tom Custer died near George on Last Stand Hill.

Tom’s body was so mutilated identification came only from his tattooed initials. Lieutenant Calhoun, Custer’s brother-in-law, fell with his men in an orderly line on what’s now called Calhoun Hill.

They maintained discipline until overwhelmed. Scout Bloody Knife took a bullet to the head while reporting to Custer.

His death reportedly enraged the commander, possibly influencing his aggressive tactics.

The men fought bravely despite having no chance of victory.

Native Warriors’ Bravery

Northern Cheyenne warrior Wooden Leg, just 18 years old, charged Custer’s men repeatedly.

He carried a Winchester rifle and wore his medicine necklace that he believed protected him from bullets.

Buffalo Calf Road Woman joined the fighting to avenge family members. Already famous for rescuing her brother at the earlier Battle of the Rosebud, she earned the name “Brave Woman.”

Chief Gall led with fierce determination after discovering his wives and children killed during Reno’s attack. His tactical movements helped cut off Custer’s escape routes.

White Bull, Sitting Bull’s nephew, claimed to have fought Custer hand-to-hand. He described grappling with a “buckskin-shirted chief” before both fell from their horses.

Moving Robe Woman rode into battle with cut hair and blackened face, seeking vengeance for her brother’s death.

Battlefield Reveals Its Secrets

A 1983 wildfire cleared dense grass from the battlefield, exposing hundreds of hidden artifacts.

This triggered the most thorough archaeological study ever conducted here.

Researchers found over 5,000 battle-related items including cartridge cases, bullets, uniform parts, and personal belongings.

Metal detectors pinpointed exact fighting locations.

The pattern of spent cartridges showed that soldiers fought in scattered groups, not in one unified last stand as previously thought.

This confirmed Native accounts of the battle. Evidence near Medicine Tail Coulee proved a small detachment tried to reach the river, possibly for water, before being driven back.

Personal items like watches, coins, and letters humanized the anonymous markers dotting the hillsides.

Marble Markers Tell Stories

White marble stones create the battlefield’s most striking feature.

Placed in 1890, they mark where each soldier fell, creating a visual map of the battle’s final phase.

The stones show a pattern of isolated fighting groups rather than one concentrated last stand.

Some clusters indicate where small units made desperate final defenses. In 1881, workers built a granite monument atop Last Stand Hill.

Beneath it lies a mass grave holding remains of Custer and his men. Before permanent markers, Captain Sanderson built a temporary memorial of cordwood filled with horse bones in 1879.

Indians Finally Honored

The Indian Memorial opened in 2003, correcting a 127-year oversight in honoring Native Americans who fought and died here. Its circular stone design represents the theme “Peace Through Unity.”

Congress authorized the memorial in 1991, the same year the site was renamed from “Custer Battlefield” to “Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.”

Artists John Collins and Alison Towers designed the structure after winning a national competition.

Oglala sculptor Colleen Cutschall created the “Spirit Warriors” bronze figures.

Red granite markers now identify spots where Native warriors fell, paralleling the white stones of cavalry soldiers.

An open “spirit gate” faces the 7th Cavalry Monument, symbolically linking the two sides.

Exploring Little Bighorn Today

You can walk among white marble markers showing where each soldier fell.

Start at the visitor center museum to see weapons, uniforms, and artifacts recovered from the battlefield.

You’ll find Captain Keogh’s horse Comanche preserved and displayed as the battle’s only military survivor.

Interactive exhibits explain Plains Indian culture and the events leading to the conflict. Visit the circular Indian Memorial honoring Native warriors who defended their way of life.

Bronze sculptures and tribal language inscriptions tell their side of the story. Drive the 4.5-mile tour road connecting Custer Hill to the Reno-Benteen Defense Site.

Audio stations provide narration from both military and Native perspectives.

Hike Deep Ravine Trail to see where intense fighting occurred amidst terrain virtually unchanged since 1876.

Visiting Little Bighorn

You’ll find the battlefield in southeastern Montana within the Crow Indian Reservation.

Take I-90 to Exit 510 at Crow Agency, then follow Highway 212 one mile east.

You can visit year-round from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM in summer (June-August) and 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM in winter.

The monument closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Your entrance fee is $25 per vehicle, $20 per motorcycle, or $15 per person on foot.

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