Where Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse Defeated Colonel Custer

Custer's Last Stand took place at the Little Bighorn River, where he led over two hundred soldiers into battle against thousands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors.

From: AERIAL AMERICA: Montana

[patstory]

Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, two of my heroes and both played to perfection by Michael Greyeyes.

[BlueCollar]

Thank you to my Lakota brothers and ancestors for being warriors and and fighting for your land. Proud to be part of the Lakota tribe.

[t.r.campbell]

What a great place to visit. I was very surprised to see how large is a battlefield was. One of the cool things about it is many of the goalies and the trees and everything is still in place from that historic battle.
Another thing that struck me was how little people were back then. I realized this first when we visited Lord Nelson’s shipyard in the Caribbean. The uniforms, the shoes, everything was a little. A six footer would’ve probably been a giant back at that time.
The uniforms on display at the Custer battlefield also and show people were little back then.

[tedcarter]

Thou shall not steal. Respect to the Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and the warriors.

[grevensher]

The conflicts in this nations past are heartbreaking. However, the fact that both sides can mourn their dead and tell their history is different from other nations. This country is far from perfect, but we must always work to make it better.

[EnglishMikey]

An interesting video. I'm glad that the brave Native American warriors have a memorial.

[mrdave]

One of the most historic, peaceful, tranquil places in America.

[rogeeeferrari]

I can only wish Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were more organized after this battle...

[robertshorthill]

In a nut shell, a very good account of the jist of what took place. In depth details are debatable to this day, but many good books by authorities and historians attempt to present the facts. It's an awesome place to visit and spend several hours. Ask questions of the tour guides, that's what they are there for. Marvel at the open skies and landscape. Relax in the tranquility and the silence. If you go on a pleasant day and the weather is good, it will be a cherished memory for years. There are amenities in the reservation town of Crow Agency nearby. Enjoy your visit. Cheers, . Bob in Montana

[claud]

It is hard to explain the fascination with a battle that seems so small compared to other conflicts. It is also hard to explain why so many still become rabid partisans over events and participants who have been long dead for some time. It reminds me of something I heard about those that love Harley Davidsons: if you have to ask, you will never understand. It is surprising that there could still be so much vitriol over a man whose big moment was a failure, yet there are those that claim they know just what Custer was thinking and how this God Of War was betrayed by lesser men. My version is somewhat simpler and it is based on something Gall said after the battle: "My heart was bad." Scouts with Reno, while attempting to raid the pony herds, fired shots indiscriminately into the village, killing two of Gall's wives and three of his children. He was enraged and wanted revenge. Writer Evan S. Connel said that Gall must have been like a wolf among sheep that day, and many were angered that the waiscus would attack them after they had repulsed General Crook at the Rosebud. Others were spurred on by relatives to protect the dependants and win some glory. But I think Captain Benteen said it best during an interview around the Reno Inquiry: “There were a great deal too many Indians.… We were at their hearths and homes; they had gotten the bulge on Reno; their medicine was working well, and they were fighting for all the good God gives anyone to fight for.” A great day for the Plains Indians that also led to a speedier downfall. A bad day for the 7th Calvary that would win them immortality for losing a battle.

[gscgold]

Growing up as a kid back in the late 60s early 70s we would go back to Missouri on vacation every year to visit family from the West coast and on our way back we would always stop at the Little bighorn and you could walk right out to the battlefield and they had little markers where they found Colonel Custer and the horse and all the other people that died that dayI don't think you can do that anymore but as a child I remember standing right where Colonel Custer died.

[danielwiederkehr]

Been there! a haunting place when the wind blows.

[tonylast]

I would have thought that a respected chanel like the Smithsonian would have done a better job telling the story of that fateful day instead of producing such a short full of holes story

[paulhudson]

Custer was defeated by his ego long before he was killed at the Little Bighorn! ☦️🙏

[andrewgustavson]

This is a great monument and museum. It is definitely worth visiting.

[jimlogan]

Quite a few comments here suggest the account of what actually happened to Custer's men is inaccurate; the narrator even states that what happened is shrouded in question marks. Many years ago I read a book titled, "Save the Last Bullet For Yourself, " in which a retired history professor who had written two books of a trilogy on Custer went to live among the Sioux to learn what happened so that he could finish his ambitious biography of Custer. Because this was in the early years of the 20th Century, many of the native Americans who participated in the battle were still alive. The professor learned the language and over several years pieced together what did occur, and his book (mentioned above) recapitulated what he learned. Briefly, he found that Custer's men were so overcome by what was happening in the battle that the shout went up, "Save the last bullet for yourself." Poorly trained soldiers (leftover soldiers from the Civil War) drenched with the false notions that the native Americans would torture them if captured, they took "the easy way out." The professor's details are compelling, so much so that I recall them to this day but do not want to cover what the book does far better. Sitting Bull's "sun dance" had not only predicted a victory for them but also that the white man's bullets would not harm the natives (a belief that helps explain what happened in later encounters). That's why there was so much shooting going on (soldiers committing suicide) but few native Americans hit. The idea that "about 100 Indians died" is false, the figure being more like 30. Faced with such a dismal story, and aware that left in the open June sun for days the bodies would not prove mass suicide, and with the nation celebrating its 100th anniversary of its Revolution (July 4, 1776), the Custer episode has been twisted into a more palatable formula. Read the book.

[RichBrew]

"A few years before, the US government had discovered gold in the nearby Black Hills, and wanted the tribes to sell their land. When they refused the US government was determined to round them up and move them to the great Sioux reservation..."

Euphemism for 'steal'.

[johaninedoeser]

No prisoners. RIP to Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and their brave warriors fighting to the last drop of blood.

[louisavondart]

I haven't seen a worse description of this battle. It's positively shameful in it's inaccuracies.

[searaydrivingguy]

i been here what a peaceful place i will never forget it