Mini essay: Little Bighorn 1876 PDF

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A mini overview containing the most important elements of the battle of Littl Bighorn....

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What was the Battle of Little Big Horn? The Battle of Little Big Horn took place on 25 June 1876. It was a battle between Colonel George Custer and a traveling village of Sioux and Cheyenne natives. They were among the last few remaining in that area. Throughout westward expansion, which at this point had been going on for about a century now, many native lives were massacred and pushed onto reservations. On the fateful day of 1876 George Custer and over 600 men of the United States army caught up with the traveling village that was led by a Sioux man named Crazy Horse. The Americans had been following the village for a while when on 25 June 1876 it brought them to Little Bighorn Valley on the southern plains of Montana. The terrain was rough and uneasy for men like Custer and his troops who were not used to traversing such ground. The Natives on the other hand were experts and they knew how to use the creek beds in the valley to their advantage. Around noon was when Custer made his fatal mistake. He had made the decision to split his troops into three parts to try and get the Natives from all sides. This however, ended up backfiring because when he came over the north ridge, he realized that he had underestimated how many Natives he was dealing with. At this point the tables turn, the Natives start to attack. Custer is now no longer the attacker, but he has become the attacked. By the end of the day Custer himself and over 200 of his men had been killed by the Natives. It is now heralded as one of the greatest single victory by the plains Natives....