Old West Lifestyle & Stories

LITTLE BIG HORN

On this day back in 1876 the United States was preparing to celebrate its 100th birthday when news came from the western frontier that much of the 7th Cavalry led by Colonel George Armstrong Custer had been wiped out by Indians led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
Custer had been told by his Indian scouts that he was about to attack a village of many thousand Indians…Some estimates say as many as 11,000 Indians. Dismissing his scouts reports Custer divided his 600 men into four battalions.
It didn’t take long for Custer to realize his scouts were right. Custer and his 215 men were attacked by about 3,000 Indians, and within an hour they were all wiped out.
This was the Indian’s greatest victory in the Plains Indian War. But the Indians weren’t able to enjoy it for long. The army accelerated their efforts against the Indian. Within five years virtually all the Sioux and Cheyenne would be on reservations.

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