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Battle of the little bighorn
The battle of little big horn 1876
Battle of the little bighorn
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The author, Larry McMurty in his article “A Road They did Not Know” sheds light on the happenings of June 25-26, 1876, at the battle of the Little Big Horn. He mentions, in the summer of 1875, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer revealed the presence of gold in the Black Hills in front of the whole nation. After which the government was regretting their agreement of giving the Black Hills and other lands to the Sioux, to which, the whites in the peace party and many others said that the government should honor the agreement, especially, this agreement which was announced publicly in 1868. The Sioux, of many become Indian agency, their free life of hunting was possibly on in some areas; the Powder River, parts of Montana, South Dakota west of …show more content…
They also forgot that there were thousands of Sioux from the northern plain who had not given the approval for anything. In spring 1876, the white army marched towards the northern plains. General George Crook was already in position, while, Colonel John Gibbon, General Alfred Terry, and Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer were on their way. By March 1876, thousands of Indian gathered in Little Big Horn in eastern Montana, with Sitting Bull and Hunkpapa band of Sioux, for the great feast along with the big fight with the army of whites. On the other hand, the author specifies how General George Crook destroyed a village and killed some Indians in search of Crazy Horse. But the failure to track down Crazy Horse, was more frustrating than the triumph of capturing the village. At the same time, Indians were celebrating and enjoying, many knew that there might be no opportunity in future. Everyone knew about the upcoming war but many didn’t care and …show more content…
This confidence was possible only because of Sitting Bulls vision about the soldiers falling upside down into the camp. Soon after that, Cheyenne informed about the arrival of General George Crook from the south. Then the Indians charged towards General Crook on the Rosebud Creek, where the one of the two famous battles were fought, there was a very intense battle between the Indians and the white army supported by Crow scouts and Shoshones. At some points, General Crook almost succeed, but even Crazy Horse, Black Twin, Bad Heart Bull and many others were very determined in dashing out the white soldiers and fragmenting Crook’s army. Then the author describes a rare incident that took place during the battle, women came running to save his brother. As the sun went down, the Indians returned home with a glorious success, see them return General Crook announced himself and his army the winner of this battle but everyone refused to believe him, even he couldn’t believe. Eight days later in Little Big Horn, even after causalities, they kept fighting, General Crook with the days end accepted the advised offered by his fellow scouts about, that they are vast in number. General Crook’s difficulties could provide an advantage to the sensible officers, Gibbon and Terry, but it didn’t slow Custer for a bit. Despite being warned serval times by his own scouts he kept
The Battle of the Little Bighorn is a tragic military battle where a commander’s overconfidence, refusal to listen to advisors, and lack of foresight, led to the sacrifice of over 265 Soldiers. Many leaders within the regiment and Soldiers underneath LTC Custer were not convinced of his leadership and often time doubted his decision-making abilities. Yet despite a blatant outburst that saw him temporarily removed as regimental commander by President Grant, LTC Custer moved forward to command the regiment and ultimately met his demise at the Battle of Little Big Horn. LTC Custer routinely showed a careless disregard for the operations process and his recklessness led to his downfall.
Epple J. C. (1970). Custer’s battle of the Washita and A history of the Plains Indian Tribes
On December 29, 1890, the army decided to take away all of the Sioux weapons because they weren’t sure if they could trust those indians. Some people think a deaf man did this, but one man shot his gun, while the tribe was surrendering. Studies think that he didn’t understand the Chiefs surrender. The army then opened fire at the Sioux. There was over 300 indians that died, and one of them was their chief named Bigfoot. This is an example of how we didn’t treat Native Americans fairly, because if it was a deaf man then we probably should of talked it out before we killed all those innocent
Today Custer’s last stand is one of the most famous events in American History. Two Thousand Sioux Native Americans slaughtered General George Custer’s army of 600 men armed with guns. Crazy Horse was a very important leader in the Great Sioux War of 1876.
The massacre at Wounded Knee was the last action in a long and bloody war that pitted Native American Indians against U.S Military forces. For roughly 300 years the two sides had been in constant conflict across America in a battle for land, resources, and ultimately; freedom. This final massacre solidified the American hold on the west and closed the final chapter on a way of life that can never be brought back. Lakota Indians, having learned of the death of Sitting Bull started to move towards Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in hopes of finding protection from Red Cloud. However, the harsh South Dakota winter weather had different plans, causing Chief Big Foot to become extremely ill. The Lakota came across cavalry forces and showed white flags in order to show they were no threat and in need of assistance. The army had orders to move the Indians to a camp on Wounded Knee Creek in order to provide shelter, food, and aid. 1 It is evident that a misunderstanding combined with an already tense situation led to the confrontation and ultimate demise of many elderly men, women, and children at the hands of the United States Calvary. Was this an intentional act or just an unfortunate turn of events for the Lakota and Unites States Army.
In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on were still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly begun. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives. The lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the nineteenth century were greatly affected by the technological development and government actions.
The Sioux Indians then went battle to with George Custer's infantry. Tantanka Yotanka was the Sioux's leader at the Battle of Little Big Horn. He basically started the battle, when he refused to go to a reservation. Tantanka Yotanka is more commonly known as Sitting Bull. He was a medicine man, and then became the main leader of this battle, which later became the greatest victory ever for the Indians. The Army was then to remove them, and take them to the reservation. They Sioux had around 1,800 to 9,000 warriors, but they really only needed around 4,000 to win the war. But, Custer wasn't aware of how many Indians they had, which is a huge disadvantage. Other Indian groups also joined them like the Blackfoot Sioux and the Sans Arc, some other nomad bands joined them.
The Sioux and other Native Americans have always been treated poorly by some people. They had to deal with the same racism that the African Americans were dealing with in the South. No one was fighting a war for the Sioux though. The truth is white supremacy runs amuck everywhere and wreaks havoc on society. Racism separated the Sioux from the settlers, but the tipping point was something else entirely. The US made a binding contract, a promise, to pay the Sioux a certain amount of Go...
By 1873, gold was discovered at a time of desperation for the United States. The Black Hills in Lakota territory was abundantly filled with it. The fact that the gold was located in the Great Sioux Reservation mattered not. The U.S. government was going to mine the gold regardless of the consequences. They were desperate and greedy. Their first attempt to gain access was to buy the Black Hills from the Sioux. The Sioux clearly objected and most of the peoples told the government it was not for sale. Those who were agreeable to the sale of this gold rich land asked a higher price than the government was prepared to pay. The government's second attempt and ultimate victory was much more nefarious in nature.
Chief Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull of the Sioux tribes knew of the plan and set a trap for the army regiment and killed all of them. This battle was one of the greatest victories for the Native American’s.
According to Santana, Chief of the Kiowa, “These soldiers cut down my timber; they kill my buffalo; and when I see that, my heart feels like bursting; I feel sorry” (Santana, 1867). This quote shows the Chief of the Kiowa’s perspective of the actions the American soldiers were taking. In Europe, timber was in high demand since Europe 's supply was running low. This resulted in Americans cutting down many of their trees to trade with Europe. Native Americans expressed great gratitude for their land and when it was being destroyed it affected them deeply. In “Promise of the High Plains,” a flyer created in the 1800s it states, “The finest timber West of the Great Wabash Valley” (The Railroaders) when trying to convince the people why to move west. This flyer shows that Americans were advertising the timber on the western land to convince more people to move. Buffalo was also a very important resource for the Native Americans culture and way of life. Buffalo was used as food, clothing, and housing. Not only were Buffalo used for survival, but they were also part of their religious rituals. With buffalo numbers decreasing fast, Native Americans tribes faced starvation and desperation. There were many different actions the Americans did to destroy the land of the Native Americans. The murder of Buffalo and cutting down of timber was just a few of the impacts the settlers
The Battle of the Little Big Horn, 1876, “Eye Witness to History. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from www.eyewitnesstohistory.com.
They went above and beyond their ways to acquire land. Nothing and no one stopped them. Their drive to gain land and greed ultimately led them to become killing machines. Andrew Jackson portrayed a great example of European greed. Before Andrew Jackson became the president, he supported the Native Americans. However, things changed. Suddenly, when gold was discovered down in Georgia, tables turned. Jackson called for the United States to end the absurdity of negotiating with the Native Americans as sovereign nations. In 500 Nations, one of Jackson’s famous quotes was “Build a fire around the Cherokees. When it gets hot enough, they will move” (Leustig, 1995). He argued that the Native Americans’ survival depended on separation from whites. In his letter, To the Cherokee Tribe of Indians East of the Mississippi, Jackson stated “Listen to me, therefore, while I tell you that you cannot remain where you now are… You have but one remedy within your reach. And that is, to remove to the West and join your countrymen” (Jackson, 1835). This document worsens the more it reaches to the end. The Cherokees felt betrayed and hurt. The most hurt were the Cherokees who fought under and alongside Jackson’s army in past wars, such as the War of 1812. Once Jackson changed, the plan for the removal
The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.
The Battle of Little Bighorn is one of the most, maybe even the most, controversial battle in American history. General George Armstrong Custer led his 210 troops into battle and never came out. Miscalculations, blunders, and personal glory led Custer not only to his death, but also being the most talked about soldier in this battle. But all the blame doesn’t just go on Custer’s shoulders; it also goes on Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno, who both fought in the battle. Both the Captain and the Major both made serious mistakes during the fight, most notable Major Marcus Reno being flat out drunk during the course of the battle. All of these factors have led The Battle of Little Bighorn to being the worst lost to any Plains Indian group in American history.