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Essay on general custer's last stand
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One of the most famous tragedies in United States history, the battle on the banks of the Greasy Grass River is better known as “Custer’s Last Stand” or the “Battle of the Little Bighorn”. The event has undergone copious scrutinization for many years by historians, but it is seldom that anyone addresses it from the Native American standpoint. Books, essays and journal articles can be found that discuss Custer’s faulty strategies from a military standpoint and his arrogance. There are even songs that have been written about the fear of his soldiers as the followed him into battle. All of this study and documentation is from the United States standpoint, however; studies from the Native American viewpoint are sparse and hard to find.
June
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This gathering of tribes was something that did not happen hastily; tensions had been building and movement toward this unification initially began in 1874. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was an integral part of the Black Hills War, the eventuality of the previous conflicts and tensions that had been building between Native Americans and the United States. An Army expedition led by Custer, a Lieutenant Colonel at the time, found gold in the Black Hills. The United States, however, had signed a treaty with the Lakota Sioux six years earlier that granted the hills to the Sioux Nation. Upon Custer’s discovery of gold, the Grant administration sought to purchase the hills; the attempts were rebuffed by the Sioux because they considered them to be sacred …show more content…
The horses of the Seventh Cavalry were grain-fed and as such their health was waning due to eating the prairie grasses, he had grievously underestimated the camp’s numbers and he was unaware that he had lost two-thirds of his numbers to delay. At the battle’s end Sitting Bull’s war leaders had only lost approximately one-hundred men, while Custer and his two-hundred-ten men littered the valley floor.
The Battle of Little Bighorn is almost always remembered in conjunction with George Armstrong Custer. Even though this event led to Custer’s immortalization in American History, it should also be remembered that the battle was not actually about him. More importantly, Custer’s failing was a monumental success for an entire ethnic group that had been so defenseless during the previous skirmishes. They overcame insurmountable odds to win the battle, if not the
Panzeri, Peter. 1995. Little Big Horn 1876: Custer's Last Stand. 8th Ed. New York, NY: Osprey Publishing.
The 7th Cavalry Regiment's destruction at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876 is the subject of over a century of debate. LTC George A. Custer failed to exercise four key responsibilities that were expected of him as the regiment’s commander. He failed to understand the problem and environment, visualize a feasible solution, clearly describe it to his subordinates, and effectively direct his forces. These four aspects of mission command are integral to the operations process and help Soldiers understand and execute their commander's intent. Custer's failure to properly fulfill his role in the operations process resulted in his death and a strategic defeat for the nation.
There are many ways in which we can view the history of the American West. One view is the popular story of Cowboys and Indians. It is a grand story filled with adventure, excitement and gold. Another perspective is one of the Native Plains Indians and the rich histories that spanned thousands of years before white discovery and settlement. Elliot West’s book, Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado, offers a view into both of these worlds. West shows how the histories of both nations intertwine, relate and clash all while dealing with complex geological and environmental challenges. West argues that an understanding of the settling of the Great Plains must come from a deeper understanding, a more thorough knowledge of what came before the white settlers; “I came to believe that the dramatic, amusing, appalling, wondrous, despicable and heroic years of the mid-nineteenth century have to be seen to some degree in the context of the 120 centuries before them” .
Trueman, C. (2013). The Battle of the Little Big Horn. Retrieved April 30, 2013, from History Learning
The article, “Native Reactions to the invasion of America”, is written by a well-known historian, James Axtell to inform the readers about the tragedy that took place in the Native American history. All through the article, Axtell summarizes the life of the Native Americans after Columbus acquainted America to the world. Axtell launches his essay by pointing out how Christopher Columbus’s image changed in the eyes of the public over the past century. In 1892, Columbus’s work and admirations overshadowed the tears and sorrows of the Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus’s undeserved limelight shifted to the Native Americans when the society rediscovered the history’s unheard voices and became much more evident about the horrific tragedy of the Natives Indians.
The Sioux Indians are a large Indian group, located North of Mexico. The actual Sioux name, Nadouessioux means little snakes. The Sioux Indians moved from the east and then ended up near the Mississippi, then moved again to somewhere around Dakota, a little north of Mexico. They referred to themselves as the Otecti Cacowin (Seven Council Fires) because they had 7 council divisions. They were Mdewakantons, Wahpekutes, Wahpetons, Sissetons, Yanktons, Yanktonais, and the Tentons. The Tenton Sioux nomads lived in teepee's and hunted buffalo. They mainly wore buffalo skin, breech clothes, and moccasins. Most of the groups wore similar clothes and also hunted the same food, buffalo, which were plentiful during this time.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria’s book reveals the White view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging affect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems and build a better future for their children.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria book reveals the Whites view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging effect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems.
The journey of exploration to the western territories brought the white man many great things, but they did face some opposition. The US government made plans to explore the Black Hills, after hearing of the gold it contained. This was not an easy task. The Sioux, with strong force, were not giving up their sacred land easily. The only way to gain the territory of the Black Hills was to wage war against the Sioux. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was one battle that the US will never forget. General George Custer led an army of men to take out the Sioux, one of the battalions was completely wiped out including Custer. The Sioux were very strong, but US had a lot more power and technology. Why did we get massacred? This question has been a mystery to many people throughout the years. Sergeant Windolph, of Benteen’s cavalry, and John F. Finerty, from General Crooks cavalry, bring us some personal accounts and memories of this tragedy.
For my extra credit assignment, I visited the Stones River National Battlefield, established on March 3, 1927, in Murfreesboro,Tennessee. I chose this site because of its significant importance during the Civil War. It is the site of one of the largest national battles between Union forces and Confederate forces. The battle resulted in one of the largest losses of life during the Civil War. The geography of the site itself is significant in that it was center to the river and to the rail lines. The surrounding farmland was imperative to the Confederate soldiers as their source of food during the war. Stones River National Battlefield is also home to Stones River National Cemetery and to our country's
To understand the battle of Little Big Horn and the decisions made on the battlefield, one must first understand the leaders that commanded both the 7TH Cavalry and the informal leaders of the Native American tribes. We must also know about the events that led up to the infamous Battle of Little Big Horn.
A few United States Soldiers have attached to their names more controversy than Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. An 1861 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Custer became one of the Civil War’s generals at age 23 years old and received the nickname “Boy General.” His meteoric rise was based in no small degree upon his aggressiveness and reckless courage under fire.1 It was his reckless courage, however, that he was tragically defeated at the Battle of Little Bighorn, also commonly referred to as “Custer's Last Stand”. Custer failed to execute the operations process in which he failed to understand, visualize, describe, and direct his forces that ultimately resulted in his demise and cost the lives of
After the Hungate attack in June of 1864, the Cheyenne and Arapaho people went into Denver for peace talks. Black Kettle was promised peace if him and his people relocated to the military post at Fort Lyon. Major Edward Wynkoop the commander of the fort gave the tribes food and were allowed to camp outside the fort. Word got back to his superiors and he wasn’t supposed to be suppling any Indian with food, so he was replaced with a new commander which he told them to go to sand creek and he would come out there when he knew what he was going to do with them. In 1864, Governor John Evans, very mad that he was denied state hood gave John Chivington one of the military commanders permission to raise a regiment of volunteers, known as 100 day soldiers to take care of the matter himself. Colorado troops repeatedly attacked peaceful villages. Lean Bear one of the peace chiefs was shot when he rode out to talk to the troop and let them know that they wanted peace and not to fight. Lean Bear was one of the chiefs that had gotten a peace medal from President
The first event is the battle of Little Big Horn. This event is called a battle because when the Native Americans and American Soldiers were at war both sides were armed and were organized. The reason for this conflict was gold, American men found gold in the black hills and told the NAtives to move to reservations, but the Indians wouldn't give up the hills and move to reservations this resulted in the battle of Little Big Horn. The American Soldiers lead by Colonel George Armstong Custer consisted of about 600 men. On the other side, the Native American camp consisted of about 2,000 Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho. The Americans didn't plan for a gathering of this sized proportion. When Custer attacked his army was killed very easily and splitting them up weakened the army even more.
In the article review “ How the West was Lost” the author, William T. Hagan explains that in a brief thirty-eight year period between 1848 and 1886, the Indians of the Western United States lost their fight with the United States to keep their lands. While nothing in the article tells us who Hagan is, or when the article was written, his central theme of the article is to inform us of how the Indians lost their lands to the white settlers. I found three main ideas in the article that I feel that Hagan was trying to get across to us. Hagan put these events geographically and chronologically in order first by Plains Indians, then by the Western Indians.