Battle of Little Bighorn

Setting the scene

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, fought June 25-26, 1876, was a decisive Native American victory over the U.S. Army during the Great Sioux War. The conflict arose after gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, sacred land guaranteed to the Lakota Sioux by the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie. The U.S. government ordered all Lakota onto reservations by January 1876; those who refused, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, were deemed hostile. The Army launched a three-pronged campaign to force them onto reservations.

What happened

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, leading the 7th Cavalry (about 600 men), was part of General Alfred Terry's column. On June 25, Custer discovered a large village of 1,500-2,500 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors along the Little Bighorn River in Montana. Disobeying orders to wait for reinforcements, Custer divided his force and attacked, seeking glory. He led 210 men against the village's north end, while Major Marcus Reno attacked from the south. Reno was repulsed, and Custer's battalion was surrounded and annihilated—every man killed within an hour.

Why it still matters

The battle, called 'Custer's Last Stand,' was the worst U.S. Army defeat in the Indian Wars and shocked the nation during its centennial year. It was a temporary victory for the Lakota—public outrage led to increased military pressure, and within a year, most Lakota surrendered and were forced onto reservations. Sitting Bull fled to Canada, Crazy Horse surrendered and was killed in 1877. The battle became mythologized as a heroic last stand, though recent archaeology shows it was a chaotic rout. It remains a powerful symbol of Native resistance and the tragic consequences of American expansion.

Background

The Plains Wars continued for years.