History That Doesn't Suck - 78: The Indian Wars (Part 2): The Battle of the Little Bighorn (the Greasy Grass)

Episode Date: November 23, 2020

“There’s a good fight coming over the hill. That’s where the big fight is going to be. We’ll not miss that one.” This is the story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (or the Greasy Grass).�� In 1868, representatives of the US government meet leaders from a few indigenous nations at Fort Laramie to sign a treaty. The agreement creates the boundaries for a Great Sioux Reservation and “unceded” Sioux territory. But the treaty soon falters: With the discovery of gold in the Lakota’s sacred Black Hills, miners and settlers flock to the reservation’s mountain range. Meanwhile, thousands of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho “non-treaty Indians” refuse to move to the reservation. The US government responds by designating them as “hostile.” In 1876, three US armies move out to force the now thousands-strong non-treaty village to the reservation. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th Cavalry finds them first. Will he succeed in forcing them to the reservation? Or will Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse’s village defeat the cavalry and maintain its liberty? It will all come down to a battle on the hills just above the eastern bank of the Little Bighorn River. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Say it. Alright. Let's save Christmas. There it is. Only in theaters November 15th. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, my goal here is to make rigorously researched history come to life as your storyteller. Each episode is the result of laborious research with no agenda other than making the past come to life as you learn. If you'd like to help support this work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content,

and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a 7-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com slash membership, or click the link in the episode notes. It's the afternoon of June 25th, 1876. As many as a thousand teepees of a Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho village sprawl across the prairie. Its 6,000 to 8,000 inhabitants are enjoying a relaxing day. They are currently at war with the United States, but no one is expecting an attack presently. U.S. troops should be at least a day's travel out.

Women are preparing food and chatting. Young men are watering their ponies or playing the hoop and pole game. Still others are sleeping in after a late night of celebratory dancing. As the hot afternoon sun beats down, kids are swimming in the river at the village's edge. These tribes and many other indigenous peoples of the Great Plains call it the Greasy Grass. You might know it by another name, though, the Little Bighorn River. But the mood of leisure comes to an end around 3 p.m.

They are charging! The chargers are coming! A messenger yells. Scared and still naked from swimming, children run back to camp searching for their mothers. The mothers dash around searching for their children. Fathers and young men scramble for their ponies and guns. Approximately 150 men, 130 or so cavalry accompanied by two Crow

and 20-plus Arikara scouts charge north and downriver toward the Lakota Cheyenne village. The indigenous scouts are in the lead and begin to gather Lakota and Cheyenne horses to prevent their use in battle. At the same time, Battalion Commander Major Marcus A. Reno instructs his blue-clad troops to stop. Halt! Prepare to fight on foot.

Dismount! he hollers. With every fourth man holding horses, Halt! Prepare to fight on foot. Dismount! he hollers. With every fourth man holding horses, the cavalry form a skirmish line a quarter mile or so short of the village's southern end. It's a wise choice. They're grossly outnumbered. But in truth, the major and his men don't know that yet. So why the caution? Well, some, like Sergeant Charles White, will later report that Marcus and other officers

have been hit in the flask pretty hard. So the decision is more likely born of whiskey than wisdom, but whatever the cause, the Major fears he's charging into a trap. They'll approach on foot. Multiple things now happen at once. Two rookie cavalrymen who couldn't dismount or control their scared galloping horses

fly into the village. They're pulled down and killed. Meanwhile, the cavalry's indigenous scouts find a group of women and children in a wooded area near the river. They kill ten of them. Unaware of this and unsure what to make of the cavalry's sudden dismount, Lakota spiritual leader Sitting Bull rides out to see if he can parlay a piece. Bullets rip through both of Good Bear Boy's legs and Sitting Bull's beloved gray horse. The bereaved spiritual leader calls to his men,

My best horse is shot! It is likely they have shot me! Attack them! The two sides exchange fire. As guns crack, more village defenders gather. Soon, as many as 500 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors are engaging the cavalry as they spill from the open prairie into the trees near the river's western edge. As of 3.45 p.m., the fighting's drawn to a stalemate.

But that's about to change. With his body covered in yellow war paint and dots of white, a Lakota leader charges out. He's armed with a stone-headed war club and a Winchester carbine. Think short-barreled rifle. An excited cry goes through the village. Crazy Horse is coming! A legend in his own right on the battlefield, Crazy Horse rides before his fellow Lakota

and allied Cheyenne, urging them to save their shot. He wants to let the cavalry fire until their guns overheat and jam up. With this new strategy, they wait as the cavalry continue to fire. After several minutes, Crazy Horse is satisfied. It's time to attack. He yells out to those with him, Here are some of the soldiers after us. Do your best and let us kill them all off today, that they may trouble us no more. All ready?

Charge! Hookahe! Hundreds of Lakota and Cheyenne gallop forward. Despite having suffered hardly any casualties, the cavalry still on the prairie start to buckle. This includes Battalion Commander Marcus Reno, whom Fred Gerard watches fall back while still throwing it back. To quote Fred, I saw him put a bottle of whiskey to his mouth

and drink the whole contents. Crazy Horse, other leaders, and fellow fighters follow the cavalry into the trees. It's a full-on melee. According to Flying Hawk, the dust was thick and we could hardly see. We got right among the soldiers and killed a lot with our bows and arrows and tomahawks. Crazy Horse was ahead of all, and he killed a lot of them with his war club. Amid the fierce fighting,

a shot rips through the head of an Arikara scout, bloody knife. Exiting his skull, the bullet showers Major Marcus Reno and the dead scout's blood, bone fragments, and brains. Any of you men who wish to make your escape, follow me! The shocked, brain and blood splattered, inebriated Major desperately calls out. Those who hear mount their horses and follow, while others fight on. But Crazy Horse is pushing for a decisive end.

Come on! Die with me! It's a good day to die! Cowards to the rear! He exclaims. With renewed effort, he and his men pursue the fleeing cavalry. Firing bullets and arrows alike, the Lakota and Cheyenne pick off cavalrymen with ease as they splash into the Little Bighorn River after their commander one warrior will later recall and I

quote it was like chasing buffalo upon reaching the Little Bighorn's eastern bank the blue clad soldiers horses slip and scramble as they send a steep clay covered slope finally they reach the relative safety of the hilltop. Exhausted cavalrymen immediately dig rifle pits and fire a few shots. Some cry as they look down on their dead in the river and woods below. They've lost 32 troops, 3 officers, 3 civilians, and 2 Arikara scouts. Still more are missing, and 13 of the roughly 100 cavalrymen on this hill are wounded. Yeah, this didn't go as planned.

The Lakota and Cheyenne have their own dead to mourn. 10 women and children and 11 fighting men, 9 Lakota, 2 Cheyenne. But at least they have successfully defended their village and families. You've missed the fight, Short Bull says to Crazy Horse, teasing him for missing the first 20 minutes of the battle. Sorry to miss the fight, Crazy Horse answers with a laugh. Then a somber tone overtakes him. Pointing north, he continues.

But there's a good fight coming over the hill. That's where the big fight is going to be. We'll not miss that one. Crazy Horse is pointing to a large group of cavalry two miles in the distance. It's led by a man they call Long Hair. But you might know the lieutenant colonel by his giving name. George Armstrong Custer. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck.

I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. Today, we have the story of one of the best-known battles of the Indian Wars, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as the Battle of the Greasy Grass. But you may know it by a term that romanticizes the last moments of the U.S. 7th Cavalry's commander, Custer's Last Stand. But why did this battle even happen? Well, from treaties to Black Hills Gold, I'll give you that important background as we examine this battle that is a part of the Great Sioux War.

As we go, I'll introduce you to some important indigenous nations, as well as key players like George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse. Then we'll get to the battle itself, and of course, contextualize what happens to George Custer and his men. Then finally, we get to one last sad chapter, the suffering of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho in the battle's aftermath. We have a lot to do, so let's head back nearly a decade to the year 1868 and situate ourselves so we can follow how this fateful battle ever came to be. You know how we do that. Rewind.

Indigenous groups on America's Great Plains lived the life many 20th and 21st century Americans will mistakenly attribute to all American Indians. They live in teepees, follow the buffalo, and make horse riding an art. That said, you'll find a rich variety of languages, cultures, friends, and enemies here. We're going to interact with at least four such groups meaningfully in this episode, so let me introduce some of them. I'll start with the largest group, the Sioux Nation's Lakota people. Do you remember my explanation of the Sioux during the last episode? No worries if you don't. Here's a quick refresher.

In mid-19th century America, the Sioux divide into three major groups. Going from east to west, they are the Dakota, originally of Minnesota, now in eastern Dakota territory, as you likely recall from last time. Then comes the Nakota, who live more centrally in the Dakota territory, just east of the Missouri River. And finally, the Lakota. This group spans the western portion of the Dakota Territory and continues well into Wyoming Territory.

With a population of perhaps 20,000, the Lakota are roughly half of the entire Sioux population. The Lakota also further divide into seven smaller and quite independent subgroups. I won't list them right here. I realize that could get a little overwhelming to remember in a single episode But when you later hear me describe a Lakota say, crazy horse as in Oglala Lakota

you'll know the adjective is his subgroup Likewise, keep in mind that when you hear Sioux that could be a synonym for the Lakota or a reference to them coupled with other groups Context will be key Got that locked in? Sweet We're golden then or a reference to them coupled with other groups. Context will be key. Got that locked in?

Sweet. We're golden then. Next, we have the Cheyenne and the Arapaho. While the Cheyenne are an Algonquin-speaking people originally from the Great Lakes region, conflict with other indigenous groups and white settlers alike pushed them onto the Great Plains. Here, they bumped into the entirely distinct and separate Arapaho people. In time, these two peoples developed a unique sign language that

came to be used by various Great Plains tribes to overcome linguistic barriers. The Cheyenne and Arapaho also fought together against the westward-moving Lakota for control of the game-filled mountain range located in the western portion of the future state of South Dakota. These mountains are known as the Black Hills. But that conflict is well in the past. By the mid-19th century, the Lakota have enjoyed firm control over the Black Hills for several decades and consider this mountain range to be sacred. Meanwhile, the Cheyenne and Arapaho have split, or are splitting, into northern and southern bands. The northern Cheyenne and Arapaho have split, or are splitting, into northern and southern bands. The northern Cheyenne and northern Arapaho are the ones we'll follow today, and by this

point they've allied with their former foe, the Lakota. But that doesn't mean conflict has disappeared from the Great Plains. Our fourth and final indigenous nation is the Crow, and they are enemies of the Lakota. Both claim the same territory near the Powder River Basin in future Wyoming. Otherwise, you'll find the Crow west of the Lakota and north of the Northern Cheyenne, roughly at Montana Territory's southern border. Oof, I realize that was a lot of new information.

Just remember that by this point, the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho are allied together, and they and the Crow are enemies. If you've got that, you're good. So now let's start to trace the current conflict between the Lakota Alliance and the United States. It's April 29th, 1868. Leaders from the Lakota, Northern Arapaho, and the United States are gathered at Fort Laramie in what is just months away from being organized as Wyoming Territory. They're here to sign a treaty.

Now leaders from these and several other indigenous tribes, allies and enemies alike, signed another treaty with the U.S. near this same fort back in 1851. It said the United States may build forts in Native American territory signed another treaty with the U.S. near this same fort back in 1851. It said the United States may build forts in Native American territory to guarantee settlers safe passage along the Oregon Trail and to find territory between all parties. But it failed miserably after the discovery of gold in soon-to-be Montana territory. By 1863, droves of gold-seeking settlers began breaking from the Oregon Trail at Fort Laramie to follow the new Bozeman Trail's 600-mile path to Virgin City, Montana,

right through Crow and Lakota disputed territory. The Crow didn't really mind an American presence as it reinforced the treaty saying this land was theirs. The Lakota, however, saw this as a threat, which became all the more real after U.S. Cavalry Colonel John Shivington and his men massacred some 200 of the Lakota's Cheyenne and Arapaho allies in Colorado on November 29, 1864. I don't use that word lightly. Sand Creek wasn't a battle. Most of those killed were women and children. The Army used Cheyenne and Arapaho toddlers for target practice.

Captain Silas Sewell, who refused to participate or let his men participate, later testified against the colonel and was murdered shortly thereafter. If not a direct factor in Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud's choice to lead a coalition to war against the U.S. Army in not-yet-formed Wyoming territory, the massacre may help explain Red Cloud's own heavy tactics on December 21, 1866. That day, 10 indigenous soldiers drew 81 U.S. troops to an ambush.

They then slew every single man. Horrified U.S. citizens called it a massacre. The Lakota Cheyenne Arapaho called it a battle. Whatever you call it, Red Cloud not only won the day, he won the war. So now, in 1868, Red Cloud's war has brought on this new treaty. It establishes the Great Sioux Reservation, which is roughly the western half of what will

eventually become the state of South Dakota. And crucially, it includes the Lakota's sacred Black Hills. It also shuts down the Bozeman Trail. The land it cuts through, which is just west of the newly designated Great Sioux Reservation, is now dubbed Unceded Territory. It's a bit of a knife in the back to the crow, considering that the last treaty designated much of this as theirs, and they stood by the United States. But it's a real win for Red Cloud and his allies. Finally, the treaty says no additional land may be ceded to the U.S. by a future treaty unless, and I quote, signed by at least three-fourths of all the adult male Indians. Close quote. Although a considerably smaller territory than what the Lakota and larger Sioux

Nation have previously claimed, many indigenous leaders see this as their best current option. Several Lakota, Nakota, and Arapaho leaders sign, or make their X, which may or may not indicate a full understanding of the document, between April and November. U.S. dignitaries sign as well. This includes U.S. Civil War hero, well, hero to the North, William Tecumseh Sherman. But not all Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho leaders see things like Red Cloud. Some, like Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, refuse to trust the United States.

They reject this treaty and its boundaries. If U.S. leaders want these non-treaty Lakota to stay on the res, they'll have to do it by force. How can you be sure you're making the right decision when choosing a university? The smart approach is to look at the facts, like the fact that York U graduates have a 90% employer satisfaction rate. That's because across its three GTA campuses, York U's programs are strategically designed to prepare you for a meaningful career and long-term success. Join us in creating positive change at yorku.ca slash write the future. Napoleon Bonaparte rose from obscurity to become the most powerful and significant figure in modern history.

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people, populated with remarkable characters. I hope you'll join me as I examine this fascinating era of history. Find The Age of Napoleon wherever you get your podcasts. It's now 1874, and the non-treaty Lakota and their allies are really frustrating Philip Sheridan. I know, it seems like every time we turn around, this U.S. Civil War hero, again, hero to the north, is in our post-Civil War episodes. It's true, the short, barrel-chested, handlebar-mustache general bounces from reconstructing the South to the Indian Wars. So here we are again, with Phil. Now, as I said, he's frustrated.

Since non-treaty Lakota do not recognize the 1868 agreement, they are continuing about their life without concern for its boundaries. This means raiding and fighting against their indigenous enemy, the Pawnee, as well as white settlers and others involved with the Union Pacific Railroad on lands these Lakota do not recognize as ceded. It doesn't help that Phil has no particular love for Native Americans. The war-hardened general is alleged to have once declared, quote, the only good Indians I ever saw were dead. Close quote. Thankfully, his answer to this situation is more measured than that rhetoric.

I thought it would be the best policy for the government to surround this reservation by large military posts to ultimately keep the Indians within its bounds and the white people from encroaching on its limits. Phil likes rules, clear expectations, and compliance. Using coercive means to keep the Lakota in and white settlers out sounds great to him.

He calls on one of his favorite subordinates from the Civil War years to scout out a location for a fort in the Black Hills. This is George Armstrong Custer. We first met George back in episode 60 at the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, but let me get you up to speed with him. The thin, blue-eyed, long and curly-haired,

mustachioed cavalry commander made a name for himself in the Civil War. It was one of his men that mortally wounded the famous and feared Confederate general, Jeb Stuart, at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in episode 64. George gained a reputation for bravery and risk-taking that tended to work out, an appreciated trait on the battlefield.

Though deeply in love, none of that lets up when he marries Elizabeth Libby Bacon in February 1864. As Phil Sheridan observed only a few weeks after the ceremony, Custer, you are the only man whom matrimony has not spoiled for a charge. Like many successful Union commanders and officers, the end of the Civil War didn't mean peace for the seemingly always lucky George Armstrong Custer. It only meant a new theater of war. In 1866, George was sent west

as a newly commissioned lieutenant colonel in the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Native Americans of the Great Plains came to know George better than they'd like in 1868. While pursuing a war party in Indian Territory, future Oklahoma, his Osage Indian scouts determined that they'd entered a primarily Cheyenne village. So, on the morning of November 27th, George ordered an attack. I can't give you an accurate death toll. All I can tell you for sure is that Southern Cheyenne leader Black Kettle and his wife, Medicine Woman, both died from being shot in the back.

The 7th Cavalry killed an unspecified number of women and children, as well as 675 horses. And when neighboring indigenous villages came to help, George's men retreated by using hostages as human shields. George called it a battle. The Battle of Ouachita River. The Cheyenne called it a massacre. So now, in the summer of 1874,

George is leading this expedition to sort out a place for a fort in the Black Hills. This is no small affair. He's got almost 1,000 soldiers, Gatling guns, 61 Arikara scouts, whose people are sworn enemies of the Lakota, and, like any expedition, a handful of newspaper reporters and academics. He's also got two miners. Damn, that's quite the crew.

How many guys does it take to find a suitable location for a fort? And that's where things get a bit sketch. George's official task is to locate a good spot for a fort. But is he looking for gold too? A fort is arguably legitimate under the 1868 treaty. Looking for gold is not. And newspapers across the nation are about the latter. Here's the Baltimore Sun's July 25, 1874 headline.

Quote, Looking for gold. Custer's exploring expedition. Close quote. The Boston Advertiser also thinks this expedition is less about a fort and more about wealth. But its writers have sympathy for the Lakota. It decries the expedition as, quote, a continuation of the long course of bad faith which the United States has consistently pursued in its dealings with the Redmen, close quote. I can't tell you if it's July 31st or early August.

Sources conflict. But it's during that week that Georgia's two miners try panning for gold in the Black Hills French Creek. And at some point, yeah, they find gold. One of the Arikara scouts looks on, utterly confused. Why are these men screaming, jumping, throwing their hats in the air, even dancing? Talking to Private Ewart, he wonders if the mountain spirits have done something to these guys.

No. The Private explains their excitement is of a much more terrestrial nature. Whatever intentions we do or don't ascribe to George Custer's expedition, the discovery of gold brings on a gold rush. Already suffering through a severe recession since last year, American citizens flock to the Black Hills. Soon, General Philip Sheridan can't kick miners out of the Black Hills half as fast as they're arriving. That means the United States is now failing to uphold the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. President Ulysses S. Grant's first reaction is to make this right.

Not surprising, considering this is the first president to name an American Indian, Ely Parker, as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as we learned in episode 74. Further, his peace policy is predicated upon the success of the reservation system. He wants this to work. Ulysses offers to buy the Black Hills from the Sioux Nation for $6 million, but that's not going to fly. Remember, the Sioux consider the Black Hills to be sacred. This is their faith. Might as well ask to buy the Vatican, Jerusalem, Mecca. Some things just aren't for sale. Meanwhile, Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delano tells the President that while his office wishes to honor the treaty,

it would also, quote, use every effort possible to extinguish the Indian title to the Black Hills country and open the same to settlement and explorations for minerals at the earliest day practicable, close quote. Sounds like the Grant administration is talking out both sides of its mouth. At least until November 3rd, 1875. A meeting with his top brass convinces Ulysses that the military is incapable of enforcing the 1868 treaty by keeping white settlers out of the Black Hills. With that bleak perspective, Ulysses says the military will stop even trying because doing so, quote, only increased their, the miners, desires, and complicated troubles. Close quote.

Meanwhile, Ulysses will enforce the treaty on the Sioux. Even those Lakota and allied bands that never signed or accepted the treaty. Agents are sent to tell them that if they don't relocate to the Great Sioux Reservation by January 31st, 1876, they will be considered, quote-unquote, hostile. Well, non-treaty Lakota like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and thousands of others won't be reporting to the Rez. Instead, frustrated Lakota on the reservation begin leaving to join them. The group is still in the treaty's unceded Sioux territory, but that isn't the Rez, which means the United States government dubs them as hostile on February 1st. And so, as white settlers continue to violate the 1868 treaty, the U.S. Army moves out to force this burgeoning band of Lakota and allies

onto the reservation defined by that same treaty. Thus begins the Great Sioux War of 1876. Strategically, the U.S. military's plan is simple. Led by seasoned Civil War vets, three armies will move against the various bands of non-treaty Indians in a pincer movement that converges on them in unceded territory. General George Crook's column will march north from Wyoming Territory's Fort Fetterman, coming from Montana Territory, Colonel John Gibbons' column will depart from Fort Ellis, marching east, and crucially, General Alfred Terry's column will march west from Dakota Territory's Fort Abraham Lincoln.

With him is the U.S. 7th Cavalry. Its commander, as you know, is the already famous Civil War hero, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. But simple plans do not equate simple execution. Starting on March 1st, General George Crook's nearly 700 men move up the Old Bozeman Trail. A little over two weeks later, cavalry under Colonel J.J. Reynolds spot horse tracks near the Powder River that lead them to a Cheyenne village. On the frigid, sub-zero morning of March 17th, his men attack. A Cheyenne fighter tells us that, quote, women screamed, children cried for their mothers, old people tottered away to get out of reach

of the bullets singing among the lodges, close quote. With leaders urging them to fight like men, 250 or so warriors attain the high ground and hold back the almost 400 cavalrymen for hours as the village escapes. The Battle of Black Powder River claims few lives. About four cavalrymen and four American Indian warriors. It also helps push the non-treaty Indians together. With their camp destroyed, this Cheyenne band trudges through the freezing temperatures to Crazy Horse's Oglala Lakota village. Seeing that his village is too small to take care of so many, Crazy Horse breaks camp and leads both groups to a far larger village of Hunkpapa and Mini Kanju Lakota.

Its leader is Sitting Bull. Meanwhile, more reservation-dwelling Native Americans are deciding to throw in with their non-treaty brethren. Remember that combined Lakota-Cheyenne-Arapaho village I told you about in this episode's opening? Well, it's starting to form. Meanwhile, General George Crook has little choice but to retreat back to Fort Fetterman. In other words, all his quickly court-martialed colonel managed to do is fill the Lakota and their allies with resolve to fight. It will be a few months before the next battle, so as the three columns move and the non-treaty Indian village swells, let me officially introduce you to our two most famous Lakota leaders, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Born in or around 1831, Sitting Bull is a Hunkpapa Lakota. He acquired his name, or rather, this name,

as a teenager by counting coup in a battle against the crow. In other words, he exposed himself to great danger by getting in close quarters, touching an enemy warrior, then riding off. It's a deadly gamble, but American Indians of the Great Plains value the move as a display of bravery and skill. So that's how he earned the name Sitting Bull, and by the 1860s, this handsome, strong-jawed, straight-mouthed Lakota has made quite the name for himself among his people. Sitting Bull deeply values liberty and freedom. To quote him, All agency Indians I have seen are worthless. Now we are poor, but we are free. And now, by 1876, thousands of Lakota, Cheyenne, and other allies look to the non-treaty resistor Sitting Bull for their spiritual and

political leadership. There are many other important leaders working with Sitting Bull, like fellow Hunkpapa Lakota, Chief Gal, Oglala Lakota, Hay Dog, or the Cheyenne leaders, Lame White Man, and Two Moons. But the most famous figure working on Sitting Bull at this point is Crazy Horse. The details of Crazy Horse's childhood are less than clear. He was born somewhere around 1840 to parents from two different Lakota bands and lived among at least a third. Nonetheless, he is associated with his father's band, the Oglala Lakota. There are a few different accounts of how he acquired his name, but the one I find the most convincing is that,

as a teenager, he returned from a battle with another tribe with two scalps. Overcome with pride at the skill and bravery this displayed, his father, who was already named Crazy Horse, gave his own name to his young son. His skill and shrewd battle tactics are proven again and again in battle against enemy tribes and the United States. For instance, remember when I told you that 10 warriors lured William Fetterman and 80 other U.S. troops to their deaths

during Red Cloud's war? Well, Crazy Horse was one of those 10. His choices off the battlefield aren't so great. A few years ago, he ran off with a married woman. Her husband then shot Crazy Horse in the face. Miraculously, he survived. The whole event was scandalous, and Crazy Horse lost status with his people, but he's still a leader of sorts.

I mean, the young-looking warrior with a curiously light complexion and hair down to his hips is simply unmatched on the battlefield. No one can overlook that in these perilous times. And so, in 1876, as winter gives way to spring, Sitting Bull's non-treaty village continues to grow as Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho flock to it. Soon enough, it consists of thousands of people, including some 2,000 or so warriors. And in June, they get a good spiritual sign. With the village camping by the Rosebud Valley River, Sitting Bull begins the two-day, two-night ritual sun dance on June 6th.

This is an annual ritual of purification and common among many of the peoples of the Great Plains. But it's especially important this year given the conflict ahead. Sitting Bull purifies in a sweat lodge. He carries out the pipe ceremony. One hundred small pieces of flesh are cut from his arms as he prays to the Wonk and Tonka, or as white Americans understand it, the Great Spirit. He faints while dancing and has a vision of upside-down, earless soldiers and their horses falling into the midst of Lakota tipis. When he comes to, Sitting Bull sacrifices a buffalo and interprets his dream.

The village will enjoy a great victory, but the missing ears mean their warriors must abstain from taking any prizes off the dead. The village is elated and victory soon comes. After a few smaller skirmishes, Crazy Horse leads some 1,000 or so warriors out to meet General George Crook. Yes, after getting licked and retreating this past winter, he's already heading northward into the unceded territory. Crazy Horse's army rides 50 miles through the night of June 16th to carry out a sneak attack. And it works.

On the morning of the 17th, the Lakota Cheyenne army descends upon U.S. troops and their Crow and Shoshone allies. For three hours, the approximately equal in size armies battle it out. Amid the fighting, a Cheyenne man loses his war pony right in front of U.S. forces. It's a perilous position. His fellow warriors assume he's a goner. Well, all but his sister, that is. Ready to risk all for her sibling,

Buffalo Calf Road Woman rides straight into enemy fire, grabs and pulls him onto her steed, and gallops off to safety. For that act of bravery and display of Great Plains Indian horsemanship, the Lakota Cheyenne Army names the engagement after her, calling it, the battle where the young girl saved her brother. The U.S. will name it after the nearby creek, the Battle of the Rosebud. The non-treaty Indian Army sends General George Crook's column on the retreat. Is this the victory Sitting Bull foresaw? Some think so. Others aren't so sure. Casualties were low on both sides. Shouldn't the victory be a bit more definitive?

Well, there are two things these American Indian forces don't know. First, they just deflected one of three armies, ruining the planned three-way pincer movement. Second, a far larger engagement with a different U.S. Army is only a week away. The massive, non-treaty Indian village now includes people from all seven bands of the Lakota and plenty of Cheyenne and Arapaho. They've moved as well. Their thousand or so tipis now stretch out a full mile along the greasy grass river's western bank, or the Little Bighorn's western bank. Pick your name. They dance nightly, celebrating their recent victory.

The village knows there is another army approaching from the east, but few apart from the prayerful sitting bull are worried about it. They're sure the army is still a full day's march away, at least. That's right. We're back to where this episode opened. The army approaching the village is the 7th U.S. Cavalry. Yes, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's unit. His commanding officer, General Alfred Terry, has sent the long, curly-haired cavalryman down to the Little Bighorn River's headwaters with hopes he and his roughly 600 men can pursue the non-treaty Indian village downriver, that is, north, and into the U.S. military's waiting arms. It's now approaching noon on June 25th.

The 7th Cavalry's Crow Scouts found the village's path last night, and George has had them on the march since. Unfortunately for him, it's been brought to his attention that some Cheyenne warriors have also found his trail. Determined not to let this village slip away, George figures he has to attack immediately. And to that end, he now splits his forces. Now, both of George's top subordinate commanders, Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Bentin, dislike him, maybe even hate him. Especially Frederick.

He's never forgiven George for leaving a friend of his for dead back at Ouachita in 1868. But personal relations notwithstanding, Frederick Benteen and his 115 men are to go farther southwest and make sure there aren't any other non-treaty Indian camps down that way. If Frederick doesn't find anything, he's to hook back up with the rest of the army immediately. A Crow Scout advises George not to divide his men, but he won't listen. He sends Frederick's small battalion on their way. It's now about 2.30. George has covered several miles, and they've come upon an abandoned campsite. There's a lone teepee left with the dead body

of a warrior inside. The dead man passed from wounds at the Battle of Rosebud that sent George Crook's column in retreat. But of course, George Custer and his men know nothing about that. All this George knows is the campfire embers are still hot, so the Lakota Cheyenne village can't be far. He figures he has to move. He splits his forces again. George orders Marcus Reno to take three companies of 150 or so men, including Crow and Arikara scouts, and rush ahead at the village. George assures Marcus that he will be right behind to support him. Mitch Boyer, a half-French-Canadian, half-Santee Dakota scout,

implores the lieutenant colonel once more not to split his forces. This village really is big. The scouts please fall in deaf ears. From the creators of the popular science show with millions of YouTube subscribers comes the MinuteEarth podcast. Every episode of the show dives deep into a science question you might not even know you had, but once you hear the answer, you'll want to share it with everyone you know. Why do rivers curve? Why did the T-Rex have such tiny arms? And why do so many more kids need glasses now than they used to? Spoiler alert, it isn't screen time. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation, jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. Conflicted is the podcast for you I trace the epic battles between Muslims and the West

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Subscribe to Conflicted wherever you get your podcasts. Now you know what happens to Marcus Reno. The alcoholic major liquors up and attacks half an hour later, has his men dismount, gets chased into the trees by the Little Bighorn River, then gets chased across it and up the steep clay hill that is the river's eastern bank. By a little after 4 p.m., his failure is as strong as his buzz. But to be fair, George Custer said he'd support Marcus's attack. Instead, the Lakota and Cheyenne saw the 7th Cavalry Commander and his remaining forces farther downriver along the hills of the eastern bank.

So what's up with that? By support, I don't think George Custer meant, I'm right behind you. This is a, oh, how should I put this, overconfident army. At 3 p.m., as Marcus Reno is charging across the prairie to carry out his attack, George and his five companies are indeed on the hills of the river's eastern bank, laying their eyes on the distant Lakota Cheyenne Arapaho village. Imagine being one of these just over 200 men.

They look at this village of possibly 8,000 and aren't intimidated in the least. They're excited. They've found the Indians. Hold your horses, boys, George calls to his cavalrymen. There are plenty of them down there for us all. Orders are written for two groups. George's younger brother, Captain Tom Custer, instructs an NCO to call the pack train, that is, the hundred or so men with their supplies, to come up and provide support. Go to Captain McDougall. Tell him to bring the pack train straight across the country. If any packs come loose, cut them and come on quick. A big Indian camp. If you see Captain

Bentine, tell him to come quick. A big Indian camp. George Custer and his five companies continue south. Oh, they are getting close to the village. Looks like there aren't even many defenders. They're all busy fighting Marcus Reno's men, who at this point seem to be doing just fine. Excellent. George announces they'll descend on the village. If he can make prisoners of the women and children, well, this could play out as well as the success he had at Washita back in 1868 before the Cheyenne got reinforcements. But he gives one more order before they move out.

He tells Giovanni Martini to go get Captain Frederick Bentin. Tell him he's needed. Not confident the Italian immigrant turned U.S. Army trumpeter understands. An adjutant writes the order out so he can hand it to the captain. The letter reads, Bentin, come on. Big village. Be quick.

Bring packs. P.S. Bring packs. Things get harder to recount at this point. Dead men tell no tales, as they say, so historians will never know just what George Custer and his men are thinking in their final moments. But I can tell you what the Lakota and Cheyenne are thinking and feeling. Their accounts and military investigations also give us a glimpse into the cavalry unit's last moments.

So let's do this as best as we can. Lakota and Cheyenne warriors see the cavalry on the bluffs just across the Little Bighorn River. It's a terrifying and discouraging sight. They all figure they're done for. But Sitting Bull encourages them. The powerful medicine man declares, We are here to protect our wives and children, and we must not let the soldiers get them. Make a brave fight.

It's about this time that Marcus Reno's attack is falling apart. Now in a ravine down Cedar Coulee, George Custer and his officers likely discuss strategy at this point. Do they charge the village? Or do they wait for reinforcements? Seems they try to have the best of both worlds. Captain Miles Keogh takes a wing composed of three companies farther north to some hills, where they can watch for Captain Frederick Benteen. Meanwhile, Captain George Yates' wing, consisting of the other two companies,

goes west, down Medicine Tail Cooley. They are just across the Little Bighorn River from the village. Warriors see Captain Yates and his men. A fight ensues. Bullets and arrows fly, and soon, a few cavalrymen drop dead in the river. Historians will later disagree on what Yates' wing is doing. Is this a feigning move, or are these soldiers trying to ford the river and hit the village? I can't tell you.

Just as I can't tell you which wing George Custer is with. A Cheyenne account will later say a buckskin-clad officer is in this fight and that he's shot. This is what George Custer is wearing, but it's doubtful this is him. His Remington rifle uses brass-cased cartridges, not the usual copper, and let's just say we're going to find a lot of brass casings elsewhere on the field. Either way, Captain Yates' wing retreats, ascending another ravine called Deep Coulee. He and his men reunite with Miles Keogh's wing just before 5pm, meaning George Custer and his five companies are all back together on a hill. As George is, I assume, considering the next move, hundreds of warriors are silently moving toward his unified companies.

They attack sporadically at first. An isolated shot strikes a US soldier. An arrow seems to drop from the sky. The cavalry can't even see them half the time or more. Then the attack picks up. Warriors' arrows seem, their guns crack. Some 300 of them have repeating rifles superior to that of the cavalry. These projectiles fall on the U.S. cavalry like rain.

They dismount, form lines, and fire back. But between the night march, long rides, and now, growing fear, they're shaking like leaves. Worse still for them, they make great targets. They stand out in their blue uniforms on the top of the hill, and warriors just keep appearing. I can almost feel the terror rising in them. I can almost hear them screaming, and I can just imagine them thinking, God damn it, where is Frederick Benteen? George Custer makes a move. With a meager 70 men, he charges toward the river. We can only assume he's still thinking that,

if he can ford it, he can take captives, like he did at Washita, and get this far larger army to yield. They don't even make it to the water. Cheyenne warriors unleash more bullets and arrows on them. George and his men flee back up the slope, more of them dying as they go. But it's not like things are better up here.

Miles Keough's wing is still getting slaughtered. Captain's command includes George Custer's brother-in-law, Lt. James Calhoun. James and most of his men die on the hill together. From now on, the geographical feature will bear his name, Calhoun Hill. Bullets and arrows continue to rain as those few who survived the slaughter on Calhoun Hill flee to their wing commander. It does no good. Here, on the edge of Battle Ridge, the cavalrymen are shot down rapidly as Crazy Horse and Sitting

Bull's nephew, White Bull, charge back and forth through the blue-clad ranks. The overwhelming numbers and work of death has taken reason itself from the U.S. soldiers. They fire in the air and at the ground. Some are just frozen, petrified with fear. Standing Bear will later say, I really felt sorry for them. They looked so frightened. Many of them lay on the ground with their blue eyes open, waiting to be killed. Not all feel such sympathy. More are overcome with grief and rage at how they've suffered for years at the hands of the U.S. military. Or even today, Chief Gall wants blood for his two wives and three children killed just

this afternoon. No surrender or plea for mercy will be accepted. In the words of Gall's fellow Lakota, Ironhawk, these white men wanted it, they called for it, and I let them have it. Captain Miles Keogh falls dead in a literal pile of bodies. Meanwhile, George Custer's group is back on top of Battle Ridge. They and any remaining survivors gather on a knoll. They create a defensive barrier by shooting their horses and using the animals' bodies for cover. What desperation. Numbering less than a hundred, surrounded by even more blue-clad corpses and over a thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors, these terrified men must

know they're as good as dead. This is it. This is where they'll make their last stand. Bullets and arrows continue to fly. Forty cavalrymen decide to make a run for it and flee toward the Little Bighorn, but there is no shortage of warriors to greet them as they do. Cut off, they run into a gulch called Deep Ravine. Whether by bullet, arrow, or club, all of them are dead within minutes. And it's not long afterward that the sound and smoke of firing guns on the grassy knoll dissipate. A warrior cries out, All of the white men are dead!

I can't tell you exactly how George Custer met his end. Amid his brass casings, he lays on top of others at the knoll. The corpse has a bullet hole in the chest and left temple. He probably fought wounded for some period of time as the chest wound was mortal but not immediate. It may have been inflicted by the Cheyenne hero of the Battle of Rosebud, Buffalo Calf Road Woman. The Northern Cheyenne will keep this under wraps for over a century, but in the early 21st century, they'll publicly share their tradition that Buffalo Calf Road Woman was the one who knocked George Custer from his horse. Yet, that contradicts other native accounts that credit Spotted Antelope or Brave Bear. So we'll never really know. As for the shot through his head, some think it was a mercy shot fired by his younger brother, Captain Thomas Custer. After all,

Tom's body lays here too, only 15 feet away from George. He may have wanted to spare his superior officer and brother from a more gruesome end. Like the one he personally met, Tom's head has been crushed to a thickness of about one inch. He never would have been identified if not for his tattoos. As for the youngest Custer brother and a nephew, late teens Boston Custer and Henry Reed, they were among the 40 who ran down the deep ravine. Their bodies lay in there, with all the others who fled the knoll. There are no survivors among George Custer's five companies. Of course, that isn't the end of the battle or the 7th Cavalry. Italian-born Giovanni Martini got the message

to Frederick Benton earlier that afternoon. As his battalion was coming up, though, it ran into what was left of Marcus Reno's. Frederick told him about the note, but Marcus said he wasn't going anywhere without more ammo, which was with the still en route pack train. Unaware of how screwed the Lieutenant Colonel really was by this point, Frederick reinforced the still drinking whiskey major. This catches us up to about the time George Custer's five companies are getting wiped out, and now the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors come at Frederick and Reno's position four miles farther south. Their two battalions suffer casualties but hold their positions, along with the later arriving Pactrine soldiers, until the Native Americans, who see a large army approaching, break off the attack the following evening, June 26th.

That army is George Custer's commander, General Alfred Terry. He and his forces arrive the next day, June 27th. Their arrival may very well have saved the rest of the U.S. 7th Cavalry. So the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or the Greasy Grass, is over. But its impact on the United States, and far more so on the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples, is only just beginning.

Let's unpack all of that. First, the United States. Alfred Terry and his men are stunned to find George Custer and his five companies wiped out. Marcus Reno and Frederick Bentine are equally stunned when their generals get to their position and break the news. The dazed soldiers start to count bodies. The U.S. Army has lost 258 men, including three civilians, like Boston Custer, and has another 60 wounded. Compare that to just over 30 Lakota and Cheyenne warrior deaths and 10 innocent women and children. This

was an incredible American Indian victory and U.S. cavalry defeat. Yet, loss and early death immortalized George Armstrong Custer. He becomes a legend. American society already held him as a revered Civil War hero and Indian fighter. A courageous man for whom things always worked out and luck never abandoned. Until that day. George and his men are romanticized newspapers and school primers, which bill the fallen lieutenant colonel as a hero and a quote-unquote true man. Within weeks of the battle in Montana territory, at least five dime novels hit the shelves telling a highly fictionalized, glorified story of George's death. George's devoted widow, Libby, takes up her pen and writes a three-volume memoir of her soldier husband.

Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show, which will tour the United States and Europe at the turn of the century, will reenact and glorify Custer's death, or rather, Custer's last stand. But what of the Lakota Cheyyenne, and Arapaho? Their decisive victory in a battle they didn't start and fought to protect their homelands cost them dearly. Colonel John Gibbon, who, I'll remind you, led the Montana column, had sympathy for the Sioux and Native Americans in general. Just before receiving orders to do his part

in the pincer movement, he wrote this in the Army and Navy Journal. Quote, What would I do if treated as the Indian has been and is? I have seen one who hates an Indian as he does a snake, and thinks there is no good Indian but a dead one, on having the proposition put to him in this way, grind his teeth in rage and exclaim, I would cut the heart out of everyone I could lay my hands on. Close quote. I think this Civil War hero got it right. It makes sense of the Lakota and Cheyenne not taking prisoners and frankly, being brutal. As Ironhawk will later say while explaining how he pummeled a cavalryman's head with a bow, I was very mad. Because the women and children had run away,

scared, and I was thinking about this when I did this killing. In other words, Ironhawk wasn't, to use a term of the era, a quote-unquote savage, who enjoyed brutality. He was a man, furiously protecting his family. In that same fury, the Lakota and Cheyenne mutilate and rob the dead cavalry. Now, Sitting Bull's dream foretold a great victory, which his people had. But it also contained a warning. A voice had said the fallen soldiers were not to be touched. That's not what happens, though. As revenge is taken by many, including widowed women mourning their husbands,

and goods are stolen, Sitting Bull sees this as a failure. His nephew, One Bull, will later say the great medicine man then proclaimed this failure would curse his people to, quote, covet white people's belongings and starve at the white man's door, close quote. While I respectfully doubt stolen guns and coffee impacted anything, it's a bit eerie to see how on point Sitting Bull's prophecies continued to be. The outcome of the Little Bighorn galvanizes U.S. soldiers and politicians back east to crush Indians and their leaders, especially Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. On August 15th, President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Sioux Appropriation Bill. Though it contains increases in food payments, which, we should note, are less a kindness and more a necessity,

the bill also withholds payment from any Indian tribes fighting the U.S. Army. It further promises to withhold any food or cash payments to the Lakota until they give up the unceded territory and their reservations' Black Hills. As the overhunted for sport buffalo can no longer sustain them, the Lakota are basically left with choosing between partingying with more land, including their sacred black hills, or starving to death. That's not much of a choice. But that's not the end of it.

Deeply embarrassed that Indians could beat a cavalry unit so badly, the U.S. Army pursues the non-treaty village. Many of them, including Sitting Bull, will flee to Canada for at least the next few years. Some will stay longer. Those who don't make it to Canada ultimately find themselves pushed to reservations. This includes Crazy Horse who, out of options, rides with nearly 1,000 followers into Fort Robinson on May 6, 1877. He says he wants peace, but knowing his skill, the U.S. Army actually wants him to fight, for them, against other tribes. It's hard to know what exactly happens, but his words get

mistranslated in a meeting. Crazy Horse flees, but is convinced by friends and other Native leaders to return to Fort Robinson in Nebraska. Crazy Horse doesn't understand, though, that, in going back, he'll be placed in prison. When this finally dawns on him back at the fort, he breaks free from the escorts holding his arms, a fellow Lakota, Little Big Man, and Captain Kennington, and runs for freedom. Or tries. Little Big Man manages to grab his wrist. Crazy Horse pulls a hidden knife and cuts his friend. Stab the son of a bitch! Stab the son of a bitch! Captain Kennington screams. A soldier bayonets the legendary warrior. Moved indoors, he lays in pain for hours, and at one point manages to eke out that no white man is to blame for this. I blame

the Indians. But whether those who convinced him to return are to blame, or the U.S. Army is, the result is the same. That night, September 5th, 1877, Crazy Horse passes away. With him dies any remaining hope of Sioux independence. But arguably, the worst of the fallout from the Little Bighorn lands on the non-treaty Cheyenne. Following their surrender, they're moved to reservations far from home, out in Indian Territory, a place you and I know as Oklahoma. In the process, sickness and hunger send infants, the old and the weak, to their graves. It seems like a death sentence, so Dole Knife and Little Wolf lead 300

in a desperate attempt to escape and return to their homelands. This is exhausting. They live as fugitives. In December 1878, they split up. Little Wolf continues to elude authorities. Dullknife goes with others to surrender. Taken to Fort Robinson, they'll be returned to Oklahoma. No. Dullknife's group of 149 people refuses. The soldiers at the fort answer their refusal by refusing them food, water, or wood for fire to stay warm. If they want any of these life-sustaining necessities, they'll have to agree to go to Oklahoma. They still don't cave. Instead, the group tries to make a run for it on January 9, 1879. Few succeed.

In the following weeks, soldiers kill 64 of the escapees and recapture most of the rest. This is known as the Fort Robinson Massacre. But there is one redeeming virtue in Dole Knife and Little Wolf's flight. Some of them do make it to their homeland and are finally permitted to stay. That's why there is a northern Cheyenne reservation in 21st century Montana. The Southern Cheyenne will remain, along with Arapaho in Oklahoma. But the Cheyenne won't be the last to make a break from a reservation. And as these fights continue, some are asking, do Native Americans have civil rights? Next time, we'll see Standing Bear raise and press this very question. He'll do so in a U.S. federal court. Special thanks to our members, whose monthly gift puts them at producer status. low george sherwood gerwith griffin henry brunges jake gilbreth james g bledsoe janie mccreary jeff

marks jennifer moods jennifer magnolia jeremy wells jessica poppock joe dovis john frugal doogle john booby john keller john oliveros john ridley bitch john schaefer john chef jordan corbett joshua steiner justin m spriggs justin may kristin pratt karen bartholomew cassie koneko kim r kyle decker lawrence newbauer linda cunningham mark ellis matthew mitchell matthew What did it take to survive an ancient siege? Why was the cult of Dionysus behind so many slave revolts in ancient Rome? What's the tragic history and mythology behind Japan's most haunted ancient forest? We're Jen and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl. Join us to explore ancient history and mythology from a fun, sometimes tipsy perspective.

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