Battle of the Little Big Horn

Saturday July 11, 2015 We left Devil's Tower behind and headed north and west into Montana in the footsteps of explorers, trappers and that famous hero of the plains, Lt Col. George Armstrong Custer. We were headed for the place where he fought his last battle, took his last stand following orders to arrest Sitting Bull and the rest of the Indians that refused to be held hostage for a piece of bacon on the reservation designated by the US government. This was a last stand for Custer and his men and for the Indians that fought for a way of life that was slowly being taken from them by the great process of manifest destiny.

Last look at Devil's Tower, it looks like a broken off horn sticking out of the ground.

Lots of bee keeping in the Dakotas, WY and MT

We broke out of these mountains into hills covered in grasses. It was just as Custer had seen it when he spotted seven thousand Indians camped along the Little Big Horn River. He then moved down to confront the braves, estimated to be between 1500 to 2000 men verses Custer's 700. He divided his forces moving away from his main force to find the end of the encampment when the Indian's attacked. I always thought that the battle was close together but it was spread out over five miles. Custer's force was surrounded and quickly eliminated before the Indian's looted the dead men for their clothes and weapons and then proceeded to attack the second force of soldiers. These soldiers dug in and were able to hold off the Indians until help arrived.

Each white marker marks the position of a 7th Calvary trooper that died in battle. There aren't many markers for Indians because they were carried away before an Army burial party arrived to tend to the dead.

On this spot Custer and his men fought it out with the Indians. They eventually shot their horses and made a last ditch stand using them for cover. The Indians overwhelmed their position and won the day.

The marker with the black is Custer's grave before they moved him to the West point. 

This memorial was erected by the Native Americans for their part in the battle.

We left Custer's ghost and headed south for Sheridan, WY. The Big Horn Mountains were with us on the right as we drove down.

We ended up at Peter D's RV Park. He had one last spot left for us and gave it to us at a discount because it was right on the entrance to the park. The whole area was sold out because the rodeo was in town. I figured there would be plenty of places to stay, who comes to Sheridan, WY? Apparently a lot of people.