Little Big Horn anniversary!

Anything else you want to talk about.
Post Reply
User avatar
Karl Heidenreich
Senior Member
Posts: 4808
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:19 pm
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Little Big Horn anniversary!

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Yesterday, June 25 is the 130th anniversary of the greatest defeat an American military unit has ever suffered in the battlefield: Little Big Horn.
On that date, 1876, on the slopes of the Montana´s plateau troops of the 7th US Cavalry, George Armstrong Custer commanding, sighted what they believed was a village of fleeing native americans. A treeline and the angle of observation didn´t let Custer and his scouts to access the real size of the "village". With only 227 men, without the backup of the Gatlin machine gun troop and without their sabers Custer charged against the village.
There, warned beforehand by his own scouts, Crazy Horse, the indian warlord (under the command of the Sioux overall chief, Sitting Bull), launch a counterstrike with his 2,000 warriors. Custer´s charge was stopped cold and he flee until he reached a hill where he make his famous "Last Stand". At ther end all 227 Cavalry men were killed. Their remains were found by Custer´s commander General Terry´s main cavalry column some two days later.
It was a pirric victory for the natives, they had to run to Canada or someplace else because the Cavalry´s sweep operation was too much for the warriors. Sitting Bull end his days in Canada; Crazy Horse was murdered when captive in a US fort; the Sioux nation destroyed...
But, that day, June 25th, was the day Custer met his fate ending in the greatest American military defeat (greater than Kasserine Pass in 1943).
There is a Memorial where Custer make his Last Stand with the names of all the 227 victims. Those with Google Earth can find it at the following coordinates:
N 45 34 13 W 107 25 39
Best regards.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Sir Winston Churchill
User avatar
MJQ
Supporter
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:00 pm
Location: Northern New Jersey, USA

Post by MJQ »

For further reading, I suggest "Son of the Morning Star", which was also made into a made for TV movie with Gary Cole playing Custer. Excellent book, pretty good movie.
Martin
User avatar
Karl Heidenreich
Senior Member
Posts: 4808
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:19 pm
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

MJQ wrote:
For further reading, I suggest "Son of the Morning Star", which was also made into a made for TV movie with Gary Cole playing Custer. Excellent book, pretty good movie.
Indeed an excelent movie, but I haven´t read the book.
The news is that Oliver Stone is about to film a new movie based upon this book (same title) to be released in 2007. Let´s expect a first quality movie with this one.

Very best regards!
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Sir Winston Churchill
Bgile
Senior Member
Posts: 3658
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 7:33 pm
Location: Portland, OR, USA

Post by Bgile »

Hmmm ... I'm afraid with Oliver Stone doing it, Custer will be part of the plot to kill Lincoln.

I've always wanted to visit the place, but it's way off the beaten track. You have to spend a lot of travel time just to get there, and the area holds little interest to me besides the battlefield.

I'm going back east in less than a week and hope to tour some battlefields and the USS North Carolina, in addition to the wedding which is the excuse to go in the first place.
User avatar
Karl Heidenreich
Senior Member
Posts: 4808
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 3:19 pm
Location: San José, Costa Rica

Post by Karl Heidenreich »

I'm going back east in less than a week and hope to tour some battlefields and the USS North Carolina, in addition to the wedding which is the excuse to go in the first place.
You´re lucky, I envy you. I always wanted to go to Gettysburg and walk at Little Round Top summit and along Cementery Hill, travel the same deadly mile Pickett´s men had to. Being there is like being at Waterloo.
And if I can go Little Big Horn would be an obligatory stop: it´s History at it´s best.
Good luck!
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Sir Winston Churchill
User avatar
RF
Senior Member
Posts: 7760
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:15 pm
Location: Wolverhampton, ENGLAND

Re: Little Big Horn anniversary!

Post by RF »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:Yesterday, June 25 is the 130th anniversary of the greatest defeat an American military unit has ever suffered in the battlefield: Little Big Horn.
On that date, 1876, on the slopes of the Montana´s plateau troops of the 7th US Cavalry, George Armstrong Custer commanding, sighted what they believed was a village of fleeing native americans. A treeline and the angle of observation didn´t let Custer and his scouts to access the real size of the "village". With only 227 men, without the backup of the Gatlin machine gun troop and without their sabers Custer charged against the village.
There, warned beforehand by his own scouts, Crazy Horse, the indian warlord (under the command of the Sioux overall chief, Sitting Bull), launch a counterstrike with his 2,000 warriors. Custer´s charge was stopped cold and he flee until he reached a hill where he make his famous "Last Stand". At ther end all 227 Cavalry men were killed. Their remains were found by Custer´s commander General Terry´s main cavalry column some two days later.
It was a pirric victory for the natives, they had to run to Canada or someplace else because the Cavalry´s sweep operation was too much for the warriors. Sitting Bull end his days in Canada; Crazy Horse was murdered when captive in a US fort; the Sioux nation destroyed...
But, that day, June 25th, was the day Custer met his fate ending in the greatest American military defeat (greater than Kasserine Pass in 1943).
There is a Memorial where Custer make his Last Stand with the names of all the 227 victims. Those with Google Earth can find it at the following coordinates:
N 45 34 13 W 107 25 39
Best regards.
This battle has been re-analysed recently with some rather unexpected results.
The Indian tribes were apparently armed with Winchester and Springfield repeater rifles so Custer was outgunned and his small force despatched with gunfire rather than the bow and arrow of folklore.

The US biggest defeat - surely Pearl Harbor, 7th December 1941 deserves that accolade, if you are looking for a land battle in purely military terms as opposed to political then the first two days of the Battle of th Bulge would apply, losses far greater than at Kasserine Pass or at Corrigedor, which I would place second (15,000 Americans surrendered to 1,000 Japanese).

Also - weren't the Indian tribes Americans? Their descendents certainly are today, I don't see it as an American defeat, any more than Naseby was an English defeat.
Post Reply