Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Oops, I meant George Custer...

 

Before I continue with this story, let me say, that Custer's experience is well known among scholars of the American west, as well as other enthusiasts.  The Battle of the Little Bighorn eventually became the stuff of Hollywood legend, among other accounts.  Check this out:

This clip is from a glossy Hollywood film titled "They Died With Their Boots On."

No, really, I am not pulling your leg.

Playing the role of Custer, with the flag of the 7th flapping in the background, is the actor Erroll Flynn.  If I remember correctly, Flynn came from Australia.  But, I could be wrong.

So, how does one deal with the failure of a legend? By looking at it squarely in the face, if that's possible.  In the wake of Washita, Custer experienced a moment of fame, which was enhanced by the American press.  Eventually, he became a figure of romantic 'derring-do,' somehow capturing the imagination of white America, who enthusiastically followed his exploits in the so-called "wild West."  Whites, in the 19th century, viewed Indians as a wayward primitive people prone to 'meaningless' violence.  Holy shit.  You have got to be kidding me.

We were speaking, in the previous entry, about the aftermath of the Washita Massacre.  When last we saw him, Custer, and the main body of his men, leaving the ill-fated Elliot (and the poor dudes in his command) unknown.  Custer would later say, that he believed Elliot's group to be in no danger, and thought it prudent to remove from the scene as quickly as possible.  Custer defended his actions, by saying later he had seen groups of hostile warriors, visibly gathering on the nearby hills.  

Needless to say, Custer's reputation was not exactly stainless after the death of Elliot and his men.  Indeed, another junior officer of the 7th, Frederick Benteen never forgave Custer for the death of his friend, Major Elliott.

After Washita, Custer withdrew to the Plains, to continue his adventures on the Plains.  

One of the highlights of his career, was the infamous expedition into the Black Hills--an area that had been ceded to the Lakota people in a previous treaty.  It was the intention of the government to ascertain whether or not the rumor about gold (and other things precious to the white man) in the region.  In spite of the fact that Custer was in direct violation of treaty terms, he forged ahead.  It was the summer of 1874. He had the time of his life, treating the expedition like a kind of extended hunting and camping trip.  He shot big game, lounged around, and took a lot of pictures.  He also made sure that a journalist accompanied him, reporting anything of importance, so that it could be related in gory detail to the American public.  

Uh huh.

He probably thought the bear was the enemy.

You know, is warms my heart to see how whites left the wilderness of the Black Hills untouched...

Of course you know what happened next:  the dozens of miners who followed in Custer's wake, aided in the inevitable discovery of gold.  The rest of the tragedy was fairly predictable, and was indicative of a well-worn tale of the American West.  The US violated the treaty with the Lakota people, and the miners set up camp.  Towns quickly followed, like Deadwood (bitchin series, by the way).

Now do you begin to see another reason why the horse cultures of the Great Plains were getting a little pissed off?

And so we arrive at 1876.  In the spring of that year, Custer and his men were to be part of an expedition, the purpose of which was to force various groups of the Sioux back onto the reservations.. Western command had recently been warned that a group of Lakota and Hunkpapa Sioux were gathering somewhere near the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers.  Among the natives, were Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

This is a famous portrait of Sitting Bull, a warrior chief who became a figure of legend in the West.

This is just an imagined portrait of Crazy Horse.  He never allowed anyone to take his photograph.

The idea was that there would be three columns of men, coming from different directions, in an effort to surround the area where a large group of Indians were rumored to have gathered.  

You can see the different columns were meant to converge near a junction of the Yellowstone and Big Horn rivers.  

There is a story (one of many), that the night before separating from the larger force, Custer was given his final orders by the commanding officer.  As his superior left the tent, he was reputed to have said "Now Custer, don't be greedy," who crisply replied "No, I won't."  

In the days before the battle, Custer drove his men hard.  His indian scouts, one of whom was named Bloody Knife, told Custer that a large group of "hostiles" lay not too far ahead.  It is said by those who remember the tale, that Custer was repeatedly warned that the enemy ahead 'numbered as many as the blades of grass in the field.'  Needless to say, Custer didn't take this intelligence too seriously, believing his men to be the superior fighting force.  

Whoopsie.

One of the other stories told about this was how Custer and his men came upon clear tracks of natives, more than a quarter of a mile wide at some points.

Then, the soldiers came upon something that was clearly an Indian religious formation.  Bloody Knife and the other scouts warned Custer that this was a clear promise of destruction from the people.  As usual, Custer fluffed this advice away.

Moron.

Are we getting a fairly clear picture of the coming battle, folks?

A legend among the Lakota Sioux, recalled a vision that Sitting Bull had immediately prior to the battle.  He drew dozens of blue coated white men, surrounded by warriors of the people.

Yup.  This is it.

On the morning of June 25, Custer decided to mount an immediate attack.  Now, according to later reports by survivors, Custer believed that he was only facing a couple of hundred "hostiles", when in fact he would face thousands .But, really, we will never know the true numbers.  We only have the transcripts of Indian testimony about the battle itself (which was later denigrated by white authorities).

Prior to the attack, Custer decided to split his command, leaving 135 men behind with Benteen to guard their supplies and mule trains.  Then, he split his command again.  All right folks, have we reached the 'oh shit' part yet?  He put Major Reno in charge of these men, and ordered them to attack the village (when it actually kind of the center) from one position, while Custer, with the balance of the 7th, would come around, from the other side, theoretically coming at the Indians from behind.  

 

Remember the 'pincer' strategy of the Washita?  Yup, same thing.

Custer and Reno's commands soon found out that they were vastly outnumbered by hundreds of really brassed off Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.  Today, historians estimate the number of native people at 8,000.  Obviously Custer and his men were greatly outnumbered.   Remember the warnings of Custer's scouts? You really cannot say that the man wasn't aware of the potential dangers.  

I know, I know.  That was in poor taste.  Can you tell already that I am not exactly enamored of the man?

The first to reach the battle field was Reno's battalion, numbering in excess of  140 men.  In the early part of Benteen's charge, the Indians were caught by surprise, momentarily scattering.  They quickly recovered and essentially met Reno head-on.  

At this point, we need to pause for another legend, Dear Reader.  It was later instigated that Reno had been drinking his stash of whiskey prior to the battle.  It was also subsequently said by witnesses that at this point, Reno freaked out, alternately ordering his men to advance, then retreat, then advance again.  It was said, that an officer under Reno's command kept his head, yelling at the men to withdraw and reform around the nearby bluffs.  Later, Sioux and Cheyenne warriors would say that the warriors pursued the fleeing "blue coats", inflicting heavy casualties on the stragglers.  

Eventually Reno and co. made it to the eastern part of the valley, where there was defensible higher ground.  There they would remain, pinned down for hours, until the arrival of Benteen's command.  

Once a more secure situation was established, the two officers looked into the distance, where one could see a large dust cloud.  I imagine that Reno and Benteen experienced a sense of foreboding (I mean, who wouldn't?), but that's just me.  

So, what happened to Custer? Well, there were a lot of statements taken from Indian eye witnesses in the months and years following the battle.  What we now believe, is that Custer and his men rode down a formation known as Medicine Tail Coulee, a path that led down into the valley.  The embattled soldiers were quickly pushed to a formation now called "Custer Hill."  There, they dismounted, and tried to establish a rudimentary defense.  They were immediately encircled by hundreds of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.  Every man in Custer's command were cut down in a matter of minutes.  Flying Hawk, a member of the Oglala people later said, "the dust was thick and we could hardly see.  We...killed a lot with our bows and arrows and tomahawks.  Crazy Horse ... killed a lot of them with his war club."  

Another eyewitness, Red Horse reported later Custer's command made "five different stands."  Obviously, this was a sort of flee, then fight, then flee again pattern.  Makes sense, right? I mean what the hell else would Custer do in this situation? Oh yeah, wait.  Not to have led his men down Medicine Tail Coulee.

Another Indian witness, Red Hawk, would later say that finally the soldiers were trapped, and that they  "made a very good fight."  However, Custer's command was totally exposed.  It was not long before the entire company was lost. Foolish Elk said "the soldiers could not go any further, and they knew they had to die."  Another, Brave Bear agreed, stating "I think Custer saw he was caught in a bad place and would like to have gotten out of it....but he was hemmed in all around and could do nothing only to die."

The People carefully examined the bodies afterwards, it was later reported that many of the dead were mutilated.  Now, this was not some nasty outgrowth of the day's events.  It was common, that warriors would essentially 'deface' the fallen--many cultures held that this would be the way each of the dead would arrive in the after life.  

It was also reported later, that two Cheyenne women found Custer's body.  Exactly what killed the boy wonder is unknown.  Kate Bighead later said that these Cheyenne women left Custer's body alone, only taking their sewing awls to pierce his eardrums.

Now, why would they do that? There is a possible explanation.  After the battle of the Washita, Custer met with Cheyenne chiefs, and promised that the tribe would never again be his enemy.  Apparently, he was then warned that to do so would mean his death.   The women who wielded the awls later said they did this, so that in the next life Custer would hear better.  

Generals Terry and Gibbon arrived the next day.  .   

 There, they encountered the white survivors.  Both Terry and Gibbon, after questioning Benteen and Reno, rode in the direction they believed Custer went.  It was not long before they found what was left of the ill-fated command, where bodies were strewn about like fallen leaves. One of the soldiers was reputed to have said "they look so white.  So white."  

What remained of Custer and his men, were buried quickly, as the soldiers had no idea whether or not they would face another attack.  The bodies were interred where they fell.  Although they were later reburied, the markers where each man lay can still be found. 

If you're interested in exploring further, then take a look at this:

  

Tune in next time, Dear Reader, when I'm gonna briefly look at the ways in which this battle impacted American culture...yes, it really did.