Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
The Monument is located near Crow Agency, Montana, southeast Montana.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument tells the tale of one of the last major battles between the white man and the native Indians. Known more readily as “Custer’s Last Stand”, the battlefield brings to life the story of courage, honor and preservation of a way of life. Continue reading for further information on the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
Uniqueness
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their way of life. Here in 1876, 263 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army’s 7th cavalry, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer, met death at the hands of several thousand Lakota Sioux, Arapaho and Cheyenne warriors.
The design of the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield is a living memorial dedicated to the Plains Indian women, children, and men who took part in the battle and whose spirits and culture survive.
The Monument and Little Bighorn Battlefield Visitor Center is open during the following times: Memorial Day to July 31: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; August 1 to Labor Day: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; September and October (Ends on daylight savings time): 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; November through March: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and April – May: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Monument is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The phone number is (406) 638-3224.
Interpretive talks begin Memorial Day and run until Labor Day. The anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Little Bighorn is on June 25. You can see the Colter Ledger Drawing Exhibit in the Museum. The White Swan Memorial Library can be visited by appointment only. Little Bighorn houses the office of the park historian in the historic stone house (original superintendent’s headquarters.) This facility contains the finest collection of research materials available on the battle of the Little Bighorn, as well as other related historical events.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument near Crow Agency, Montana, commemorates one of America’s most significant and famous battles, the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Here on June 25 and 26, 1876, two divergent cultures clashed in a life or death struggle.
Four hundred years of struggle between Euro-Americans and Native Americans culminated on this ground. Like a handful of battles in American history, the defeat of 12 companies of Seventh Cavalry by Lakota (Sioux), Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors rose beyond its military significance to the level of myth. Thousands of books, magazine articles, performances in film and theater, paintings, and other artistic expressions have memorialized “Custer’s Last Stand.”
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to many as Custer’s Last Stand, was fought on June 25-26, 1876. Lt. Col George Armstrong Custer led the U.S. Army of 12 companies of the 7th Cavalry. Along a ridge above the Little Bighorn River, Custer and five companies were wiped out by bands of the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors led by such men as Crazy Horse, Lame White Man and Gall.
Major Marcus Reno and Captain Frederick Benteen would command the remaining seven companies, while besieged by the warriors on the bluffs 4 ½ miles from where George Custer fell. Fighting in rifle pits and behind hard tack boxes, the soldiers survived two days of combat. These same soldiers would bury the Custer dead on June 28, 1876.
One name stands above the rest; that of Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota. Sitting Bull was once a great warrior, but was aged by the time of the battle. His people considered him a holy man and his principal role that day was to protect the non-combatants as they escaped the battle.
In 1879, the Little Bighorn Battlefield was designated a national cemetery administered by the War Department. Capt. George Sanderson and soldiers from Ft. Custer erected a cordwood monument on Last Stand Hill where they gathered the remains of the horses’ bones and placed them in the monument.
In 1881, a memorial was erected on Last Stand Hill, over the mass grave of the Seventh Cavalry soldiers, U.S. Indian Scouts, and other personnel killed in battle by Lt. Charles F. Roe and Company C, 2nd Cavalry. As the granite monument was erected, Roe’s soldiers gathered as many of the remains of Custer’s soldiers they could find and placed them inside a mass grave that still sits today below the 7th Cavalry monument.
“In 1888 Last Stand Hill would undergo its most dramatic change, even through today. Capt John French and soldiers of the 25th infantry from Ft. Custer transferred the remains of Fetterman’s soldiers from Ft. Phil Kearny to Last Stand Hill. French’s soldiers also replaced stakes to mark where Custer’s unknown soldiers lay. They found four exposed remains and reburied them where they fell.
In April 1890, Capt. Owen Sweet and soldiers of the 25th Infantry took 10 days to replace the wooden stakes with white marble markers. Each marker spots the approximate location where officers and soldiers of Custer’s command fell during the battle.” (Neil Mangum, Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield)
In 1940, jurisdiction of the battlefield was transferred to the National Park Service. The road was gravel laid in 1941 and paved in 1954 making it accessible year-round. These early interpretations were largely mono-cultural, honoring only the U.S. Army’s perspective, with headstones marking where each fell. The first warrior markers made of red granite were placed along Battle Ridge on Memorial Day 1999 for the warriors, Lame White Man and Noisy Walking.
The essential irony of the Battle of the Little Bighorn is that the victors lost their nomadic way of life after their victory. Unlike Custer’s command, the fallen Lakota and Cheyenne warriors were removed by their families, and “buried” in the Native American tradition, in teepees or tree-scaffolds nearby in the Little Bighorn Valley. The story of the battle from the Native American perspective was largely told through the oral tradition.
Even so, today, no memorial honors the Native Americans who struggled to preserve and defend their homeland and traditional way of life. Their heroic sacrifice was never formally recognized – until now.
In 1991, the U. S. Congress changed the name of the battlefield and ordered the construction of an Indian Memorial. In 1996, the National Park Service – guided by the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Advisory Committee, made up of members from the Indian nations involved in the battle, historians, artists and landscape architects – conducted a national design competition. In 1997 a winning design was selected.
The design of the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield is a living memorial dedicated to the Plains Indian women, children, and men who took part in the battle and whose spirits and culture survive. The memorial will express the Plains Indian Legacy. From a distance the memorial appears to be an elemental landform, recalling the ancient earthworks found throughout the continent. An integral relationship is established with 7th Cavalry Monument via an axis which connects the center of each element. Where this axis bisects the earthen enclosure, a weeping wound or cut exits to signify the conflict of the two worlds. Two large adorned wooden posts straddle this gap and form a “spirit gate” (not for passage of visitors) to welcome the Cavalry dead and to symbolize the mutual understanding of the infinite all the dead possess. This gate also serves as a visible landmark and counterpoint to the 7th Cavalry obelisk. The dedication was held on June 25, 2003.
Last Stand Hill where the battle took place has an elevation of just over 3,000 feet. The area is generally treeless, semi arid and low humidity.
The 10,000 year old Bad Pass Trail, marked by rock cairns, was used by American Indians as a trade/travel route, then by the mountain men, then early settlers, and today by Bighorn Canyon visitors.
Little Bighorn offers a wide range of activities including auto touring, wildlife viewing, and interpretive opportunities. Talks on the battle and related themes are presented at the Visitor Center patio, during the summer. From Memorial Day to the end of August, daily Park Ranger talks include battle talks and a movie.
Guided bus tours, with Native Americans, are offered through the concessionaire, Apsaalooke Tours, from Little Big Horn College. Please contact them for tour schedules and prices.
June –August offers self-guided walking tours that are available for the battle related sites and the national cemetery. A self-guiding, 5 mile tour road enables visitors to follow and observe the sites related to the battle.
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area offers a variety of recreational opportunities such as boating, fishing, hiking, magnificent vistas, wildlife watching, camping, and biking.
By airplane
Billings Logan International Airport is located 65 miles NW
Airport in Sheridan, Wyoming, 73 miles to the South.
By car
Interstate 90, Exit 510 at Jct 212.
By Public Transportation
Bus service is available at Billings, MT, Sheridan, WY with travel to Crow Agency, Montana, 1.5 miles NW of the Little Bighorn Monument.
Eastern Montana is a typical high plains environment; summer daytime temperatures can range from high 70′s to occasional 90′s/100′s. Nights are usually cool with temperatures in the high 40′s to 50′s. Fall has 50 degree (F) days with 25+/- degrees during the nights. Winter has 20 degree (F) days with 0+/- degree nights. Spring has 50-60 (F) degree days with 30+/- degree nights. The area is generally treeless, semi arid and low humidity. The elevation is approximately 3200 ft with mountain ranges to the south and west.
No pets allowed out of vehicles within the National Monument boundaries.
Entrance Fees are $10.00 per private vehicle and $5.00 for pedestrians, this includes motorcycles.
There is no charge for visiting the National Cemetery.
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Gallatin National Forest, Helena National Forest, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Bighorn National Forest, and Shoshone National Forest all offer outdoor attractions.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
P.O. Box 39
Exit 510 Off I-90 Hwy 212
Crow Agency, MT 590220039
Visitor Information 406-638-3204
By Fax: 406-638-2623
