I don't usually click the "On This Day" section of the NYT, but June 25 happens to be the anniversary of the Custer Battle at Little Bighorn. Here's the NYT story as published on that date.
Custer went into battle with Companies C, L, I, F, and E, of the Seventh Cavalry, and the staff and non-commissioned staff of his regiment and a number of scouts, and only one Crow scout remained to tell the tale. All are dead. Custer was surrounded on every side by Indians, and horses fell as they fought on skirmish line or in line of battle.
Interestingly, even at that early date there were generals who thought Custer was foolish to have engaged the Sioux.
It is the opinion of Army officers in Chicago, Washington, and Philadelphia, including Gens. Sherman and Sheridan, that Gen. Custer was rashly imprudent to attack such a large number of Indians, Sitting Bull's force being 4,000 strong.
Imprudent, huh? You think?
Update: Here's an eyewitness account of the battle from Red Horse, a Lakota Chief.
Posted by Linkmeister at June 25, 2008 09:51 AM | TrackBackI've long wished for a coffee mug displaying Gary Larson's cartoon titled "Custer's Last View".
Posted by: Serge at June 26, 2008 04:33 AMOne of my favorite books is "Son of the Morning Star." If you haven't read it, unlikely, I know, you should.
The last time I was there was immediately after returning from China with Perfect Child. We drove out to a family reunion, picked up my brother at the airport, and stopped at LBH. Even as a tourist attraction, it's a lonely place.
One of my cousins is Lakota, works for the Tribal government, and worked with the Park Service to try to include their viewpoint in the displays and plaques at the site. She got death threats, which I thought was sad. (And scary, yes, but it was years ago, and no one did anything.)
One of the rangers told me that LBH is the most written about battle in history. I'm a bit skeptical (more than Waterloo? Hastings? Marathon? Omaha Beach?), but based on the bookstore there, it's well in the running.
We now conclude this post, all about Juli and her connection to random events.
Posted by: Juli Thompson at June 26, 2008 07:04 AMJuli, we drove within a few hundred miles of the site in 1968 on our way across country. We went through SD's Badlands and through Yellowstone (from the north), so we were close. Neither Mom nor I have a memory of stopping there, though, which is a shame if true. I wonder when it was designated an NPS site.
Posted by: Linkmeister at June 26, 2008 08:46 AMAs always, for good history discussions see the folks over at Edge of the West. Ari has a great post on "Custerology:
http://edgeofthewest.wordpress.com/2008/06/25/american-studies/