The Battle of Little Big Horn

The Battle of Little Bighorn

The Battle of Little Bighorn, commonly known as "Custer's Last Stand" occurred on June 25 and June 26 of the year 1876 near the Little Big Horn River. This battle alone was fought by the U.S. Army, the 7th Cavalry Regiment, to be exact, and three native american tribes called the Lakotas, the Arapaho, and the Cheyenne. Throughout the years there has been much speculation as to who is to blame for the events that occurred. Historians have for years debated the credibility of sources for such event due to biased beliefs.

In 1868, there was a treaty called the Treaty of Laramie, in which it was rightfully stated that the Black Hills were property of the Sioux tribe, and would remain under Sioux reservation borders. Later on, In 1874, the Black Hills Gold Rush began once it was found that there could be gold in the land. New American white settlers began to settle within Sioux reservation borders, which obviously led to growing tensions between the natives and the whites. Once whites began invading, and the Natives refused to give up their land, and there began to be fighting  between the two.

The white settlers then began to viciously attack the natives. They burned their homes down, destroyed their food supply and various belongings, and even taking the lives of many of the natives themselves. In one of these raids, according to a Cheyenne Indian, General Custer took the life of their chief Black Kettle. At Little Big Horn, General Custer was confident victory would be his; however, he would come to realize that he and his 7th Cavalry would be outnumbered by the natives.