"About Myths of the Little Bighorn" Topic

"The Battle of the Little Bighorn, fought on the banks of the river of that name in Montana Territory in June 1876, is the most often discussed fight of the Indian wars. It has been said that we will never know what happened there because there were no survivors. That is nonsense. There were thousands of survivors. The Indians clearly told us what happened. We need only to listen to what they said…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Little Bighorn has not held my attention as a battle to study but this article and the comments have changed that. I imagine the newspapers made it into a glorious defeat and Custer was certainly a hero to the nation for his actions in both the ACW and the Indian Wars so it isn't likely that anyone would bother to print the Indian point of view "When reality becomes legend, print the legend".

Good article, and written by an expert on the subject (Michno).

Great article. Recommendations for reading on Custer?

"The Last Stand" by Nathaniel Philbrick is quite good.

The author of the article has written an excellent book Lakota Noon I would highly recommend it. Makes sense of all the evidence. He includes the Indian testimony as well as the archeological evidence. I can't praise the work enough. I picked up another book of his about the grey horse troopers at LBH. Looking forward to getting into it.

Thank you Tango.
For what it's worth, I've tried to keep up on Little Bighorn stuff,and by and large I agree--but notice several times he effectively says "I agree with these eye-witness accounts, but not with these others." Sadly, truth is not democratic, and three people telling one story while someone else tells a different one is not proof that the larger group is right. It was a confused day. People only saw small pieces of the battle, then told tales, sometimes decades later and through translators who were not all equally competent and unbiased. Keep in mind Michno's own words:
"Interpretation should be based on historical and physical evidence whenever possible."

And Phil, be fair: scouts' reports were among the very earliest recorded, and there were some very early interviews with Sioux and Cheyenne. But it wasn't easy to put them into a coherent narrative, especially to a population ten years out of the Civil War and thinking in terms of units and a chain of command. There's still a lot of picking and choosing among the narratives to get the story a particular historian wants.

I've seen cavalrymen's stories disregarded too. Sergeants who were mocked for speaking of the number of Indians with firearms and even repeaters were savaged by some historians, but suddenly started getting quoted again once the metal detectors started proving them right.

Son of the Morning Star by Evan Connell is an excellent narrative that ranges widely around the battle itself, the events that led up to it, and the aftermath and looks at all involved on both sides -- excellent read, extremely well written and researched. Reads like fiction, Connell is a supreme storyteller.

I will second Son of the Morning Srar. Really good read and filled with interesting accounts.

Interesting.

I invite everyone to visit and walk the ground. It is nearly the same as it was on that day. Easy to get to (just an hour from Billings MT on I-90)

Happy you enjoyed it boys!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Hi, actually there is a wonderful book with a ton of photos from a few years after the battle and then again a few years ago. It is surprising but a large part of the battle field (especially where Benteen and Reno's forces fought that is very much changed. The creek has completely changed that Reno crossed and fought over. The area around Custer is much closer to then but changes have occurred. Seeing the pics will spell that out pretty clearly. I still want to see the battlefield though. It's high on my bucket list!

Thanks.

For a recommendation on a book about the battle read Donovan's A Terrible Glory. I own it and it is the best one on LBH ever written.

The 'Son of the Morning Star' TV mini-series of many years ago is also the most accurate visual media representation of the battle to date; well worth watching… if you can find it.

I've read most of the offerings on the battle. To me the best assessment is Archaeology, History, and Custer's Last Battle: The Little Big Horn Reexamined by Richard Allan Fox, Jr.

It's based on an archaeological survey done by the author in 1984-85 after a 1983 range fire swept over the battlefield. Very dry in spots, but hang with it. Based on the author's Doctoral dissertation published in 1988. Computer graphics are vintage 1990: wish the data could be somehow upgraded to present-day graphic levels.

Still a thought-provoking read, and the most convincing analysis of events I've come across.

Thanks for the recommendations…I'll love to check out 'Son of the Morning Star' as well

Just finished reading "Son of the Morning Star" based off these recommendations.

I wasn't taken with the author's meandering prose ("Among the Lakota was Dances with Acorns. Speaking of acorns, there is some disagreement on how much acorns formed a par of Indian diet. According to French fur trapper Jacques du Bois, both the Crow and Cheyenne loved acorn bread. Speaking of bread…where was I?").

A tiny portion of the book is actually devoted to Custer's four companies. The rest is a hodgepodge of Old West trivia. Interesting, but not a great study of the battle.