2012 Adventures - Montana
2012 Adventures - Montana
Dave is sitting by the wrought iron sculpture at the new Indian Monument at the Little Big Horn National Battlefield. I had some very mixed feelings about stopping here, both before and after we toured the site.
We have several groups of pictures from the site. The first are pictures taken at the Visitor’s Center. This is a small facility and since we were there on a Saturday, it was packed with people.
There were the assorted displays that related to George Custer and to Sitting Bull as well as other displays about the lives of both the Indian and Cavalry individuals that were involved in the battle.
Up the hill from the Visitor’s Center is the hill where Custer’s Last Stand occurred. It was interesting to note that among the dead were Tom and Boston Custer, George’s brothers. There are headstones that mark the original burial place of the soldiers, including George Custer. His remains were moved to Arlington National Cemetery and the others to the cemetery on the Battlefield Site.
They have a drive out to the area where Reno and Benteen attacked the Indian village, were repulsed, and took up a defensive position and held on waiting for General Terry’s relief column.
It is very hard to describe the tour because most of it involves looking out over the prairie and trying to imagine where the fighting took place. The National Park Service does have an Audio Tour that you can listen to using your cell phone. Despite being a little wordy, it was a good way to get information about each of the stopping points on the driving tour.
This monument is located at the point where the Sioux first attacked the Reno-Benteen troops. The green area (right) seen in the valley below is where the different Indian tribes were camped along the Little Big Horn River.
As you drive the auto tour you see white (Cavalry trooper) or red (Indian warrior) markers indicating where individuals (some known, some not) died during the battle.
As I said, this was a very disturbing place! It deals with the westward advance of this country and the cost of lives on all sides.
Next up - Devil’s Tower.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Little Big Horn National Battlefield