Little Big Horn - Memorable Date in American History

Dear Friends and Readers: The Battle of the Little Bighorn was fought along the ridges, steep bluffs, and ravines of the Little Bighorn River, in south central Montana on June 25-26, 1876.  I am honored and privileged to be here today, with my many friends – historians, scholars, authors, artists and visitors to the Battlefield.  The National Park Service folks here at the Montana Battlefield have described it as: “The combatants were warriors of the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, battling men of the 7th Regiment of the U.S. Cavalry. The Battle of the Little Bighorn has come to symbolize the clash of two vastly dissimilar cultures: the buffalo/horse culture of the northern plains tribes, and the highly industrial/agricultural based culture of the U.S., which was advancing primarily from the east coast. This battle was not an isolated soldier versus warrior confrontation, but part of a much larger strategic campaign designed to force the capitulation of the non-reservation Lakota and Cheyenne.” A fateful day for all so unfortunate to be at that place on that day.