I think the fact the calvary still fought the way they did in the Civil War is a part of their downfall. To get off your horse, with every fifth man holding the horses, was a bad way to fight. The Indians fought from their horses, and excelled

Thank you! I was leery of watching this video, because I'm sick and tired of people who call Custer a stupid, crazy, Indian hater, and a butcher of women and children, who was completely at fault for the disaster...because they watched the movie Little Big Man. Custer was a legitimate hero of the Civil War, and was a Lt. Colonel in 1876, and not the commander of the Dakota Column. That was General Terry, who absolutely knew Custer's personality, and knew he would attack if he found his quarry. You are dead on when you point out the misconceptions, because everyone, from Sherman on down, believed that the biggest problem would be finding the Natives and forcing them to engage; their typical strategy was to break up into family groups and disappear into the countryside when confronted with the prospect of a battle they were not prepared for. Hancock, for instance, had chased them all over creation a few years before and never caught up with them...he managed to kill a total of three Natives, two of whom were friendlies! After the Little Big Horn debacle, Crook nearly starved his troopers to death before he caught up with them at Slim Buttes. Custer has been unfairly maligned the last few decades, and has become the poster child of every awful thing Europeans have done to the tribes since first contact, mostly because few Americans can name any other soldier involved in the conflicts.

The beginning music is from the movie “Zulu” circa 1964. It is a dramatization of the British Army defense of Rorke’s Drift. The outcome from that battle that took place in South Africa in 1879 was a British military victory against overwhelming odds.

I'm endlessly fascinated by the history of this incident and all the numerous characters it involves and I think Connell's book "Son of the Morning Star" is just magnificent. I visited the battlefield in '97 when I was on a driving trip around the US on vacation from Australia. Thanks for your video.

Even with all the historical data, eyewitness accounts, and battlefield archeology, no one will really know what happened that day. But I enjoyed the presentation immensely and it's pushing the known data as far as possible.

Impressive. Like all narratives, this doesn't explain, or fit, every piece of evidence and eyewitness account, but it comes really really close. Probably one of the best yet.

I read "Personal Recollections and Observations of General Nelson A. Miles", a highly experienced Indian fighter who eventually rose to become the commander of the American army. He knew and admired Custer. Nelson rode over the battlefield in June of 1878 almost exactly 2 years later in the company of 25 warriors who had fought in the battle. He also met with Custer's scout Curley. After going over the field with other officers and the Indians who fought there, analyzing the course of the battle and the strength of the combatants Nelson sums it up in his book saying “No commanding officer can win victories with seven-twelves of his command remaining out of the engagement when within the sound of his rifle-shot”

A great summary of the action along Battle Ridge and Last Stand Hill. Thank you.

My wife and I were there in September 2016. We toured the Battlefield in our car. You could feel the mayhem around you. It was an experience I’ll never forget. I’m saddened to hear the museum is abandoned. I know there was talk of him closing it and selling the town of Garryowen after we were there. I bought a book “Little Bighorn, Voices From a Distant Wind and it came with a DVD “Contested Ground”. The book is by Steven C. Adelson. I didn’t know if you had read the book or watched the DVD.

One of the things that always intrigued me with Last Stand Hill was how much dead ground there is around it. Having served in the military, I could see large regions where someone could creep up to within 20m of the top without being seen. As this was the first spot I visited when I went there in 2008, I wondered why anyone would be so stupid as to try and fight from such an indefensible position. After following the progression of the battle, I could see why. Once the cavalry lost momentum, they were trapped on what was very indefensible ground. This was not the case on the hilltop that Benteen and Reno made their defenses. That hill had clear line of sight for several meters in every direction.

Wow.....city of Prague Phillharmonic Orchestra! I am blown away :) Greetings from Czech republic, fellow history enthusiastics ;-)

Wow that is a great mix of music of Zulu with the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Zulu of Southern Africa were great warriors just as the Sioux were on the great plains of America. Both Tribes got Great Victories over their adversaries.

Really liked the indicating overlay onto landscape pictures and the corresponding maps. This event has always been so confusing when studying it - not to mention the differences in sources. Thank you!

This battle has always intrigued me since a child. I have been to the site twice and hope to go again. Have read a dozen maybe two dozen books on the subject. Captain Keogh is my favorite character in this tragedy. His military service is incredible. Served in the papal wars. Was Buford's adjutant at Gettysburg. And rode the horse Commanche. Several other horses survived the battle and went on to serve with the Sioux and Cheyenne. Others too wounded for the indians were put down by a salvage party led by a captain who was a friend of keogh.when he found Keogh and Commanche he couldn't or wouldn't shoot Commanche.

we just visited the battlefield around Aug 23 and it is wonderful to find this narrative and video. We found the site profoundly moving and imagined in our minds what happened. We gained a great respect for the Indians who were protecting their families, their land, and their way of life.

One of the best videos I ever seen on Custer's Last Stand. Very informative and with these precise Maps you get to see exactly all the positions of the soldiers and the Soiux and Cheyenne Warriors during the battle.

Thank you for all the time and effort you've put into these videos, for the Battle of Little Bighorn. The drone views of the battlefield are fantastic, and you've clearly studied the battle, very well. It's all helped me to have a better understanding what happened in the fight. Bravo and well done!

Great lecture; one of the most concise I’ve heard on the subject. Definitely subscribed and looking forward to the next chapter.

I really enjoyed how well these videos were done. My thoughts. Custer was arrogant, bold and a glory hunter but then a lot of the great ones are. It served him well in the Civil War but it got him and his immediate command wiped out here. If he had kept his command together I don't believe it would have happened. He divided his command in the face of a numerically superior enemy and got beat in detail. He was so worried they would get away I don't ever think he thought they would stand and fight.

Thanks for putting up this series. Well done. I think out of the Army commanders, Benteen made the soundest decisions, if not the popular one. Leaving Reno and getting to Custer quickly sans the ammo packs would simply have reinforced defeat/massacre IMO. As it was they got to Weir Point and immediately got into an "Uh Oh" position as the Indian warriors came their way. The Native tribes had one heck of a week. They forced Crook back to Wyoming and mauled the 7th.

The purpose of the US Cavalry is to act as the eyes and ears and do hit and run attacks to delay the enemy for the infantry troops, and maintain their mobility. The Cavalry was armed with revolvers and swords for quick close-in hit and run attack. They had single shot long range carbines for dismounted skirmish for a quick attack with one trooper holding fours horses; they weren’t suppose to fight as infantry in a prolong engagement and quickly remount and leave the fire fight. As soon as Custer fought his Cavalry in a prolong dismounted skirmish in the battlefield like infantry against mounted Indians and dismounted Indians using quick firing repeating guns that were short range and bow and arrows with rolling hills and deep ravines it was the end. The mounted Indians used their mobility to hit and run at the flanks distracting Custer’s skirmish line of troopers while the dismounted Indians slowly moved against Custer using cover to get close for their repeating rifles and bow and arrows against the slow firing single shot carbines.

I truly enjoy your synopsis of these events! I have been to the battlefield twice and fully support your historical scenario! 😎 When you break it all down there were simply too many Sioux and Cheyenne to deal with on that on that June 25 afternoon!

Very nicely presented n detail with helpful diagrams showing placements and movements. First class.

Excellent presentation!

Study the battle of Sayler's Creek near the end of the civil war. George and Tom Custer were there and it explains his tactics at the Little Big Horn. The confederates were in fact retreating. The Sioux were not.

When Custer saw Reno had failed and pulled back, he should of pulled back to join him. By this time he had to know the village was bigger than he imagined. Thinking that Reno would come in support of him after getting routed is unrealistic. So, why do you think Custer didn’t withdraw to Reno and wait for Terry coming from the North? There is no explanation except glory seeking for Custer.

Admiral Halsey sent his fleet through a typhoon and lost a few ships. Nobody is perfect.

An excellent series, great work!

My wife and I visited the battlefield over Labor Day weekend. Your videos were very helpful in understanding the battle. I watched them both before and after our visit.

Thanx - i've always been fascinated with this battle - 101 opinions 4 sure!

Well done. I am obsessessed with this battle, have studied and read even the court martial details. Well done.

Little is mentioned about the actual condition of the troopers on that day. They had been constantly on the move for some time and they would have been tired and saddle sore before the fight started. Add to that the fact that it was during the hottest part of the day. Some testimony by the Indian warriors stated that the troopers were firing wildly, some into the air, some into the ground and they were walking like drunken men as they tried to escape. Heat exhaustion has killed armies before. The defeat of the Crusader army at the Horns of Hattin is a good example.

Well done, thank you.

Fantastic analysis, I enjoyed this immensely. Well thought out and presented. Thank you for this.

Great stuff! Thank you for this resolution.

Thank you for the exercise in well presented clarity.......we appreciate the work and dedication to the subject.

Certainly interesting and time well spent. The Battle has spawned a cottage industry of books very much like "Jack The Ripper Exposed". I've have to watch the other episodes. My thanks.

What a wonderfully insightful analysis and presentation.

I was at the museum and battlefield in the late 1980's heard a very interesting presentation by a professor that was studying the battlefield, I wish I could remember his name, but he was in pretty much agreement with what you have presented here. He mentioned that the Indians had quite a few repeating rifles, while the Army only had single shots, he agreed that a lot of long range arrow volleys were fired to disable the horses more than to actually hit the soldiers.

Thank you for your presentation- an excellent job and I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of them - a Fact that Custer marched his men 78 miles in 24 hours and went directly into Battle is not a decision of a wise leader graduate of WestPoint- and to send Reno into Battle with only 100 bullets per soldier and 50 of those were on a horse pouch that could not be easily got to - horses dont cooperate - Custer has no immediate idea of where the packtrain is at. Custer sent Benteen left oblique on a wild goose chase batting rough terrain on exhausted horses. Many of the horses in Custer outfit balked and simply refused to go because of exhaustion- Several Scout said their horses refused to go. Scouts reported several soldiers were off their horses and kicking their horse in the belly to try get them moving. Not to mention the men themselve were in no condition to fight being completely exhausted as well. Boston returned to the packtrain for a different horse most likely because the horse he was on was spent. Custer brought several horses along for himself to rotate on. No doubt Custer had great moments in the Civil War - LBH was a complete blunder on Custer Part. In the Newspaper archives for months before LBH story's were ran relating Sitting Bull threat ' I have 8000 warriors and if the army comes near me we will fight' So everyone in that era knew that Sitting Bull had a force of warriors and would fight. Once Custer showed his presence to the Indians it became a mass running battle. The army came in firing on the villiage and alot of the Indians remembered what happened at Sand Creek. Hostilities were high and it was over quick with most things happening in unison as 1000s of warriors swarming the entire Custer area on fresh horses- Calhoun fell some soldiers made it to Keogh but all the while Keogh was under assault - the stragglers from Keogh/Calhoun ran to Last Stand Hill and Last stand hill was as well under assault all the while and the last ran to Deep Ravine and it was over and it was quick. -- As for Reno and Benteen- Sitting Bull said "We have killed some soldiers let the others go" so Reno Benteen were harassed until camp was moved - the Indians may not have even known Terry was close by - Sitting Bull never got the memo

I wish I still had it-a National Geographic from the 80's that fascinated me as a budding student of military history in which an archeological dig was conducted at the Little Bighorn battlefield. They uncovered skeletons of the fallen troopers, all them showing battle trauma and horrific injuries like smashed skulls and dismemberment. For the surviving wounded, it must have been terrible knowing your turn was next after hearing and seeing what was happening after the firing stopped. A striking photo I remember was of a skeletal foot still encased in the remains of his trooper bootheel. National Geographic was fantastic at one time before they shifted to agenda instead of just sharing information.

Excellent video--very clear summation of the troop movements, and reasonable supposition about what Custer was thinking. He made all the wrong choices that day, but the narrative has become that he went in recklessly because he wanted a big victory to restore his reputation. That was probably on his mind, but I think his biggest mistake, and what really got his men and him killed, was his failure to consider the implications of confronting a larger concentration of native people than had ever before been seen or fought. Trying to use the same tactics--and numbers--that had been successful in past fights against an enemy only a fraction of the size is a failure of leadership, but it's a good bit less ignominious, I think, for someone to have failed to adapt to novel situation than to have charged in recklessly in pursuit of personal accolades and/or to escape suspicion in an entirely unrelated matter. That said, Custer shouldn't have left his ass in the breeze with his only hope of salvation from Reno and Benteen. Two men of..."questionable," shall we say?--ability, utility, motivation, and enthusiasm. Although the troopers under their commands were pretty pleased to have been with them rather than Custer that day in June 1876 As one said at Reno's Board of Conduct hearing, "if we'd been lead by braver men, we'd all be dead."

I'm currently reading the killing of crazy horse by Thomas powers - thanks for these videos, they really help give additional context to the battles described in the book and some context around what was going on around the same time

I like the video, I'm Italian and I've always studied the battles of the past (mainly those of the Roman army) ... I would like to say, after listening, that I learned studying those short moments, but long and infinite for those who lived them, that all known historical battles are made by commanders who have to make decisions, many times those decisions have to be made quickly, and executed as quickly as possible, because 1 minute after that order may no longer have a tactical meaning to advantage ... and here history teaches us that battles are made mainly by mistakes ... because it is easier to make mistakes than to understand a field which was sometimes 1 km long or even 5/6 km long, if not more ... you cannot see everything in the confusion of the moment and sometimes the signals are already wrong when they arrive ... you think at the beginning that everything is coordinated well, but events like this change quickly ... a clash between opponents is not a game of chess where you can think about the next move ... but you have to anticipate it, act and react ... and that's why it is easy to make mistakes, because everything changes ... above all the soul of the soldiers ... Custer was just unlucky, maybe he didn't quite understand what was happening, maybe ... perhaps he had managed to take prisoners, maybe ... perhaps he thought Benteen would arrive, maybe ... I don't know and we will never know ... but I think that probably the confusion of the moment could have created anarchy among some officers and petty officers, since they weren't all united around their commander ... on the other hand, soldiers are people made up of their weaknesses, when suddenly chaos reigns and you don't understand the orders or who is sending them (because the soldier can also understand that an order could be wrong because it arrived late, or just because from his position he sees a different scenario, so he cannot act and gets confused and panicked) the soldiers panic and escape if they can ... in the history of battles is full of soldiers running away ... these were the battles of the past ... I repeat: we will never know the truth, but it is clear (from my point of view) that those soldiers were only looking for salvation, because everything went haywire ... Custer is not to blame, he could not do anything, moreover, it is wrong to think that he was not a good commander ... he was an excellent commander, because he was bad enough to command and he knew how to make decisions very quickly ... but that day everything became uncontrollable ... he could not do anything even before it all happened, since he could not know it nor prevent ... it is easy to say after ... from my point of view, this battle is the example that panic, anarchy and confusion is the most important part of battles, since it always decides the fate of one side ... soldiers are people who reason, they are sensitive to life and the instinct of salvation is human, it also prevails over orders ... especially in hand-to-hand battles of the past ... there are no heroes in battles, only men

The forensic evidence shown from the post fire investigation, strongly suggests a broad skirmish box... suggesting that, if there were captured women and children, they most likely were held in Deep Ravine or even were there and found and captured and a skirmish box was formed around Custer's "prize". (Custer seems to have been attempting another Washita) There was a reported - half hour - of calm before everything fell apart and the battle lasted only "as long as it takes a hungry man to eat his dinner".

I love this series...

Great choice of opening theme. This battle along with Isandwana/Roarkes drift and a very few others will always generate interest and study.

I just visited the Battlefield last week. One thing, Custers body was found ON TOP of “Last Stand Hill”, by the Stone Monument, NOT 30-40 feet down the slope, where his “ tombstone” is located. It would seem this would be relevant.

Great work and thank you for the brilliance you have showered upon us, mavens of history. :) HuRaHH

New to your content and love it. Bonus points for the Zulu theme in the beginning. One of my favorite films

Thanks very much...nicely done

Wow the intro is like some early 1960s movie! Solid presentation on Custer's fight.

Btw great series and your use of satellite images is just great!

The Cheyenne camp was located nearest Deep Ravine. Also at Medicine Tail Coulee, the river crossing was not a viable crossing at the time. Warriors reported to Crazy Horse while at the Reno fight, that women and children 'had been captured' on the opposite end of valley gathering and he turned around and headed to engage Custer's forces.

Thank you for posting this interesting, informative and enjoyable video. I thought the last sentence was very fitting and respectful of the tribal warriors who took part in that battle.

Would be nice if you could do a UAV flight explanation of the Fetterman battle. Never have been able to find a video that shows the relationship of the movements relative to the fort and the ridge that the commander told them not to cross.

Awesome job brother !!!!

First, thank you for all of your efforts. The last thing I want is to convey any negativity about the content. But, I found myself having to stop the video and rewind, to process the narration and the photos/maps. It moved a bit fast for the viewer in my opinion- However, I can always watch it again!

Thanks very interesting

Excellent video. One of the best I've seen. Nice clear audio. Excellent photos and aerial shots. A scale on those photos, especially the aerials, would have been helpful. Strangely this video has few numbers on the final attacking Fist Nations forces.

This turns out to be a very good series, as comprehensively researched as is possible with no axes to grind and nothing about the officers, lacking any corroborating evidence, assumed as fact. Should be a must read for any history buff interested in learning of the battle.

This is a good summary

Pretty well done

There are so many secrets hidden in this incident

Thank you for your time and effort presenting this information for us. One thing is certain is that Custer made a huge mistake dividing his command. Being in the middle of two armies is a position that Stonewall Jackson, and Napolean loved to be in. You can hold the one army with a minimum of troops (in this case warriors), and destroy the other army. I realize the Sioux and Cheyenne did not know about this tactic, but used it to their benefit. I think Custer may have lost a lot of men keeping his command together, but it would have given them a better chance to survive as it would have kept his firepower together. They would not have been so spread out like they were in Custer's advance. You used the theme from the movie Zulu. If you look at what actually happened there, 160-180 men who were in a strong defensive position held off 4,000 warriors. If Custer kept his men together, they could have done the same thing. Custer could have waited until packs got there and had more men and ammo. There were too many assumptions on Custer's part.

Great content bud 😉

Great work ! :)

I was there in May 2022 everything was green it was an amazing experience

Very interesting, I wonder if you've read the book (Custer's lost officer) which give accounts of what possibility happened to Lt. Harrington? The opinion of Custer being a crazy out of control individual I think started in Hollywood with the making of Little Big Man, and took off from there.

Thank you for your content. I know very little of the battle or what happened, but have watched a few documentaries recently and find the topic fascinating and plan on doing much more research. I did however just watch a documentary on Custer that said Finkel or Finckle was possibly the only survivor of the battle after he and his horse were wounded and his horse bolted from the battlefield with him on it. Finkle ended up surviving after he ran into a man that was living in a cabin nearby that nursed him back to health. He apparently came out in the 1920's after 40 years since the battle claiming he was Finkle and had survived the battle. Im sure many of you know or have heard this story, It was just interesting because you mentioned at 14:10 that they found his body at Finley Finkle ridge. That would certainly disprove any theory he survived the battle. Apparently some people believe this theory and some do not. I would love to hear if anybody more knowledgeable on the topic would like to weigh in ?

Good one.

IMHO....@ the beginning of.... As always sir..... This video. The two markers..... IMHO, only one trooper.

What I've learned from these videos is the flow of battle is the US troops dismount and create a skirmish line. As long as that line keeps up a high enough rate of fire the Indians stay back. But when the rate of fire slows they push in. This style of fighting reminds me alot of the battle at Isandlwana which took place 3 years later. In the case of Little big horn Custer simply didn't have the manpower to create a sustainable firing line and he didn't help himself by constantly splitting up his forces. The other big impact was Reno losing his nerve which shifted all the attention to Custer.

I have thought that Custer's intent from the start was to try and capture the families of the warriors in order to stop the fight before the warriors overwhelmed the troopers. He had to have known he was outnumbered before the fight actually started. At the point Custer understood Reno was being routed...Did Custer have a plan in mind to capture the civilians? But saw Reno being routed now had to try and capture civilians without Reno keeping the warriors pinned and engaged near the village?

Excellent presentation as usual. As for the psychiatric "'analysis" of a man who died 150 years ago it shows the bankruptcy of the psychiatric model if one was ever needed.

Like the Old Ironsides hat. Was with the 1st./6th Int. Reg. in early 70's. If I'm not mistaken some of the early 6th.Int. was also at the Custer Battle Site. Maybe some of the Reno defensive position. But don't quote me!

Well done, you have tied together the failures of the commander, fate, and the victors, the Souix command. Still can't come to grips with the "extras" in this "terrible glory"....

You may think Custer and his acolytes weren’t glory hungry hounds or raving lunatics. But Im my opinion. You have to be one of those if not both. To take 210 men against a stationary Indian camp. With thousands of lodges and 2000 angry Indian warriors. Custers own scouts said afterward. That once they crossed the divide. They had a hard time staying in advance of the column. Cause Custer was moving to fast. Obviously he was obsessed with the village not scattering. But had he listened to his scouts and used his common sense. He would have figured out that the village was not going to run. I love ur videos by the way!

The paraphrase at the end I think its the fairest and most concise appraisal; the Natives fought a better fight. Really interesting, thank you!

One of the places in the U.S. I want to go. Thanks for video

for some reason the possibility of hearing damage is never mentioned when discussing reno and benteen. i am sure that hearing loss was rampant among those that fought in the civil war. furthermore the soldiers that fired that volley were some miles away. that brings us to another matter- acoustics and the blind spots that sometimes exist with acoustics.

Walter Camp’s book Notes On the Custer Fight is the most accurate account.

This is an excellent synopsis, much appreciated. I have a question for the producer. Have you ever read Emory Upton's Calvary tactics, that I believe were produced in the year 1874? Some years ago I read a book that was produced after the field burnt off in 1984 or so. From the archaeological evidence it appears to me that someone had deployed Custer's companies in a holding position, I believe with the purpose of waiting for Benteen to join up. It seems out of character For Custer based on his documented aggressive nature, but it appears to me that he did assume a holding position on that Hill, and for that there can only be one reason and that is the wait for reinforcements from benteen and the pack train. That of course did not happen and under increasing pressure from the Sioux and Cheyenne who were able concentrate their assault on Custer's five companies as Reno had already withdrawn across the river, the besieged companies on last stand Hill collapsed one-by-one upon their leadership and were destroyed. It appears that captain benteen did in fact have time to reach a supporting position to his Commander, as you point out that Weir was able to see the collapse of E company from Weir point, as it was taking place. Once again thank you very much for your efforts this is particularly interesting those of us who don't have the time or wherewithal devoted to the subject

I have a good friend (She is Crow) who owns land on the battlefield. Her great great gramps was one of the scouts

Love your analysis. I’ve read a lot, studied a lot, traveled to the battlefield 4 times over the last 50 years. Thought Custer was a idiot for much of my younger years but now I believe there were a lot of really ticked off Indians all in a small area that didn’t want their fun messed with and they weren’t gonna run this time. They had some momentum from the recent Cook fight as well as two officers under Custer’s command that hated and disrespected Custer. Lots of mistakes that day on the leadership side of the Cavalry, but mostly too many confident warriors with better guns.

I appreciate the series and your mindset that much of this information is speculative. Because there were no survivors under Custer to give testimony on this pitched battle and the Indians were fighting in a running, chaotic fashion over a vast battlefield it's hard to know exactly what happened. We get little glimpses here and there from Indian testimony but it doesn't always agree with each other. Besides the Indians were looking to move the village the next day and not hang around to see what happened next. Reno and Benteen were looking to save their bacon so they are not credible. In spite of all this intrigue and the glorification of the battle I have come to a more subdued conclusion after reading many books on the subject, examining data like experience and numbers of combatants, and watching good research like TheDataMeister puts up on KZfaq. There is a lot of things unknown and nuance that will never be know but certainly Custer was dramatically outnumbered. This was an impossible task when Reno and Benteen (especially the latter) were out of the battle and Benteen showed signs of being a coward. Ironically, the Indians were vastly outnumbered as well. They just didn't know it but they knew enough to start running the day after the battle of Little Bighorn. So the leaders of the US Army and the leaders of the Indians underestimated each other. There are no real heroes here. It all ended badly for everyone. It was only a matter of when.

Your work is exemplary. As the battle winds down, I wonder what will be your next subject matter? Any future plans you have that you care to share?

University of Kansas, Natural History Museum has the interviews from the Indians that were there, also the reports of the folks that metal detected the site. Tells a good report

Very very good

safe to say, they were out numbered

pickett's comment sums it up. they were experienced hunters from a harsh enviornment who had fought often and needed little leadership. red cloud had already showed their stuff and the army wasn't reading the messages

Deep ravine likely suffered much water runoff from storms, flooding, etc. and probably washed out anything inside it long ago. I suppose if there was a dry spell and bones were covered up by brush and soil (or buried), and in the ensuing years there has been zero heavy rains or flooding...moderate runoff, etc.... something could still be there.

I always liked the legend of the “Cheyenne Suicide Warriors”. Story is the night before the battle these warriors in a ceremony pledged to die in the next battle. Not realizing it would be the next day. These warriors charged in and started the hand to hand fighting on Last Stand Hill. So the story goes. From another KZfaq channel.

Excellent. I've studied the Battle, been to the Little Bighorn twice, armed with maps of my own. This presentation agrees with my own as far as what I've learned. I'd like to see a follow-up on troopers that "almost" got away! (horseback) Were their breakouts from the "C" company charge, or Calhoun Ridge, the Keough Sector or from Last Stand Hill?

If you study the terrain on Google Earth, in addition to the real terrain maps presented, it's clear that the Native Americans chose this location, because it lends itself perfectly to the type of battle in which they excelled. The "now you see 'em now you don't" lay of the land made all the difference.

I read Greg Michno's The Mystery Of E Troop and I agree with Greg,the 28 were killed in/near Cemetary Ravine. Why even the LBH river has yeilded bones as with other sectors of the battlefield with the exception of Deep Ravine...

For some mysterious reason, historians ignore the survivors of the battle who reported the numbers of warriors they saw. For example, Lt. Winfield S. Edgerly stated that there were 7,000 warriors at the battle, and Cpt. Frederick Benteen stated that there were 8,000 warriors at the battle.

Yeah.. If White Cow Bull killed Custer and his Trumpeter and Guidon bearer.. ( The descriptions would fit these soldiers , well ..Cook supposedly rode a white horse too.).. their bodies would have not been on Last Stand Hill. "Custer's Lost Officer by Walt Cross makes a good case for Harrington fighting Bravely and almost escaping. Pvt Short did escape but died of his wounds. The "Survivor " Sgt Finkle's story is interesting but I can't find it in his own words... all I've read are 2nd hand and clearly embellished versions . I do think Custer and his command did expect at least Benteen's support..and they tried to be ready to link up with him. Thanks for you insight.

Does anyone know if the park does any type of battle walks or presentations there? I'd love to hear from them what they say about things like captain Keogh and his stand trying to put out a skirmish line, or Reno and his indecisive decisions during his fight, especially in the wood line then up on the hill.

I love the series! The work that you put in and your enthusiasm comes thru. I am giving serious thought to running out to Little Big Horn/Rosebud from Louisville,Ky this week or next. I'd appreciate any pointers. I appreciated the accounts from the Cheyenne,Sioux,Lakota,Oglala,etc and thought they were highly credible.