The news of the goldfindings in the Black Hills spread fast and led to an increasing of prospectors into the Dakota territory and to attacks on the prospectors by the Sioux under chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Gall. When the Goverments efforts to purchase the Black Hills faild, they put the Fort Laramie Treaty aside and all Indians not settled in reservations by January 31 1876 was considered hostile. But instead of returning to the reservations the Indians joined up with Sitting Bulls camp in the valley of Little Big Horn. Now all the agreement were forgoten, and the goverment decided that the Indians had to be punished for disobey orders and not turning up at the reservations. They new the Indians were gathering northwest of the Black Hills, and that Sitting Bull was the head leader. Therefore they planed to attack from several directions at the same time, but  the planes were postponed because of the hard winter weather. When the Spring came the Army troops started to move out, one of the Units were led by General Alfred H. Terry and in Terrys Unit were also the 7th US Cavalry regement led by Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

After a long hard month of marching Terry arrived at the estuary of the Rosebud river. He sent out scouts who located the Sioux at the Little Big Horn River. Terry sent out a unit from the 7th US cavalry led by Custer southwest up on the hills, while himself would make a flanking movment with canons and footsoldiers, the arrangements was to surround the Indians and  crush them by united effort at the Little Big Horn River. After 3 days Custer and his men were closing in to the enormous camp at the valley of Little Big horn River. Unaware of the Indians strengh, bettwen 2500-4000 men. Custer disregarded the arrangements to join Terry at the junction of the Big Horn and Little Big Horn river, and prepared to attack at once. The unit were split up in tree divisions, two flanking colums and one frontal-assault force with about 265 men under his personal command. They were surpose to attack the Indian camp from several directions at the same time. Custer obstinate attack ended catastriphicley, he and his men fought desperatly but all were killed to the last man. The other two divisons sufered difficult casualtys. Later Terrys tropps relived the remainder of the regeiment.

After the battle of Little Big Horn all the Indians dispersed, it is true they had defeated "Long hair" as the called Custer but they also new that their time was over, they new that they couldent resist the whites any longer. Many thousands more cavalry men were sent out to this area, and over the next year they recentiessly pursued the Indians who had split up after Custers fight, forcing chief after chief to surrender.

There has been may speculations over why Custer did what he did. Some consider that he didn´t had a choice because of dim orders, but most people are convinsed that it was his love of adventure who drove him to it, that it was a desperet try to gain a lost popularity.

GUESTBOOK

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