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Crow Agency in Big Horn County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
 

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

 
 
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1992
1. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker
A monument to the Fallen 7th Cavalry, it bears the names of the 7th Cavalry officers and enlisted men who fought "to the death."
Inscription.
(Bottom of Marker):
In memory of
Officers and soldiers who fell near this place
fighting with the 7th United States Cavalry
against the Sioux Indians
on the 25th and 26th of June,
A.D. 1876

(The rest of the marker includes names of the officers and soldiers who died on the battlefield. They include):
Bvt. Maj. Gen’l. G. A. Custer
Captains
M. W. Keogh • G.W. Yates • T. W. Custer
Lieutenants
W. W. Cooke • A. E. Smith • Donald McIntosh • James Calhoun • J.E. Porter • B.H. Hodgson • J. C. Sturgis • W. Van W. Reily • J. J. Crittenden • H.M. Harrington
Assistant Surgeons
G. E. Lord • J.M. De Wolf
Soldiers
W. H. Sharrow • Geo. Eiseman • James Dalious • Gustave Engle • J.E. Armstrong • James Nathersall • Rich’d Rollins • Alpheus Stuart • Jnd Sullivan • Ignatz Stungwitz • T.P. Sweetser • Ludwig St. John • Rich’d Dorn • Garrett Van Allen • Jere Finley • D. T. Warner • August Finckle • Henry Wyman • T. J. Bucknell • Chas. Vincent • Wm. Kramer • Pat’k Colden • Geo. Howwell • Edw’d Housen • Jnd Brightfield • Fred’k Hohmeyer • Christopher Criddle • Rich’d Farrell
(Panel 2):
Henry Voss • Nathan Short • Wm. Moodie • John Thadus
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• G.B. Mask • W.B. Right • Edwin Bobo • J.S. Ogden • H.E. French • W.B. James • Jnd. Foley • Thos. Hagan • Dan’l Ryan • H.S. Mason • Jnd. King • G.G. Brown • F.E. Allan • A.H. Meyer • Jno Lewis • Thos. McElroy • August Meyer • C.A. Moonie • Fred’k Meier • W. H. Baker • Edgar Phillips • Rob’t Barth • Jnd. Rauter • Owen Boyle • Edw’d Rix • James Brogan • J.H. Russell • Edw’d Conner • S.S. Shade • Jnd. Darris • Jere Shea • Wm. Davis • Syker Henderson • James Garney • Jno. Henderson • Anton Dohman • Andy Knect • Timothy Donnally • H.T. Liddiard • Wm Gardiner • Pat’k O’Connor • C.W. Hammon • Henry Shele • Gustav Klein • Wm. Smallwood • Herman Xnauth • James Smith 1st • James Smith 2nd • W. L. Liemann • Christian Madson • Benj Stafford • Joseph Monroe • Cornelius Vansant • Sebastian Omling • Mich’l Kenney • Pat’k Rudden • Fred’k Nursey • Rich’d Saunders • J.N. Wilkinson • F.W. Siglous • Chas. Coleman • Geo. Warren • Benj Brandon • Edw’d Botzer • Benj Brandon • Edw’d Botzer • J.R. Manning • Martin Considine • Thos. Atcheson • James Martin • Lucien Burnham • Otto Hagemann
(Panel 3)
Jno. Heim • W. M. Lerock • J. S. Hiley • W. A. Lossee • Wm. Huber • F. E. Milton • M. H. Bees • T. M. Way • Edw’d Rood • Henry Dose • A. A.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker </b>(Panel 2 and adjacent marker) image. Click for full size.
August 26, 2007
2. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker (Panel 2 and adjacent marker)
Smith • Benj. Wells • Alex Stella • A. J. Moore • W. A. Torrey • Jno. Rafp • Geo. Walker • Goe. Lell • Jno. Vickory • J. D. Jones • Wm. Teeman • Jno. Wild • John Briody • C. C. Morris • Wm. Brown • H. A. Bailey • B. F. Brown • Jno. Barry • Wm. Brady • C. H. Gross • Pat’k Bruce • M. E. Horn • A. D. Cather • E. W. Lloyd • Jno. Kelly • Geo. Post • Crawford Selby • Fred K. Lehman • J. J. McGinnis • Henry Lehmann • Henry Seafferman • Jno. Mitchell • Edw’d Danley • Jacob Moshang • T. E. Meador • Jno O’Bryan • F. E. Varden • Jno. Parker • James Bustard • F. J. Pitter • S. F. Staples • J. W. Rossbury • Jno. McCucker • Chas. Van Bramer • J. W. Patton • De Witt Winney • J. F. Broadhurst • J. J. Callahan • Thos. Connors • Julius Helmer • T. P. Downing • James Butler • Edw’d Driscoll • W. H. Harrison • D. C. Gillette • W. H. Gilbert • E. P. Holcomb • Fred’k Walsh • Adam Hetesimer • Chas. Siemon • Pat’k Kelley • Chas. Perkins
(Panel 4)
James Quinn • Jmo. Miller • Wm. Reed • Peter McCue • D. L. Symms • W. B Rogers • J. E. Troy • Chas. Schmidt • W. B. Wraley • Chas. Scott • R. H. Hughes • And’w Snow • E. F. Clear • E. D. Tessier • Wm. Cashan • T. s. Tweed • A. B. Warren • M. F. O’Hara • Jno. Seiler • H. M. Scollin • W. H. Heath • Fred’k Streing • C. E. Adams • Henry Cordon • Jno. Burke • Geo
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker </b>(Panels 3 and 4) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Martha Stephens, January 1, 2006
3. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker (Panels 3 and 4)
Lorentz • Wm. Dye • W. D. Meyer • Jno. Duggan • C. E. Smith • J. J. Calvan • J. J. Tauner • Louis Haucci • Henry Turlem • F. F. Hughes • H. C. Voirt • Anthony Assadily • T. E. Maxwell • Wm Andrews • Chas. McCarthy • Elmer Babcock • D. J. O’Connell • Ami Cheever • Christian Reibold • W. B. Crisfield • Henry Roberts • Chas. Graham • Bent Siemonson • Weston Harrington • Byron Tarbox • Henry Hamilton • Mich’l Vetter • T. G. Kavanagh • Henry Klotzburcher • Louis Lobering • David Summers • Bartholomew Mahoney

Arikaree Indian Scouts
Bloody Knife • Bobtailed Bull • Little Soldier

Civilians
Boston Custer • Mark Kellogg • Arthur Reed • Chas. Reynolds • Mitch Boyer • F. C. Mann • Isaiah

(Separate, smaller marker in front of the Monument)
The Memorial

The remains of about 220 soldiers, scouts and civilians are buried around the base of this memorial.

The white marble headstones scattered over the battlefield denote where the slain troopers were found and originally buried. In 1881 they were reinterred in a single grave on this site.

The officers’ remains were removed in 1877 to various cemeteries throughout the country. General Custer was buried at West Point.
 
Erected by National
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker image. Click for full size.
March 18, 2002
4. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Marker

Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
 
Topics. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansCemeteries & Burial SitesMilitaryNative AmericansNotable EventsWars, US Indian. A significant historical year for this entry is 1876.
 
Location. 45° 34.23′ N, 107° 25.672′ W. Marker is in Crow Agency, Montana, in Big Horn County. Marker can be reached from Interstate 90 at milepost 510 near U.S. 212. Marker is one mile East of I-90. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Crow Agency MT 59022, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Indian Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); 1984 Archeological Survey (within shouting distance of this marker); Peace Through Unity (within shouting distance of this marker); Companies C & E (within shouting distance of this marker); Memorial Markers (within shouting distance of this marker); Last Stand Hill, June 25, 1876 (within shouting distance of this marker); Little Bighorn Indian Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Wooden Leg Hill (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Crow Agency.
 
More about this monument. Located in southeastern Montana, within the Crow Indian Reservation, Little
George A. Custer image. Click for full size.
National Archives and Records Administration, between 1860 and 1869
5. George A. Custer
Bighorn Battlefield National Monument memorializes the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn which took place on June 25-26, 1876.
 
Regarding Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. The two-day battle took place between the U.S. Army's Seventh Cavalry, guided by Crow and Arikara scouts and led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, against bands of Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by Chief Sitting Bull, a leading voice in combating the U.S Army’s invasion of what he saw as Lakota way of life.

Little Bighorn was the pinnacle of the Indians' power. They had achieved their greatest victory yet, but soon their tenuous union fell apart in the face of the white onslaught. Outraged over the death of a popular Civil War hero on the eve of the Centennial, the nation demanded and Indians received harsh retribution.
 
Also see . . .
1. Battle of Little Bighorn. (Submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
2. George Armstrong Custer, PBS .Org entry. "Flamboyant in life, George Armstrong Custer has remained one of the best-known figures in American history and popular mythology long after his death at the hands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of the Little Bighorn...." (Submitted on March 14, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 

3. Sitting Bull... PBS Org. entry
Tatanka-Iyotanka ( Sitting Bull ) image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Palmquist & Jurgens in 1884. (Library of Congress )
6. Tatanka-Iyotanka ( Sitting Bull )
. As a young man, Sitting Bull became a leader of the Strong Heart warrior society and, later, a distinguished member of the Silent Eaters, a group concerned with tribal welfare. (Submitted on June 25, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 

4. Rain in the Face. Native American leader. (Submitted on June 25, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 

5. Bighorn Battlefield. (Submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
6. Little Big Horn National Monument , National Park Service. (Submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
7. Changing Faces of Last Stand Hill. Photographs demonstrating the changes of Last Stand Hill over the years. Many photographs presented on this site were never before published. (Submitted on December 21, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.) 

8. Wikipedia entry for The Black Hills War. (Submitted on April 11, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
9. Wikipedia entry for Isaiah Dorman. (Submitted on April 11, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
10. The Great Silent Witness of the Battle for the Little Bighorn. Comanche remained with his owner on Custer Hill. While all around him soldiers slaughtered their horses to hide behind and shoot, evidence and oral tradition shows that Keough crouched between Comanche’s legs, holding onto his reins,
Chief Gall image. Click for full size.
Photographed By R. L. Kelly's Studio, Pierre, South Dakota c.1880's
7. Chief Gall
Gall receives greater credit for several crucial tactical decisions that contributed to the Sioux and Cheyenne's overpowering defeat of the five companies of cavalry led by Custer of the 7th Cavalry.
while he was fighting. Keough was killed, but his hands still clutched Comanche’s reins. Warriors left the horse alone; it would have been bad medicine to take a horse so closely tied to his owner that the man held the reins even in death. (Submitted on June 24, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Keogh's horse, Comanche, was the sole survivor of Custer's Last Stand
WRONG. Leaving aside the thousands of Indians who of course survived the battle, Comanche was not even the
sole cavalry survivor. While many wounded cavalry mounts lived only long enough to be put out of their misery by the relief party, one other horse, a grey named "Nap", returned like Comanche to Fort Lincoln to enjoy a long and happy life as a popular pet. Other horses from Custer's command were captured by the Indians, one at least being recovered by the Mounties after Sitting Bull went to Canada. And there are several reports of a dog belonging to Keogh's Co. I who escaped the fate of his comrades, lived with the Indians for a while, and was eventually returned
to his troop. (Human claimants to the role of "sole survivor" are also myriad, but all have been successfully exploded -- most recently and exhaustively, in Michael Nunnally's
Rain-in-the-Face ... a warchief of the Lakota tribe image. Click for more information.
Photographed By c1893, published 1894 ; : A. Zeese & Co., photographer.
8. Rain-in-the-Face ... a warchief of the Lakota tribe
According to the dubious legend, Rain-in-the-Face was fulfilling a vow of vengeance because he thought Captain Thomas Custer had unjustly imprisoned him in 1874. Some contemporary accounts also claimed that the war chief had personally dispatched George Custer as well, but in the confused fighting, a number of similar claims have been attributed to other warriors. Late in his life, in a conversation with writer Charles Eastman, Rain-in-the-Face denied killing George Custer or mutilating Tom Custer. (Wikipedia)
Click for more information.
book, I Survived Custer's Last Stand.)from www.myleskeogh.org
    — Submitted June 24, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.

2. Isaiah Dorman
Isaiah Dorman was the only Black man killed in the battle. His first name is listed on the monument under "Civilians". His surname, "Dorman," was unexplainably excluded from the inscription. Escaping from slavery as a youth, Dorman found refuge with the Lakota and was highly regarded as an interpreter and all-around plainsman on the post-Civil War frontier.
    — Submitted April 11, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.

3. Pvt. Thomas E. Meador
The subject line name, Pvt. Thomas E. Meador, seems not to be listed on the Monument. I have a photo of a tombstone at Little Bighorn with his name on it as being killed on June 6, 1876. Any information on this
would be helpful.
David W. Meador

Editor's Note: At the time of your comment, we only had pictures and names from panels 1 and 2. Pvt. Meador is listed on panel 3, so was not included here until now. Please feel free to contribute the picture you have of his tombstone.
    — Submitted April 16, 2009, by
Captain Thomas W. Custer image. Click for more information.
Photographed By Wikipedia Open Source
9. Captain Thomas W. Custer
Thomas Ward Custer (March 15,1845 – June 25, 1876), U.S. Army officer and two-time winner of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War. A younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, and perished with him on the Little Bighorn Battlefield.
Click for more information.
Davd Meador of Martinsville,, Indiana.

 
Additional keywords. Great Sioux Victory, Black Hills War, Frontier
 
Custer Fell Here image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1992
10. Custer Fell Here
His Brother Tom, fell nearby
Last Stand Hill image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, June 1992
11. Last Stand Hill
Some of the Markers of where 7th Cavalry soldiers fell.
Markers Where 7th Cavalry Soldiers Fell image. Click for full size.
July 23, 2007
12. Markers Where 7th Cavalry Soldiers Fell
"The Custer Fight" image. Click for full size.
Charles Marion Russell. The Library of Congress, circa 1903
13. "The Custer Fight"
Little Bighorn Battlefield Map image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic , Wikimedia Commons
14. Little Bighorn Battlefield Map
Who was where
"Arikara Indian Scouts and Civilians" image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, circa July 1, 2003
15. "Arikara Indian Scouts and Civilians"
Also inscribed with the names of the 7th Cavalry troopers killed in this battle are those of three Arikaree [i.e. "Arikara"] Indian Scouts: Bloody Knife, Bobtailed Bull, and Little Soldier; plus seven Civilians: Boston Custer (a forager, another of General Custer's brothers), Arthur [Harry Armstrong 'Autie'] Reed (a packer, the general's nephew), Mitch Boyer (a scout and interpreter), Chas.['Lonesome Charley'] Reynolds (a guide and hunter), Mark Kellogg (a newspaper reporter), F[rank] C. Mann (a packer), and "Isaiah" (an interpreter).
Last Stand Hill, June 25, 1876 image. Click for full size.
July 23, 2007
16. Last Stand Hill, June 25, 1876
"Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors surround this position near the climax of the battle. Lt.Col. George Armstrong Custer and approximately 41 men, shoot their horses for breastworks and fight to the death. Custer and several soldiers were found at the crest of the hill while others were discovered along the slope. This was the famed 'Last Stand' of legend."
The great silent witness - 7th Cavalry Survivor, Co. I , the horse named, Comanche. image. Click for full size.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division , John C. H.Grabill, photographer
17. The great silent witness - 7th Cavalry Survivor, Co. I , the horse named, Comanche.
This incredible animal had been shot several times during the battle but when the army rummaged across the battlefield, bodies of both men and horses spread everywhere, the horse called Comanche was discovered, the hand of his dead master , Captain Myles Keogh still clutching the reins.
Park Sign image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Stroud, circa June 1992
18. Park Sign
Stay on paved walks.
Caution, you are in rattlesnake country!
"Peace Through Unity" Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield NM. Dedicated June 25, 2003. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, circa July 1, 2003
19. "Peace Through Unity" Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield NM. Dedicated June 25, 2003.
2003 sculpture by Oglala Sioux artist Colleen Cutschall / Sister Wolf.
Thomas Custer image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Thomas Onions, July 31, 2005
20. Thomas Custer
This photo is of the headstone of Thomas Custer at the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Grave of George A. Custer image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2009
21. Grave of George A. Custer
Custer's remains were laid to rest at the West Point Cemetery at the U.S. Military Academy.
Custer's Grave at West Point image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, September 5, 2009
22. Custer's Grave at West Point
George A. Custer
Lt. Col. 7th Cavalry
Bvt. Maj. Gen. U.S. Army
----------
Born
December 5th 1839, Harrison Co. Ohio
Killed
with his entire command
in the
Battle
of
“Little Big Horn”
June 25th 1876.
<i>Lieutenant J.J. Crittenden, 20th Infantry, Fell Here in Custer Battle, June 25, 1876....</i> image. Click for full size.
Postcard by the Coffeen Schnitger Trading Company, 1877
23. Lieutenant J.J. Crittenden, 20th Infantry, Fell Here in Custer Battle, June 25, 1876....
From photo taken one year later. The postcard was itself likely produced around 1900.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 31,746 times since then and 246 times this year. Last updated on April 11, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. It was the Marker of the Week June 24, 2012. Photos:   1. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   2. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.   3. submitted on May 13, 2009.   4. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.   5, 6. submitted on June 25, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   7. submitted on July 30, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   8. submitted on June 25, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   9, 10, 11. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   12. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.   13. submitted on June 25, 2011, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   14. submitted on June 25, 2013, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   15. submitted on April 10, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.   16. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.   17. submitted on June 24, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   18. submitted on December 20, 2007, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.   19. submitted on April 10, 2008, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.   20. submitted on June 21, 2009, by Thomas Onions of Olathe, Kansas.   21. submitted on September 6, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   22. submitted on September 7, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.   23. submitted on October 15, 2015. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

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Apr. 25, 2024