Near Colstrip in Rosebud County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Custer Campsite - June 23, 1876
Photographed by Jeff Barnes, September 30, 2026
1. Custer Campsite - June 23, 1876 Marker
Custer Campsite - June 23, 1876
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry, having marched approximately 33 miles up Rosebud Creek, set up camp at this location in the late afternoon of June 23, 1876.
In addition to the campsite discovered by Major Reno a week earlier, the Seventh Cavalry passed the remains of several large Indian camps during the long day's march up the creek. At each site, troopers busied themselves studying the horse droppings, tracks, and lodge pole trails to estimate the number of lodges. Some troopers actually believed that the numerous bent-over, connected branches of brush were places where hostiles housed their dogs, not realizing that the wikiups were used by warriors from the agencies who had joined the big village in recent days.
At this point, Custer still believed the hostile force to be about 400 lodges and 1500 warriors. At the same time, Custer's scouts and even Major Reno noted that there were now fresh tracks along the creek suggesting larger numbers of warriors yet to be found.
At dawn the following day, the Seventh Cavalry broke camp and continued
this page online
The Seventh Cavalry reached the site where the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne had gathered two weeks earlier for the sun dance. It was here that Sitting Bull had his vision of "many soldiers falling into camp", a prediction of the victory to come a few weeks later at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Custer Circle Project 2017
Rosebud County Pioneer Museum
Erected 2017 by Custer Circle Project with the Rosebud County Pioneer Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Wars, US Indian. A significant historical date for this entry is June 23, 1876.
Location. 45° 45.447′ N, 106° 35.988′ W. Marker is near Colstrip, Montana, in Rosebud County. It is on Montana 39 (Route 39) 1.4 miles south of MT 39 and Rosebud Creek Road, on the right when traveling south. Adjacent to a previous stone marker to commemorate the site; this marker has
Photographed by Jeff Barnes, 0930/2026
2. Custer Campsite - June 23, 1876 Markers with campsite in background in Rosebud Creek valley
Regionally, this marker is in the Northern Cheyenne Nation, in Southeast Montana, in Custer Country and in the Powder River Basin. It is also in the American Mountain West, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, on the prairies, on the Great Plains, and specifically on the Northern Plains. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least one other marker is within walking distance of this marker: Custer Camped Here (here, next to this marker).
Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 4, 2026, by Jeff Barnes of Omaha, Nebraska. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 4, 2026, by Jeff Barnes of Omaha, Nebraska. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
