Go south on 1st Avenue NW and make a left on 4th Street NW. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [85][86], A Brul Sioux warrior stated: "In fact, Hollow Horn Bear believed that the troops were in good order at the start of the fight, and kept their organization even while moving from point to point. [66], Despite hearing heavy gunfire from the north, including distinct volleys at 4:20pm, Benteen concentrated on reinforcing Reno's badly wounded and hard-pressed detachment rather than continuing on toward Custer's position. By almost all accounts, the Lakota annihilated Custer's force within an hour of engagement. [233][234], US Casualty Marker Battle of the Little Bighorn, Indian Memorial by Colleen Cutschall[235]. The regimental commander, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, returned from his detached duty in St. Louis, Missouri. Hearings on the name change were held in Billings on June 10, 1991, and during the following months Congress renamed the site the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Evidence of organized resistance included an apparent skirmish line on Calhoun Hill and apparent breastworks made of dead horses on Custer Hill. 0.2% du max. Another officer and 1318 men were missing. This formation reduced Reno's firepower by 25 percent. About 20% of the troopers had been enlisted in the prior seven months (139 of an enlisted roll of 718), were only marginally trained and had no combat or frontier experience. ", Donovan, 2008, pp. [134][note 9] She lived until 1933, hindering much serious research until most of the evidence was long gone. [70] Custer's body was found near the top of Custer Hill, which also came to be known as "Last Stand Hill". [195], The Springfield carbine is praised for its "superior range and stopping power" by historian James Donovan, and author Charles M. Robinson reports that the rifle could be "loaded and fired much more rapidly than its muzzle-loading predecessors, and had twice the range of repeating rifles such as the Winchester, Henry and Spencer. Taken November 2011. White, Richard: "The Winning of the West: The Expansion of the Western Sioux in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries". Some historians believe that part of Custer's force descended the coulee, going west to the river and attempting unsuccessfully to cross into the village. One possibility is that after ordering Reno to charge, Custer continued down Reno Creek to within about a half-mile (800m) of the Little Bighorn, but then turned north and climbed up the bluffs, reaching the same spot to which Reno would soon retreat. Soon the number of warriors amounted to only about 600. Paxson", "Prisoners in the Indian Camp: Kill Eagle's Band at the Little Bighorn", "Context Delicti: Archaeological Context in Forensic Work", Account of Custer's fight on Little Bighorn, MSS SC 860, Custer Battlefield Museum, Garryowen, Montana. The geography of the battlefield is very complex, consisting of dissected uplands, rugged bluffs, the Little Bighorn River, and adjacent plains, all areas close to one another. More on the 1876 campaign that led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which included Lucian Burnham, a Broome County native serving under Custer. The Lakota asserted that Crazy Horse personally led one of the large groups of warriors who overwhelmed the cavalrymen in a surprise charge from the northeast, causing a breakdown in the command structure and panic among the troops. The Custer Trail - Fort Abraham Lincoln to the Little Bighorn Battlefield Dodger's Trips 414 subscribers Subscribe 113 12K views 2 years ago A fur traders rendezvous was in progress as. We'll finish them up and then go home to our station. Finally, Custer may have assumed when he encountered the Native Americans that his subordinate Benteen, who was with the pack train, would provide support. They immediately realized that the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne were present "in force and not running away.". They could fire a much more powerful round at longer ranges than lever-actions.". Rifle volleys were a standard way of telling supporting units to come to another unit's aid. Custer respectfully declined both offers, state that the Gatlings would impede his march. The agents did not consider the many thousands of these "reservation Indians" who had unofficially left the reservation to join their "unco-operative non-reservation cousins led by Sitting Bull". Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were wiped out and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. This force had been returning from a lateral scouting mission when it had been summoned by Custer's messenger, Italian bugler John Martin (Giovanni Martino) with the handwritten message "Benteen. ", Gallear, 2001: "Trade guns were made up until the 1880s by such gunsmiths as Henry Leman, J.P. Lower and J. Henry & Son. [127], Custer believed that the 7th Cavalry could handle any Indian force and that the addition of the four companies of the 2nd would not alter the outcome. Why is the Battle of the Little Bighorn significant? As of December 2006, a total of ten warrior markers have been added (three at the RenoBenteen Defense Site and seven on the Little Bighorn Battlefield). On Custer's decision to advance up the bluffs and descend on the village from the east, Lt. Edward Godfrey of Company K surmised: [Custer] expected to find the squaws and children fleeing to the bluffs on the north, for in no other way do I account for his wide detour. It was located near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Bighorn rivers, about 40 miles (64km) north of the future battlefield. Native American accounts of the battle are especially laudatory of the courageous actions of Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala band of Lakota. News of the defeat arrived in the East as the U.S. was observing its centennial. Thus, Custer unknowingly faced thousands of Indians, including the 800 non-reservation "hostiles". Also, Custer retained the conviction that the Seventh could handle any force of Indians it might encounter, and he may have reasoned that taking the Second Cavalry would leave [Colonel John] Gibbon's column susceptible to attack and defeat". Crow woman Pretty Shield told how they were "crying for Son-of-the-morning-star [Custer] and his blue soldiers". Trooper Billy Jackson reported that by then, the Indians had begun massing in the open area shielded by a small hill to the left of Reno's line and to the right of the Indian village. Capt. Sturgis led the 7th Cavalry in the campaign against the Nez Perce in 1877. Why did the Battle of the Little Bighorn happen? [65], Benteen was hit in the heel of his boot by an Indian bullet. [194], Historian Mark Gallear claims that U.S. government experts rejected the lever-action repeater designs, deeming them ineffective in a clash with fully equipped European armies, or in case of an outbreak of another civil conflict. There the United States erected a tall memorial obelisk inscribed with the names of the 7th Cavalry's casualties.[69]. He also visited the Lakota country and interviewed Red Hawk, "whose recollection of the fight seemed to be particularly clear". [54], Some authors and historians, based on archaeological evidence and reviews of native testimony, speculate that Custer attempted to cross the river at a point further north they refer to as Ford D. According to Richard A. In 1805, fur trader Franois Antoine Larocque reported joining a Crow camp in the Yellowstone area. ", Hatch, 1997, pp. Ordered to charge, Reno began that phase of the battle. The Indian Wars were seen as a minor sideshow in which troops armed to fight on European battlefields would be more than a match for fighting any number of Indians.". Captain Frederick Benteen, battalion leader of Companies D, H and K, on the 18th day of the Reno Court of Inquiry[83] gave his observations on the Custer battlefield on June 27, 1876: I went over the battlefield carefully with a view to determine how the battle was fought. [69] The soldiers identified the 7th Cavalry's dead as well as they could and hastily buried them where they fell. Custer refused the assistance, and Terry abided by that. presents two judgments from Custer's contemporaries: General Henry J. Grant Marsh,", "Grant Marsh Tells of his Part in the Custer Expedition,", Sklenar, 2000, p. 68: Terry's column out of Fort Abraham Lincoln included "artillery (two Rodman and two Gatling guns)". [50] Author Evan S. Connell observed that if Custer could occupy the village before widespread resistance developed, the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors "would be obliged to surrender, because if they started to fight, they would be endangering their families. [60] Realizing the full extent of the village's width, Reno quickly suspected what he would later call "a trap" and stopped a few hundred yards short of the encampment. Miles took command of the effort in October 1876. The Battle of the Little Bighornalso known as Custer's Last Standwas the most ferocious battle of the Sioux Wars. The covering company would have moved towards a reunion, delivering heavy volley fire and leaving the trail of expended cartridges discovered 50 years later. . Additionally, Custer was more concerned with preventing the escape of the Lakota and Cheyenne than with fighting them. The 1876 expedition arrived at Snow Camp on May 31 and found itself snowed in for two nights. Actually, there have been times when I have been tempted to deny that I ever heard of the 7th Cavalry, much less participated with it in that engagement My Medal of Honor and its inscription have served me as proof positive that I was at least in the vicinity at the time in question, otherwise I should be tempted to deny all knowledge of the event. Had the U.S. troops come straight down Medicine Tail Coulee, their approach to the Minneconjou Crossing and the northern area of the village would have been masked by the high ridges running on the northwest side of the Little Bighorn River. With Reno's men anchored on their right by the protection of the tree line and bend in the river, the Indians rode against the center and exposed left end of Reno's line. 2KN 20KN. That was the condition all over the field and in the [gorge]. Vegetation varies widely from one area to the next. Thus, wrote Curtis, "Custer made no attack, the whole movement being a retreat". By dividing his forces, Custer could have caused the defeat of the entire column, had it not been for Benteen's and Reno's linking up to make a desperate yet successful stand on the bluff above the southern end of the camp.[129]. The regimental commander, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, was on detached duty as the Superintendent of Mounted Recruiting Service and commander of the Cavalry Depot in St. Louis, Missouri,[34] which left Lieutenant Colonel Custer in command of the regiment. According to this theory, by the time Custer realized he was badly outnumbered, it was too late to retreat to the south where Reno and Benteen could have provided assistance. "[42], As the Army moved into the field on its expedition, it was operating with incorrect assumptions as to the number of Indians it would encounter. 1886 Map| Map of Woodstock, Conn., 1883| Connecticut|Woodstock|Woodstock, Conn M (#204087024708) Gallear, 2001: "In 1872 the Army tested a number of foreign and domestic single-shot breechloaders". Some Scouts would have been armed with both types of weapons plus a variety of side arms. Graham, 146. Some historians believe Custer divided his detachment into two (and possibly three) battalions, retaining personal command of one while presumably delegating Captain George W. Yates to command the second. They were accompanied by teamsters and packers with 150 wagons and a large contingent of pack mules that reinforced Custer. Marsh converted the Far West into a floating field hospital to carry the 52 wounded from the battle to Fort Lincoln. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . ", Gallear, 2001: "The established wisdom is that the U.S. Army did not adopt lever-action multiple shot weapons during the Civil War because of the problems they would create regarding the supply of ammunition. The village was 14 miles distant, to the West, in the valley of the Little Bighorn. [228], The only documented and verified survivor of Custer's command (having been actually involved in Custer's part of the battle) was Captain Keogh's horse, Comanche. Wood, Raymond W. and Thomas D. Thiessen (1987): White, Richard: The Winning of the West: The Expansion of the Western Sioux in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Hoxie, Frederick E.: Parading Through History. Army intelligence had estimated Sitting Bulls force at 800 fighting men; in fact, some 2,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors took part in the battle. Although the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), in effect, had guaranteed to the Lakota and Dakota (Yankton) Sioux as well as the Arapaho Indians exclusive possession of the Dakota territory west of the Missouri River, white miners in search of gold were settling in lands sacred especially to the Lakota. [220][221], Some of these survivors held a form of celebrity status in the United States, among them Raymond Hatfield "Arizona Bill" Gardner[222] and Frank Tarbeaux. Lawson, 2007, pp. NPS Photo You can follow the park's cell phone audio tour along the tour road. [229] Writer Evan S. Connell noted in Son of the Morning Star:[230]. The route taken by Custer to his "Last Stand" remains a subject of debate. At one point, he led a counterattack to push back Indians who had continued to crawl through the grass closer to the soldier's positions. Probably three. [64] The shaken Reno ordered his men to dismount and mount again. Hatch, 1997, p. 124: "Scholars have for years debated the issue of whether or not the Model 1873 Springfield carbine carried by cavalrymen, malfunctioned during the battle and [whether this] was one reason for the defeat" and "No definitive conclusion can be drawn [as to] the possible malfunction as being a significant cause of Custer's defeat. During the Black Hills Expedition two years earlier, a Gatling gun had turned over, rolled down a mountain, and shattered to pieces. This practice had become standard during the last year of the American Civil War, with both Union and Confederate troops utilizing knives, eating utensils, mess plates and pans to dig effective battlefield fortifications. Some Indian accounts, however, place the Northern Cheyenne encampment and the north end of the overall village to the left (and south) of the opposite side of the crossing. Finally, Curtis visited the country of the Arikara and interviewed the scouts of that tribe who had been with Custer's command. Terrys plan was for Custer to attack the Lakota and Cheyenne from the south, forcing them toward a smaller force that he intended to deploy farther upstream on the Little Bighorn River. General Nelson A. Towards the end of spring in 1876, the Lakota and the Cheyenne held a Sun Dance that was also attended by some "agency Indians" who had slipped away from their reservations. In fragmenting his regiment, Custer had left its three main components unable to provide each other support. [48]:298 Custer was almost within "striking distance of the refugees" before abandoning the ford and returning to Custer Ridge. It is where Custer gave Reno his final orders to attack the village ahead. Map of Battle of Little Bighorn, Part IV. The troops found most of Custer's dead men stripped of their clothing, ritually mutilated, and in a state of decomposition, making identification of many impossible. [64] He then said, "All those who wish to make their escape follow me. [164][165] Researchers have further questioned the effectiveness of the guns under the tactics that Custer was likely to face with the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. Custer intended to move the 7th Cavalry to a position that would allow his force to attack the village at dawn the next day. [note 1] Three second lieutenant vacancies (in E, H, and L Companies) were also unfilled. These assumptions were based on inaccurate information provided by the Indian Agents that no more than 800 "hostiles" were in the area. [note 10], Over 120 men and women would come forward over the course of the next 70 years claiming they were "the lone survivor" of Custer's Last Stand. Gen. Alfred H. Terry headed west from Fort Abraham Lincoln in charge of the Dakota Column, the bulk of which constituted Custers 7th Cavalry. ON THE FOURTH day of May 1876, we moved out of our quarters and passed in review, marching around the post and thence towards our first camping-place three miles below Fort Lincoln. Later, the troops would have bunched together in defensive positions and are alleged to have shot their remaining horses as cover. ", Donovan, 2008, p. 175: "Reno had taken one [Gatling gun] along [on his June reconnaissance], and it had been nothing but trouble." Villages were usually arrayed in U-shaped semi-circles open to the east; in multi-tribal villages, each tribe would erect their tipis in this manner separately from the other tribes but close to the other tribes. I am hoping that some day all of these damned fakirs will die and it will be safe for actual participants in the battle to admit and insist that they were there, without being branded and looked upon as a lot of damned liars. According to Dr. Richard Fox in. And p. 195: Custer, in comments to his officer staff before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, said that "if hostiles could whip the Seventh [Cavalry]they could defeat a much larger force. Along the route, there are waysides where you can pull over to read. Donovan, 2008, p. 191: "a solid weapon with superior range and stopping power". The Battle of the Little Bighorn was the subject of an 1879 U.S. Army Court of Inquiry in Chicago, held at Reno's request, during which his conduct was scrutinized. Rather than seek safety in flight, the Sioux and Cheyenne stood their ground, determined to either live or die in freedom. et sortie analogique; Dynamomtre digital FL-M capteur exter. Medora, ND 58645 All told, between one-third and one-half of the gathering warriors had a gun. 16263: Reno's wing "lefton June 10accompanied by a Gatling gun and its crew", Donovan, 2008, p. 163: "The [Gatling gun] and its ammunitionwas mostly pulled by two 'condemned' cavalry mounts [p. 176: "drawn by four condemned horses"] judged not fit to carry troopers, but it needed the occasional hauling by hand through some of the rougher ravines. Free shipping for many products! Writers of both pro- and anti-Custer material over the years have incorporated the theory into their works". Custer chose to attack immediately. Frederick W. Benteen to the south to cut off the flight of any Indians in that direction, and took five companies under his personal command to attack the village from the north. The U.S. Congress authorized appropriations to expand the Army by 2,500 men to meet the emergency after the defeat of the 7th Cavalry. They certainly did not have the ammunition to practice, except whilst hunting buffalo, and this would suggest that the Indians generally followed the same technique of holding their fire until they were at very close range". Atop the bluffs, known today as Reno Hill, Reno's depleted and shaken troops were joined about a half-hour later by Captain Benteen's column[65] (Companies D, H and K), arriving from the south. While officers were nestled in their wall tents with warming stoves, enlisted me huddled under ponchos around campfires or shivered in their wet three-man pup tents. Reno's Arikara scout, Bloody Knife, was shot in the head, splattering brains and blood onto Reno's face. It was not until over half a century later that historians took another look at the battle and Custer's decisions that led to his death and loss of half his command and found much to criticize. [77]:48 They were soon joined by a large force of Sioux who (no longer engaging Reno) rushed down the valley. Pack Train commander: 1st Lt. Edward Gustave Mathey (detached from M Company), Goose: Arikara scout (wounded in the hand by a 7th Cavalry trooper), Peter Jackson: half-Pikuni and half Blackfoot brother of William, scout, William Jackson: half-Pikuni and half Blackfoot scout. Having isolated Reno's force and driven them away from their encampment, the bulk of the native warriors were free to pursue Custer. However, their inclusion would not have changed the ultimate outcome. [53]:380, Cheyenne oral tradition credits Buffalo Calf Road Woman with striking the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died.[73]. For example, near the town of Garryowen, portions of the skeleton of a trooper killed in the Reno Retreat were recovered from an eroding bank of the Little Big Horn, while the rest of the remains had apparently been washed away by the river. Nichols, Ronald H. (ed) (2007) p. 417, 419. The extent of the soldiers' resistance indicated they had few doubts about their prospects for survival. The Army's coordination and planning began to go awry on June 17, 1876, when Crook's column retreated after the Battle of the Rosebud, just 30 miles (48km) to the southeast of the eventual Little Bighorn battlefield. This conclusion is supported by evidence from archaeological studies performed at the battlefield, where the recovery of Springfield cartridge casing, bearing tell-tale scratch marks indicating manual extraction, were rare. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In this formation, every fourth trooper held the horses for the troopers in firing position, with 5 to 10 yards (5 to 9m) separating each trooper, officers to their rear and troopers with horses behind the officers. The federal government was forcing the Native Americans to move to reservations. [15] Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument honors those who fought on both sides. Lieutenant Colonel Custer and his U.S. Army troops are defeated in battle with Native American Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne on the Little Bighorn Battlefield, June 25, 1876 at Little Bighorn River, Montana All the warriors later interviewed had no problem admitting that the soldiers fought bravely and well. The orders, made without accurate knowledge of the village's size, location, or the warriors' propensity to stand and fight, had been to pursue the Native Americans and "bring them to battle." Within days, Crazy Horse surrendered at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. The remainder of the battle took on the nature of a running fight. [116], Indians leaving the Battlefield Plate XLVIII, Six unnamed Native American women and four unnamed children are known to have been killed at the beginning of the battle during Reno's charge. His men were widely scattered and unable to support each other. On June 22, Terry ordered the 7th Cavalry, composed of 31 officers and 566 enlisted men under Custer, to begin a reconnaissance in force and pursuit along the Rosebud, with the prerogative to "depart" from orders if Custer saw "sufficient reason". [93], According to Indian accounts, about forty men on Custer Hill made a desperate stand around Custer, delivering volley fire. "[note 3][40] Custer's overriding concern was that the Native American group would break up and scatter. Records Indicate than on May 28, 1876, 7th Cavalry privates Frank Neely and William C. Williams were assigned to rear guard duty. [75] Troopers had to dismount to help the wounded men back onto their horses. Bradley, James H.: Journal of James H. Bradley. In 1881, the current marble obelisk was erected in their honor. ", Donovan, 2008, p. 175: "Custer refused Terry's offer of the Gatling gun battery. According to Lakota accounts, far more of their casualties occurred in the attack on Last Stand Hill than anywhere else. Cut off by the Indians, all 210 of the soldiers who had followed Custer toward the northern reaches of the village were killed in a desperate fight that may have lasted nearly two hours and culminated in the defense of high ground beyond the village that became known as Custers Last Stand. The details of the movements of the components of Custers contingent have been much hypothesized. Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, 1969, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, C-SPAN Cities Tour Billings: Battle of the Little Bighorn, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Cultural depictions of George Armstrong Custer, List of battles won by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, "Characterization of Geographical Aspects of the Landscape and Environment in the Area of the Little Bighorn Battlefield, Montana", Washita Memories: Eyewitness Views of Custer's Attack on Black Kettle's Village (review), "A 7th Cavalry survivor's account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn", "Online version of Cullum's Register of Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1846 Samuel D. Sturgis", "The 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment Fought in Battle of the Little Bighorn", "The official record of a court of inquiry convened at Chicago, Illinois, January 13, 1879, by the President of the United States upon the request of Major Marcus A. Reno, 7th U.S. Cavalry, to investigate his conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, June 2526, 1876", "George Armstrong Custer and The Battle of the Little of The Little Big Horn (A South African View)", "Confirmed by one of his surviving Arikara scouts, Little Sioux", "Little Sioux's Story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn", Martin J. Kidston, "Northern Cheyenne break vow of silence", "White Cow Bull's Story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn #1", "Indian War / Gen. Gibbons Letter Relating to Terrible Massacre", "Massacre of Our Troops / Five Companies Killed by Indians", "1876: The Eagle Screams. de 1kN-100KN; Dynamomtre digital FL-S de 5N 1KN. Theodore Goldin, a battle participant who later became a controversial historian on the event, wrote (in regards to Charles Hayward's claim to have been with Custer and taken prisoner): The Indians always insisted that they took no prisoners. Hatch, 1997, p. 80: "The offer of 3 Gatling Gunswas made to Custer by General Alfred Terry [at the] urging of Major James Brisbin, who also desired his Second Cavalry to become part of Custer's detachment. Battle of the Little Bighorn, also called Custer's Last Stand, (June 25, 1876), battle at the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, U.S., between federal troops led by Lieut. [142][143][144], One factor concerned Major Marcus Reno's recent 8-day reconnaissance-in-force of the Powder-Tongue-Rosebud Rivers, June 10 to 18. The U.S. 7th Cavalry, a force of 700 men, suffered a major defeat while commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (formerly a brevetted major general during the American Civil War). At noon on June 25, in an attempt to prevent Sitting Bulls followers from escaping, he split his regiment into three battalions. ", Philbrick, 2010, p. 73: "Since its invention during the Civil War, the Gatling gun had been used sparingly in actual battle, but there was no denying, potentially at least, an awesome weapon. Reports of an attempted fording of the river at Medicine Tail Coulee might explain Custer's purpose for Reno's attack, that is, a coordinated "hammer-and-anvil" maneuver, with Reno's holding the Indians at bay at the southern end of the camp, while Custer drove them against Reno's line from the north. 65, No. Custer believed that the Gatling guns would impede his march up the Rosebud and hamper his mobility. ", Donovan, 2008, p. 191: "each enlisted man carried the regulation single-action breech-loading, M1873 Springfield carbine the standard issue sidearm was the reliable [single-action] M1873 Colt .45 cal. [77]:44 Then, he went over the battlefield once more with the three Crow scouts, but also accompanied by General Charles Woodruff "as I particularly desired that the testimony of these men might be considered by an experienced army officer". Custer had been offered the use of Gatling guns but declined, believing they would slow his rate of march. This forced a hasty withdrawal into the timber along the bend in the river. Curley, Custer's Crow scout and interpreter through the battle. R.E. Gen. Alfred Terry's column, including twelve companies (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, and M) of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's immediate command,[29] Companies C and G of the 17th Infantry, and the Gatling gun detachment of the 20th Infantry departed westward from Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory on May 17. As this was the likely location of Native encampments, all army elements had been instructed to converge there around June 26 or 27 in an attempt to engulf the Native Americans. 5253: "The troops of the 7th Cavalry were each armed with two standard weapons, a rifle and a pistol. [14]:82 Historian Douglas Scott theorized that the "Deep Gulch" or "Deep Ravine" might have included not only the steep-sided portion of the coulee, but the entire drainage including its tributaries, in which case the bodies of Bouyer and others were found where eyewitnesses had said they were seen. Yates' E and F Companies at the mouth of Medicine Tail Coulee (Minneconjou Ford) caused hundreds of warriors to disengage from the Reno valley fight and return to deal with the threat to the village. The "spirit gate" window facing the Cavalry monument is symbolic as well, welcoming the dead cavalrymen into the memorial. That was why he ultimately declined the offer of the Gatling guns that had proven such a bother to Reno. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Custer's Last Stand The Battle Of The Little Bighorn 1876 Battlelines Unpunched at the best online prices at eBay!