Little Bighorn Battlefield: A History and Guide to the Battle of Little Bighorn: Custer Battlefield National Monument, Montana

by Robert M. Utley

An offficial history and guide to the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Southeastern Montana, where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry were defeated by Teton Sioux and Northern Cheyenne Indians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Native Americans, Historical

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

A specialist in Native American history and the history of the American West, Robert Marshall Utley was a former chief historian of the National Park Service. He earned a Bachelor of Science in history from Purdue University in 1951, and an Master of Arts in history from Indiana University in 1952. Utley served as Regional Historian of the Southwest Region of the NPS in Santa Fe from 1957 to 1964, and as Chief Historian in Washington, D.C. from 1964 until his retirement in 1980.

Reviews

[Bill on GR Sabbatical · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read a brief overview of the battlefield site before a day trip there and found a copy of this in the local university library. It did a good job of providing background and an account of the battle. Utley served as a seasonal ranger at the battlefield from 1947 to 1952, was Chief Historian for the National Park Service from 1964 to 1972, and wrote more than twenty books on the history of the American West. I've discovered a more current Little Bighorn Battlefield, published in 1994, with additional material and reflecting the renaming of the site in 1991. Many of the National Park Service's Historical Handbooks, of which this is No. 132, can be read online at https://npshistory.com/handbooks/hist....

[John Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a concise history of the Battle of the Little Bighorn by one of the best historians of the American West, Robert M. Utley. Without sounding tendentious, Utley debunks many of the myths surrounding Little Bighorn. For example, though the cavalry were outnumbered on the order of nine or ten to one, the disparity was not nearly so large as often is depicted. Little Bighorn also often is regarded as as a pyhrric victory for the Indians, one in which their own casualties were so high that never again were they able to mount any organized resistance. The number of Indian casualties at Little Bighorn was far higher than at any other battle (Utley estimates the number killed at approximately 300). However, the main reason the Indians never again congregated in a large war party was that they lacked an organized supply system. A large group could not stay together for more than a few weeks because they soon would exhaust the local supply of forage for their horses and game for themselves. By 1876, many Indians also preferred the relative comfort of Indian agencies, where the American government distributed food and other supplies to Indians, and had no desire to stay out on the plains year after year. In effect, the Indian wars on the northern plains were decided before the 1876 campaign season even began, though neither side realized at the time. Perhaps the most striking lesson that comes from this book is how truly awful Custer's leadership was. He divided his troops into three separate groups in the face of what he knew was a vastly superior number of Indians, failed to maintain contact between the three groups, and more or less blundered into battle with a much more numerous opponent, on ground which minimized whatever advantage the cavalry had in weaponry. It was a textbook example of how NOT to fight a battle.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm rather appalled by the book, not least because it's not that old. I'd expect something published in 1988 to be less biased in its writing about a public land that is not "Custer's monument" but the "Little Bighorn Battlefield." Instead, this book something that could have very easily been written in the 1950s, romanticizing white men and the fight to take over all Indian lands while characterizing Indians as stubborn and primitive. For example, when soldiers shoot American Indians involved in the battle the author tends to stick to words like "shot" or "killed" but when switches to verbs like "slaughter" when describing the deaths of U.S. soldiers. Who is he kidding? Has he never heard of Sand Creek, where U. S. soldiers slaughtered men, women, and children and yes, mutilated the bodies and in fact, paraded bits of them around Denver while celebrating?

One example in particular sickened me. Utley is talking about some of the battles that followed, such as the November 25, 1976 one in which Crook's soldiers attack a Cheyenne village in the Power River Basin in Wyoming. There were about 200 lodges there, and the soldiers attacked the sleeping camp at dawn. The women and children ran west to the mountains while the Cheyenne fought. They lost, however, and the soldiers burned the lodges. Utley writes, "The Cheyenne lost their tipis, stores of food and clothing, and pony herd. Crazy Horse took them in, but they no longer had the will to resist" (p. 82). "No longer had the will to resist."

Let's be clear: most of the Cheyenne had fought or fled with the clothing they had on, and a blizzard was moving in from the mountains. Eleven babies froze to death that first night alone. Then they journeyed to southeastern Montana to join the camp of Crazy Horse--nearly 150 miles--without adequate clothing, without tipis, horses, blankets, food, and likely, without much in the way of weapons to help hunt food. How on earth does one characterize that as "no longer had the will to resist" unless one already believes that the "Indians" just needed to surrender?

Who died at Little Bighorn? Soldiers, mostly white men. Who died when Crook's soldiers took their revenge? Babies. Women. Children. And yet that's not worthy of mention.

I know that history is not pretty and not easy. We know that as settlers moved westward, innocent people on both sides died--as did aggressors on both sides. But to present such a one-sided account as modern history, and from someone who is recognized as a prominent historian, reminds me that we have such a long ways to go to move the stories of this country beyond that of the stories of white men.

[Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Official national park guidebook that succinctly goes into what is known to have lead up to the battle and what assumptions are now made based on archeological evidence and quotations from warriors, surviving scouts, and members of companies not part of Custer’s ill fated battalion.

A quick read, with great diagrams and photos of important players in the conflict. This short book dispels some common rumors about Custer’s so called Last Stand and provides an easy to digest intro into the last big fight for control of the west that still haunts the imagination of Americans to this day.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this a four star rating because it held my interest and kept me reading. I’ve visited the battlefield twice. Last year we attended an interpretive program by a ranger who’s program was spell binding. Yet I didn’t expect to find enjoyment In the book. Surprise! Ow I want to go back and see the site with my expanded awareness and view.

[Adelbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent information on the battle with many supporting drawings & photographs.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this used a few years ago in hopes we'd someday make it there, so pulled it out to brush up on the battle on the drive. Good overview of battle and surrounding terrain although the 1988 publication date doesn't include the 1992 additions of Sioux and Cheyenne warrior markers and the Spirit Memorial. It also says there are no markers in Deep Ravine and there are now.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up at the battlefield. An OK summary, but there is much better literature and history available on this subject.

[Tom Woodard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief but complete.