By Leah S. Dunaief As we approach celebrations for Independence Day, the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, there is another anniversary in sight. It is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, colloquially referred to as Custer’s Last Stand on July 25, 1876. The Natives call it, “The Battle of Greasy Grass.” It makes for an amazing fight in terms of numbers of men involved and the variety of the terrain, along with evidence of the constant tension between the Indigenous People and the United States government over land. Custer, whose initial intent was to drive the Native Americans back to their reservations rather than to battle them, was accompanied by 700 men, some of them immigrants in poor physical shape and with only minimal training. The Native Americans, primarily Sioux, Cheyenne and Lakota, numbered as many as 2500. Custer’s intelligence, despite the use of Native scouts, was poor and apparently he never realized the scope of the battle that he was facing. It is probably one of the most studied military operations in American combat history, and while the Natives overwhelmed the soldiers with victory on the battlefield, it proved something of a last stand for the Native Americans. Custer, meanwhile was at first lionized as a defeated hero, thanks in part to the efforts of his wife, Libbie, for almost 60 years. But after she died, deeper investigation tended to sour his reputation, despite his West Point credentials and considerable victories in the Civil War. Subsequent writers and historians criticized Custer for insanely launching an attack without taking even the most elementary precautions or even making an attempt at reconnaissance. He has been portrayed as reckless, egotistical and vainglorious. Having just finished the excellent book, “This Vast Enterprise,” by Craig Fehrman, the story of the explorations of Lewis and Clark, I was not surprised at how many Native Americans of different tribes there were in the plains and northwest of the country. Nor was I surprised to read of the regular attempts to push the Indigenous People onto reservations and to seize their land. We have learned of that tragic epic in American history, but with each literary iteration, our understanding of those actions by the United States government becomes more personal and hence more tragic. An interesting article in this past Wednesday’s New York Times told about both Ernie LaPointe and George Armstrong Custer IV today. Custer, known as Chip, is the great-great-grand-nephew of the famous lieutenant colonel. Ernie LaPointe is descended from Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota leader who had the vision of a great invasion by and victory over American soldiers months before the battle and shared it with other tribes. Unlike Custer, he did not die in battle but eventually was shot in 1890 on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during a botched arrest by Indian Reservation police officers, according to the NYT. Both descendants are charged by their families with protecting the legacy of their famous ancestors. Chip’s father had served in the Army in three wars, Ernie is himself an Army veteran. The two men don’t recall that they ever met.
Between You and Me: Another anniversary — the defeat of Custer & the Seventh Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army
