ipl-logo

The Battle Of Little Big Horn Analysis

697 Words3 Pages

Before the 1950’s, the Battle of Little Big Horn was perceived in two entirely different ways. One way was through the eyes of white Americans who, as Linenthal brought to attention in his piece, turned the site into a sacred place and deemed the battle to be an important event that shaped the nation (268). In fact, Linenthal states how in a speech given by Colonel Henry Hall, Custer was “’no more gallant soldier, nor more stainless knight, ever drew sword than…George Armstrong Custer’” (270). The majority of white Americans before the 1950’s idolized the work and sacrifice of General George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry that fought at Little Big Horn. Edward Linenthal explains in his journal how after the battle, the American people …show more content…

In the eyes of the patriotic citizens, this was a great achievement in need of commemorative celebrations. According to Linenthal, “commemorative celebrations began shortly after the battle” (270). Linenthal shared how these celebrations consisted of thousands of people going to the battlefield, the playing of Custer’s battle song “Garry Owen,” reenacting the battle, and speeches by both Indians and military personnel (270). The celebrations mainly appealed to white citizens that believed Custer was fighting for the good of the nation. As Linenthal stated, a monument was built at the battlefield, and the site was named the Custer Battlefield National Monument as a way to display “public faith” to the accomplishments of General Custer (267). The celebrations to remember the members of the military in the Battle of Little Bighorn demonstrated the respect Americans had for dedication the military had for fighting for westward expansion while ignoring the ways in which the battle affected Native …show more content…

In Robert Utley’s article, he describes how remembering the battle for Native Americans is often accompanied by negative emotions (72). Although this battle was a victory for the Native Americans, it was one of many battles fueled by discrimination and racism that inevitably resulted in their homeland being stolen from them. By naming the battlefield and monument after Custer, it represented a celebration of oppression and racism among white Americans. Utley made a point in his article that “the Battle of Little Bighorn involved two sets of antagonists…, but the monumentation commemorates only one, the losers” (72). It is peculiar how even though the Native Americans won the battle, the Americans soldiers were the only ones honored and labeled as heroes to the American government and people. Utley later concluded that “most battlefields are not named for a person, much less the defeated leader” and how “Custer’s name attached to the place and monumentation there are deeply offensive to many people” (72). This represents how the Native Americans were viewed as being savages whose accomplishments were forgotten by the largely racist population of white Americans. Utley described the disregard for Native Americans during commemorative events where Native Americans were present, but did not have a voice to share their opinions and celebrate in their victory at the battle of Little

Show More
Related
569 Words | 3 Pages

Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer executed poor mission command during the Battle of Little Bighorn by failing to create a shared understanding of the operational environment and exercise disciplined initiative. Custer was the commander of a battalion in the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Indian Wars1. Little Bighorn was the location of a nomadic village of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes2. Custer approached the unified Indian village with his force of nearly 650 men from the east and south to act as a hammer. Following Custer’s advance, additional infantry and cavalry approached from the north to act as a blocking force or anvil in support of Custer's movements2.

Read More
291 Words | 2 Pages

In Cheyenne River American Indian Joseph Brings Plenty’s article Save Wounded Knee (2013) asserts that American Indian Reservations all over the country are in danger of becoming nothing but a real-estate transaction, leaving behind all of the rich culture that once thrived over the Oglala land. Plenty supports his claim with the use of pathos. He goes to explain the horrors of bloodshed of the soldiers of the United States Army’s Seventh Cavalry in the winter of 1890, explaining that the soldiers open fired with their machine guns on to the Lakota. He adds that 150-300 Lakota people died as a result of this massacre. Brings Plenty’s purpose is to explain why the Wounded Knee land should be saved from being sold off.

Read More
1814 Words | 8 Pages

Scribbles on Scrap: A Mission Command Analysis of the Battle of the Little Bighorn The massacre at the Little Bighorn in 1876 was one of the most recognizable battles in American history. The defeat of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and the slaughter of 268 Soldiers by the Sioux serves as an enduring subject of study for contemporary military professionals. The basic modus operandi for command principles in the times of the Indian Wars loosely mirrors the mission command philosophy of today; however, if we still lay credence to the efficacy of the mission command philosophy, how was it that a conventional force under the direction of a battle proven leader was defeated by an irregular enemy? In the end, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer’s complacent

Read More
892 Words | 4 Pages

“Because My Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock,” Sherman Alexie, the author, depicts a very rare, but normal image of a Native American family. Victor, the narrator, father beat a National Guard solider during an anti-Vietnam war rally. The incident was documented, seeing that his father a Native American. In result of this incident, Victor’s father was imprisoned for two years. After being released from being imprisoned, the first thing his father did was go back to Woodstock, where he says he was he was the only Indian to see Jimi Hendrix’s famous performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner”.

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

In Nathan philbrick book the last stand he cover much as Custer's and Indians and how it was a last stand for both. Philbrick did a great job of narrative two very different wordviews with the evidence he had with written and oral testimony, But with photographs and maps. Now it's a outsiders view but he has a lot of evidence to back his clames. The battle of Little Bighorn has had a lot of books written about in America frontier, but Philbrick delivers a very detailed and captivating telling of Little Bighorn.

Read More
255 Words | 2 Pages

“Custer's Last Stand” was a victory for the Indian people, but as a result of their win, they brought a lot of attention to themselves which angered the American people. As a result, the US government treated the Native Americans more hostile, allowing John Gibbons to go and attack the Nez Perce Indians, didn’t follow through with their agreements dealing with land and took land away, and kept expanding westward while continuing to grow America East to West. Directly after new got out that the Indians had not only won the battle, but had slaughtered the American army, John Gibbons rounded up every available man and went after the Nez Perce Indians, whom he thought were the easiest and head of attack. Many innocent woman and children died on

Read More
1003 Words | 5 Pages

Custer split his troops into three groups, with Captain Frederick Benteen going south, Major Reno crossing the Little Bighorn River to attack, and Custer’s troops would head North up stream. Custer decided to attack, and he was very quickly surrounded, resulting in all of his troops being killed, including him. The Battle of Little Bighorn was an embarrassing loss for the United States. This loss caused the government to strengthen the army which led them to a defeat of the Lakota Indians. Americans had a hard time believing that Custer, a great general, would have been killed by a group of Indians.

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

After watching Tecumseh’s Vision, I became more knowledgeable about the struggles Natives had to experience as western civilization occurred. Tecumseh was a trailblazer to his people and was a visionary. He was in favor of a strong Indian confederacy and was a strong Indian leader. As a result of rising tensions between the Shawnees and the Americans, it lead to a costly culmination of battles in order to claim Ohio land and westward expansion. Tecumseh’s legacy lives on and he is remembered for his leadership and courage to take on the Americans.

Read More
170 Words | 1 Pages

Petalesharo’s writing reflected the treatment of Native Americans during the 1800s. Being a Native American himself, Petalesharo was able to give perspective on a point in history typically viewed from a white man’s opinion. The excerpt “Petalesharo” explains how the Native American was able “to prevent young women captured by other tribes from being sacrificed”, making Petalesharo well liked by the Americans (588). Petalesharo gave the “Speech of the Pawnee Chief” infront of Americans to convey the differences between Native Americans and Americans through emotion, logic, and credibility, which showed how the two groups will never be the same, but still can coexist in the world together.

Read More
282 Words | 2 Pages

Hilary Weaver argues in her piece of writing; that identifying indigenous identity is complex, complicated, and hard to grasp when internalized oppression and colonization has turned Native Americans to criticize one another. Throughout the text, Weaver focuses on three main points which she calls, the three facets. Self-identification, community identification, and external identification are all important factors that make up Native American identity. The author uses a story she calls, “The Big game” to support her ideologies and arguments about the issue of identity. After reading the article, it’s important to realize that Native American’s must decide their own history and not leave that open for non-natives to write about.

Read More
104 Words | 1 Pages

Battle of Little Big Horn Have you ever wondered what the cause of the Battle of the Little Big Horn was? Or when it took place? What about the after effects of the battle? Here is some more in-depth research on the Battle of Little Big Horn. It was late 1875, when Sioux and Cheyenne Indian tribes left their reservations.

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

The Native Americans many times did not understand what the soldiers were doing, from this the Sioux became scared and fled. Furthermore, Reno’s battalion had coverage from the landscape which cause mass confusion, among both groups. From the eyes of George Henderson, the Native Americans truly never faltered; however, as it was mentioned they could not truly see the battalion. The one statement made from both sides was the Native Americans fled. Though no party considered the other weak, they both felt fear, both the battalion and the Native Americans became confused during this battle.

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

The 1870s, the time after the Civil War, was a decade of imperialism, great invention, reconstruction, labor unions and strikes, and the Sioux Wars. Especially The battle of the little Bighorn, was a crushing defeat for the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army under George Armstrong Custer. The 700 men strong 7th Cavalry Regiment were defeated by the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, which were leaded by several important war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, Sitting Bull. The reason of the Sioux Wars, and so also of the battle of the little Bighorn, was that the Native Americans fight for their land. The Battle of Little Bighorn was a training point in the relation between America and Native America because

Read More
515 Words | 3 Pages

In Life Among the Piutes, sarah winnemucca hopkins describes what happens when soldiers came to their reservation based off what white settlers tell the government. The most shocking instance of this happened when Winnemucca encountered a group of soldier who told her the white settlers accused the natives of stealing cattle, “the soldiers rode up to their [meaning the Piute’s] encampment and fired into it, and killed almost all the people that were there… after the soldiers had killed but all bur some little children and babies… the soldiers took them too… and set the camp on fire and threw them into the flames to see them burned alive”(78). This is an abhorrent act that is unthinkable in a functioning society. The natives had done nothing but want to hold some shred of land from the settlers who had taken everything from them and are exterminated like vermin. This was something that stayed hidden from many white settlers because of its barbarism and by exposing it Winnemucca truly educates the reader, past and present, on how natives are

Read More
827 Words | 4 Pages

The defense of Chief Red Jacket gave to his religion is a wonderful piece of history that does not get enough credit. Chief Red Jacket’s speech illuminates the thoughts of the Native Americans in that specific era. Today, the Native Americans and other minorities in the United States of America have been having more recognition. One of the actions that have been a little unpopular in US History is the religious

Read More

More about The Battle Of Little Big Horn Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document