Custer’s Last Stand Explained: The Battle of Little Bighorn

Custer’s Last Stand became one of the most famous defeats in American history, but the real story is far more complex than the legend.

In June 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led part of the 7th Cavalry into the Little Bighorn Valley, expecting a quick victory. Instead, he met a massive coalition of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors fighting to protect their land and way of life.

Within a short time, Custer and every man under his immediate command were dead.

To Americans, it was a shocking disaster. To the Plains tribes, it was one of their greatest victories. But the triumph would be brief, because the battle only intensified the U.S. government’s campaign to force Native nations onto reservations.