Yesterday, I left Gillette, WY and decided to go to southeastern Montana and visit Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.  It was much further away than I thought but the scenery was beautiful.

Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument memorializes the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn which took place in 1876 between the US Seventh Cavalry Regiment led by Lt. Col. George Custer and a combined Lakota-Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho force.  This battle was also known as Custer's Last Stand.   Beyond these tombstones is the actual field where the battle took place.

Custer's troops were defeated by the Indians who were led by Chief Sitting Bull.  In the end, out of desperation, the US soldiers shot their horses and used them as shields to hide behind.  There is a special cemetery for the horses remains that were found.

In 1991, the U.S. Congress changed the name of the park known as '"Custer's Last Stand," to "Little Bighorn Battlefield" and ordered the construction of an Indian Memorial to commemorate also the lives of the Indians who died there trying to hang onto their land.

 

Also, part of the National Monument is the Custer National Cemetery where there are graves of veterans of all of our nation's wars, including women and children from isolated frontier posts, Indians, scouts and Medal of Honor recipients. 

 

 

The tragic event that took place here, many years ago, inspired me to buy this T-shirt.  It was sad to see the shabby trailers and beat up automobiles that belong to the Indians today that live in that area called the Crow Nation.   I can only imagine how much happier they were and how much better they had it until the white man came along, took their land and put them on reservations.  Horrible really. 

 

 

Today, I drove back to Cody, Wyoming where I will try to stay for a week.  The town is charming and full of history, mostly about Buffalo Bill.  He was the founder of the town and very instrumental in the development of irrigation and agriculture in the area, yet he isn't buried here.  His wife chose to bury him on Lookout Mountain in CO.   The park where I am staying is called Buffalo Bill State Park and it is the gateway to Yellowstone, 40 miles away.   Lots of Texans staying here so I feel right at home.