The Little Bighorn Battlefield has been renamed by President George HW Bush in 1991 to reflect a neutral stance and not favor or honor one side. This is the place of Custer’s famous last stand where he and 41 of his men shot their horses to be used as shields in a last ditch attempt to survive. These soldiers were trying to protect settlers and supply lines from raids. The Cheyenne and Lakota warriors were temporarily successful in fighting for their nomadic way of life. The new Indian Memorial and fallen warrior markers help balance the historic story told here.

After the battle, Lakota and Cheyenne families removed their dead and gave them traditional burials nearby. Three days after the battle, the dead US soldiers were buried in shallow graves where they lay. Five years later, the troops remains were (minus Custer and some officers who were moved back East) put in the mass grave at the top of the hill with a memorial marker listing their names. The anonymous grave markers are left to show where they were killed. There are a few with names as they must have had identifying paraphernalia (like the assistant surgeon above) with them in this day before dog tags.

It’s sobering to stand here, and it’s impressive how much information we know about what happened and where. I did not know that this is also a National Cemetery where soldiers and civilians from several conflicts are buried.

We traveled on to Red Lodge, Montana, for a two-night stay at Perry’s RV and Campground. Another really nice place with kind hosts and clean bathrooms. We had a creek-side site and wandered down to walk along the shore of Rock Creek. The water was cold and crystal clear.