The Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876 was quick and efficient, the last of the great tribal victories over US forces, in this case by Northern Cheyenne, Lakota Sioux and Arapaho fighters. It's probably the most famous -- and also most infamous -- of all such battles because it was one of the last (Wounded Knee in 1890 also resonates, of course, in reverse) and because of the marketing genius of Elizabeth Bacon Custer. As with most legend-tinged stories transmitted down the ages, its actual historical details and context were mostly simplified and culturally distorted, in this case for nearly a century.
Many knew at the time of the battle and more and more informed people realize once again that General George Armstrong Custer was an ass, not a hero.
Beyond that, I wonder if his having grown up in Monroe, Michigan, influenced his attitude about "Indian fighting," or if it was just a coincidence that Monroe was the site of the 1813 Battle of the River Raisin, where another US military force was wiped out by an enemy force largely made up of tribal fighters (in this case, Potawatomi, siding with Anglo-Canadians)?
The Little Bighorn battleground is an eerie place, far from the madding crowd. I remember journeying far through the Crow Nation to get there with my sister Linda many moons ago and being astonished by the entire experience. As for the Michigan connection, I'm hoping to return to the River Raisin battleground before or by January 2013, the bicentennial.
Later this year will be the 200th anniversary of Tippecanoe. Already!
Today's Rune: Fertility.
1 comment:
Custer got a lot of folks killed there. I wonder if he's serving them in hell now.
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