Battle of the Little Bighorn (jun 25, 1876 – jun 26, 1876)

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The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between the Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army on June 25-26, 1876. This battle was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876, as it resulted in the defeat of U.S. forces. The Lakotas had taken lands from other tribes since 1851, and their presence was without consent from the local Crow tribe, which had a treaty on the area. The Lakotas' incursions into treaty areas were a direct result of their displacement by the United States and in reaction to white encroachment into the Black Hills, which the Lakota consider sacred.

The Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by major war leaders like Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, were victorious in the battle. The U.S. 7th Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, suffered a major defeat, with five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies wiped out and Custer killed. The total U.S. casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded, including 4 Crow Indian scouts and at least 2 Arikara Indian scouts.

Public response to the Great Sioux War varied, with Custer's widow working to burnish her husband's memory and his troops becoming considered heroic figures in American history. However, by the 1930s, Custer's heroic public image began to tarnish due to the death of Elizabeth Bacon (Libby) Custer and the publication of Glory Hunter - The Life of General Custer by Frederic F. Van de Water. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument honors those who fought on both sides.

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