Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
Location:	Montana, USA
Nearest city:	Crow Agency, MT
Coordinates:	45°34′13″N, 107°25′39″W
Area:	765.34 acres (3,097,200 m²)
Established:	January 29, 1879
Visitation:	347,056 (in 2004)
Governing body:	National Park Service

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument preserves the site of the June 26, 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, near Crow Agency, Montana. It also serves as a memorial to those who fought in the battle: George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry and a combined Lakota-Northern Cheyenne force. Custer National Cemetery, on the battlefield, is part of the national monument. The site of a related military action led by Marcus Reno and Frederick Benteen is also part of the national monument, but is about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the Little Bighorn battlefield. The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... A Natural Monument is a natural/cultural feature which is of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. ... Image File history File links Locator_Dot. ... Image File history File links US_Locator_Blank. ... State nickname: Treasure State Official languages English Capital Helena Largest city Billings Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) Senators Max Baucus (D) Conrad Burns (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 4th 381,156 km² 1 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density Ranked 44th 902,195 2. ... Crow Agency is a census-designated place located in Big Horn County, Montana. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1876 is a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Combatants Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho (4) United States Commanders Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse Lt. ... Crow Agency is a census-designated place located in Big Horn County, Montana. ... George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839–June 25, 1876) was an United States Army cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. ... 7th Cavalry Regiment Coat of Arms 7th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia The 7th United States Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage traces back to the mid-19th century. ... The Lakota (IPA: ) (also Lakhota, Teton, Titonwon) are a Native American tribe. ... Cheyenne lodges with buffalo meat drying, 1870 The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains, closely allied with the Arapaho and loosely allied with the Lakota (Sioux). ... A U.S. National Monument is a protected area of the United States that is similar to a national park (specifically a U.S. National Park) except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a national monument without Congressional... Marcus Albert Reno was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota (Sioux) and Northern Cheyenne. ... Frederick Benteen Frederick William Benteen was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. ...

Preservation

Custer National Cemetery

The site was first preserved as a national cemetery by the Secretary of War on January 29, 1879, to protect graves of the 7th Cavalry troopers buried there. Proclaimed National Cemetery of Custer's Battlefield Reservation to include burials of other campaigns and wars on December 7, 1886. The name has been shortened to "Custer National Cemetery," and although it had been the site of Custer's grave, he was reinterred to West Point Cemetery in 1877. little bighorn cemetary overview by Durwood Brandon. ... little bighorn cemetary overview by Durwood Brandon. ... A U.S. National Cemetery is a designation for nationally important cemeteries in the United States. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... West Point Cemetery is an historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. ...

Reno-Benteen Battlefield was added on April 14, 1926. Transferred from the War Department to the National Park Service on July 1, 1940. Redesignated Custer Battlefield National Monument on March 22, 1946. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The site was renamed Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument by a law signed by President George H. W. Bush on December 10, 1991. April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. ... The National Park Service (NPS) is the United States federal agency that manages all National Parks, many National Monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in Leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... George Herbert Walker Bush (born in Milton, Massachusetts, June 12, 1924) was the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Memorials

U.S. Army Memorial on Last Stand Hill

The first memorial on the site was assembled by Captain George Sanderson and the 11th Infantry. They buried soldiers' bodies where they were found and removed animal bones. In his official report dated April 7, 1879, Sanderson wrote: little bighorn memorial obelisk by Durwood Brandon, File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of the Little Bighorn Categories: Free use images ... little bighorn memorial obelisk by Durwood Brandon, File links The following pages link to this file: Battle of the Little Bighorn Categories: Free use images ... There are several articles related to George Sanderson George P. Sanderson, a famous big game hunter in India (b. ... April 7 is the 97th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (98th in leap years). ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

I accordingly built a mound out of cord wood filled in the center with all the horse bones I could find on the field. In the center of the mound I dug a grave and interred all the human bones that could be found, in all, parts of four or five different bodies. This grave was then built up with wood for four feet above ground. The mound is ten feet square and about eleven feet high; is built on the highest point immediately in rear of where Gen’l Custer’s body was found...

Lieutenant Charles F. Roe and the 2nd Cavalry built the granite memorial in July 1881 that stands today on the top of Last Stand Hill. They also reinterred soldiers' remains near the new memorial, but left stakes in the ground to mark where they had fallen. In 1890 these stakes were replaced with marble markers.

Indian Memorial

The bill that changed the name of the national monument also called for an "Indian Memorial" to be built near Last Stand Hill. It is fairly common at national battle sites in the United States for combatants on both sides of the conflict to be honored. The memorials to U.S. troops have now been supplemented by markers honoring the Indians who fought there, including Crazy Horse. On Memorial Day, 1999, the first of five red granite markers denoting where warriors fell during the battle were placed on the battlefield for Cheyenne warriors Lame White Man and Noisy Walking. The warrior markers dot the ravines and hillsides like the white marble markers representing where soldiers fell. Since then, markers have been added for the Sans Arc Lakota warrior Long Road and the Minniconjou Lakota Dog's Back Bone. On June 25, 2003, an unknown Lakota warrior marker was placed on Wooden Leg Hill, east of Last Stand Hill to honor a warrior who was killed during the battle as witnessed by the Northern Cheyenne warrior Wooden Leg. Iron sculpture honoring the Native Americans. ... Iron sculpture honoring the Native Americans. ... Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tasunka witko, pronounced tashúnka uitko), (c. ... Relatives and others traditionally place flags near veterans headstones on Memorial Day Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that takes place on May 30th and is observed on the last Monday of May. ... Lame White Man, or Vehoenohnenehe, was a Cheyenne chief who fought at the Battle of the Little Big Horn at the June 25, 1876 and was killed there. ... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reference

Memorial Marker

• The National Parks: Index 2001-2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.

little big horn headstone by Durwood Brandon. ... little big horn headstone by Durwood Brandon. ... The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is a Cabinet department of the United States government that manages and conserves most federally-owned land. ...

External links

• National Park Service: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
• Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield
• Custer National Cemetery register
• History of the burials and reburials of the Custer dead.