To start off, this is the view from our RV lot. Very quiet and peaceful. And not a lot of RVers around. That's been true of most places we've been. A little early for the regular crowd, I guess.
We are next to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument here in Garryowen, Montana. This is Lt. Col. Custer's Last Stand and the battle site of Little Bighorn. It is a legend, and a true one. But what we didn't understand was the significance of the battle. Yes, Custer was killed, along with his entire 7th cavalry unit. But it was the last time the native Americans had victory. So the historic site is honoured on both sides for what both sides won and lost.
This is "Last Stand Hill" where many of the American soldiers died, using their dead horses (which they killed) as a barrier. Custer died on this hill too.
This is Custer's death site found on the hill, among many of his cavalrymen. His remains were eventually moved to West Point.
They did archeological work around 1970 or so, to determine where each man died. They marked it with a stone, then reburied the remains under this monument on the hill.
There is also a marker for those horses killed.
This is in the Native American portion of the monument. It's a circle with commemorative plaques and quotes, including about "Sitting Bull". "Crazy Horse" was part of this battle as well. Familiar names in legend.
Bottom line, it's all about the white man taking land, and the Native Americans trying to protect their way of life. The treaty they had was ignored by the white man, which led to this whole battle.
We were finished with this tour and back to our RV by around 1 pm. We had some lunch, then just relaxed for the rest of the day. Well, some of us did. Gerard washed the truck and some of the RV as there was a lot of dust on them. We have a long day of driving tomorrow. Probably the longest we will have the whole trip as we head up to the northwestern part of the state from where we are in the southeastern part. And Montana is a BIG state.
We are next to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument here in Garryowen, Montana. This is Lt. Col. Custer's Last Stand and the battle site of Little Bighorn. It is a legend, and a true one. But what we didn't understand was the significance of the battle. Yes, Custer was killed, along with his entire 7th cavalry unit. But it was the last time the native Americans had victory. So the historic site is honoured on both sides for what both sides won and lost.
This is "Last Stand Hill" where many of the American soldiers died, using their dead horses (which they killed) as a barrier. Custer died on this hill too.
This is Custer's death site found on the hill, among many of his cavalrymen. His remains were eventually moved to West Point.
They did archeological work around 1970 or so, to determine where each man died. They marked it with a stone, then reburied the remains under this monument on the hill.
There is also a marker for those horses killed.
This is in the Native American portion of the monument. It's a circle with commemorative plaques and quotes, including about "Sitting Bull". "Crazy Horse" was part of this battle as well. Familiar names in legend.
Bottom line, it's all about the white man taking land, and the Native Americans trying to protect their way of life. The treaty they had was ignored by the white man, which led to this whole battle.
We were finished with this tour and back to our RV by around 1 pm. We had some lunch, then just relaxed for the rest of the day. Well, some of us did. Gerard washed the truck and some of the RV as there was a lot of dust on them. We have a long day of driving tomorrow. Probably the longest we will have the whole trip as we head up to the northwestern part of the state from where we are in the southeastern part. And Montana is a BIG state.
Love hearing about the history! It's amazing to see the actual areas where these people battled!
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