Decoding the Battle of the Little Bighorn: A Forensic Journey into Custer's Defeat
The
movie explores one of America’s most crushing defeats. It took place in the
year 1876 at a place close to the Bighorn
River in Montana. The battle is famously known as Custer’s last stand. It was a
battle between the band of Cheyenne warriors,
Lakota Sioux and other Native American
tribes who were up against the seventh Cavalry regiment of the US army and led
by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer. Custer was an already a legend
at the time and was well known for his efforts during the civil war. There has
been high debate as for how such a well-known
Lieutenant and his troops could be defeated
by a group of Native Americans. It was after the civil war, and there was a great need for Western expansion. There had
been the development of programs aimed at
coercing Native Americans into reserve so that the rest of the United States
could expand westwards and get access to the resources of much of the land
belonging to the Native American tribes in the west. The Seventh Cavalry led by Custer had been sent to
force some Native Americans believed to have settled near the Little Bighorn River in the reserves as the program had
already begun. On the other hand, Native Indians were angered by the many attempts by the United States government
to abolish their way of life, strip them of their land and force them into reserve.
This was more or less a big chance for
them to fight back. A man named Sitting Bull was not ready for the changes
coming his way from the United States government. He led a band of Native Americans
from several tribes against Custer and his army.
Other
leaders of the Native Americans included Chief Gall and Crazy Horse. The fight
was very big and overwhelming for the seventh cavalry. The Native Americans won
the battle and killed 268 men with more than fifty of them being very seriously
wounded. The Native Indians were led by
Sitting Bull who was also a spiritual leader. He had previously experienced a
vision that showed him the great victory ahead. He thus called upon many other Native
Americans from other tribes to join him
in this one last battle. This was a time
when there was a lot of pressure on the Native Americans. Gold had just been discovered, and the American government
was seeking land and other resources for the economic
development of the country. The government saw that the vast amount of land
belonging to the native Indians was underutilized and established the system of
reserves to keep the native Indians in small portions of land so that the
government could access the rest. This
had been taking placed throughout the century,
and the battle of Custer’s last stand was more like
the last straw for the Native Americans.
There had been reports of a group of defiant Native Americans close to the
Little Bighorn River, and that is the
reason the Lieutenant Custer and his troops were sent there to subdue them and
force them into the reservations. Native Americans had gathered from many tribes and villages. They had come
for the big fight inspired by Sitting Bull. The American troops, on the other hand, had no idea of the
number of Native Americans to expect at the bank of the Little Bighorn River.
They were astonished to meet a horde that finally destroyed them in the battle.
They could get help and could fight, and
most of them died on the Last stand hill.
There
were no survivors from Custer’s side and
so the story has always been told from
the perspective of the Native Americans. The movies show that there even exists living descendants of Native Indians
who took part in the battle. However, for many years the accounts of Native Americans
have been refuted in numerous times because of the claim of lack of evidence.
The movie shows how advancement in technology associated with forensic science
and archeology could be used to explore how such a devastating war took place. Forensic
scientists explore the bones of the dead from the battle and use them to explore
the injuries inflicted on the victims to show how they died. Archeological
research on the battlefield was also sued
to uncover some of the mysteries associated with the battle. One of the biggest
questions was how could such a disciplined unit led by a civil war legend be defeated by a horde of native American warriors
who mostly used crude weapons and arrows.
It
is said that the biggest mistake Custer
made during the battle was separate his troops into three battalions. They were
on a subdue mission and wanted to surround the Native Americans and give them
no chance of escape. However, this became the decision of their doom. As Custer
closed in on the Native Americans, he was
filled fear because he saw a horde of thousands of Native Americans waiting for
them. This was one of the largest gatherings of Native Americans. Sitting Bull
had gather villages and tribes from the northern
plain to give the American government a fight they could not win.
Archeological
reports of the battlefield reveal trails
of evidence. There have been more than five thousand materials collected from
the filed related to the battle, and most of them are in the forms of
bullet shells left after firing. The researchers say that these are only the
samples of what was left in the battle
and more time will only help tell the story of the battle.
There
had been a lot of myths revolving around the notion that the Native Americans
mostly used bow and arrows in the battle. However, the archeological research
of the battlefield differs. Most of the
American troops at the time were issued
with standard rifles and pistols which used a same type of bullet. They have issued with only 45 calibers Springfield bullets. However, the battlefields and the archeological reports of
the areas explored other types of bullets. This
showed that the Native Americans also had guns at the time. The archeological
reports show that the Native Americans had many guns and with such a great
difference in numbers between the two sides show that the Native Americans were
heavily armed. Armed. Guns at the time were used for hunting and were easily
accessible from any trading center.
In
addition to being heavily armed the Native Americans were advantaged by the terrain of the battlefield. They were already accustomed to
the land and had a great vantage point for
the troops. The movie also explores the characteristics of the troops and show
that they were poor immigrants who had just joined the seventh cavalry. The
troops were ill-prepared and not well
fed. The movie, therefore, explores
various aspects of the battle. Though forensic and archeological evidence some
important aspects of the battle can be explained.
However, it is clear that the seventh cavalry was not well prepared for what
Sitting Bull and the Native Americans had installed for them.
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