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.