Battle of Little Bighorn

Specific Causes of the Battle of Bighorn
What were the specific causes of the Battle of Bighorn? The specific causes of the Battle of Bighorn at a local level were:

• Changes and inconsistent policy of the U.S. government toward American Indians:

  • The Second Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) had guaranteed to Indians exclusive possession of the Dakota territory

  • Discovery of gold led to an influx of white settlers and miners on Indian territory prompting Indian hostilities Indians

  • When the US government failed to persuade the Indians to sell the Black Hills they used the Indian raids as an excuse to release them from the treaty

  • The US government then that ordered all Indians to return to the designated reservations by 31 January, 1876, or be deemed hostile.

• The threat of forced relocation to Indian reservations which were restrictive and harsh

Facts about the Battle of Bighorn
The History of the Battle of Bighorn including details of the cause, reason, and summary. The dates and years of the Battle of Little Bighorn - when and why the battle started and the consequences of the conflict. Who fought in the Battle of Bighorn? The combatants of the Battle of Bighorn were the US Cavalry and Sioux, Cheyenne & Arapaho Indians.  When did the conflict start and when did the conflict end? What were the causes, what was the significance, what were the results and effects? Interesting history and facts about this historic conflict in the fast facts sheet.

The following pictures are of the leaders of the conflict
Chief Sitting Bull and General George Armstrong Custer.

History & Causes of the Battle of Bighorn - Political Policies and Beliefs
What were the causes of the Battle of Bighorn? Some of the history and causes of the Indian Wars and battles were dictated by general policies & beliefs which shaped the historical background to the causes of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

• Culture Clash: Distrust and hostilities grew between the indigenous population of the region and the Europeans as the number of newcomers increased leading to the inevitable culture clash. A major cause of conflict in the 1800's

• Land: The United States adopted the European practice of expansion and of recognizing only limited land rights of indigenous peoples. A major cause of conflict in the 1700 and 1800's

• Manifest Destiny: In the 1800's advocates of 'Manifest Destiny' fuelled by religious fervour believed in American cultural and racial superiority and efforts to "civilize" the indigenous people was widespread. A major cause of conflict in the 1800's

• Extermination of the buffalo: The US government promoted a policy to exterminate the buffalo in the 1870'S which would inevitably mean the demise of the Indians who relied on them for almost every aspect of their existence. This, in turn, would reduce the capacity of the Native Indians to continue armed battles against the United States

The Battle of Bighorn Map
The location of the Battle of Bighorn is indicated on the map which illustrates the US three pronged movements headed by Gibbon, Terry and Custer and General George Crook during the Great Sioux War.

Battle of Little Bighorn Map

History Timeline of the Battle of Little Bighorn
This short History Timeline of the Battle of Bighorn provides fast facts and information about the history, years & dates, key events and famous people who fought in the Battle of Bighorn.

History Timeline of the Battle of Little Bighorn
	1874	George Custer led an expedition to the Black Hills of Dakota and reported that he had discovered gold
	1875	The US government attempt to buy the Black Hills of Dakota from the Indians
	1875	The offer is refused as the land includes the sacred burial grounds of the Sioux
	1876	8 February: War Department orders operations against hostile Indians
	1876	17 March: Colonel Reynolds attacks Cheyenne on Powder River
	1876	24 March: Survivors of Powder River seek refuge with Crazy Horse
	1876	April: The Black Hills gold rush leads to the establishment of the mining town of Deadwood
	1876	16 May: Lieutenant James Bradley discovers Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne camp on Tongue River
	1876	April: The Black Hills gold rush leads to the establishment of the mining town of Deadwood
	1876	5 June: Sitting Bull creates the Sun Dance alliance, named after this famous ritual,  between the Lakota Sioux and the Cheyenne. During the event Sitting Bull has a vision of "soldiers falling into his camp like grasshoppers from the sky." and prophesizes a great victory
	1876	June 17: The Battle of the Rosebud between the United States Army led by General George Crook and a force of Lakota Sioux. The Battle of the Rosebud delayed Crook from joining Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn
	1876	June 22: General Alfred H. Terry and George Custer are ordered to pursue the Indians. They plan to trap the Indians between their two forces
	1876	June 25: Custer abandons the plan when he locates a large group of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians and devises a three-pronged attack from different locations, led by himself, Captain Frederick Benteen and Major Marcus Reno assuming that the Indians would attempt to escape, rather than to fight
	1876	June 26: Major Marcus Reno attacks first, is overwhelmed by the unexpected number of Indians and retreats
	1876	Major Reno is joined by the fresh troops of Captain Benteen
	1876	26 June: The Battle of the Little Bighorn begins. The major force of Indians ride to attack General Custer killing all of his 231 men who included Custer, his two brothers, Tom and Boston, his brother-in-law, James Calhoun, and his nephew, Autie Reed. The infamous conflict became known as the Battle of Little Bighorn.
	1876	27 June: General Alfred H. Terry and Montana Column (450 men) arrive to discover Custer's dead battalion at the scene of the Battle of Little Bighorn. The dead bodies had been stripped of their clothing and ritually mutilated. Reno and Benteen are rescued (they lost 47 men in their fights)
	1876	27 June: Captain George K. Sanderson and the 11th Infantry bury the mutilated bodies where they were found on the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn
	1876	July: The stunned and angry reaction to the US defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn prompted a massive outcry and the US government flooded the area with troops, forcing the Indians to surrender or flee.
	1877	July: The body of George Custer, who had been buried at the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn, was re-interred in West Point Cemetery.
History Timeline of the Battle of Bighorn