Return to Custer: Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat'l Monument 8/14/12

Well before the NPS obsession took hold and all but destroyed our ability to go anywhere the passport stamps are not, Brooke and I visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Summer of 1999, I believe it was, and not only were we both younger, thinner, and more wide-eyed, we could, without flinching, make the non-stop drive from Colorado Springs, CO to Sheridan, WY, even after spending a full day at work. We arrived at that long-forgotten rat trap well after midnight, and despite the fatigue and overall wear-and-tear, we were like obnoxious kids in more ways than one. Yes, to be young again. Well, to be anything again that isn't broken down and grouchy, but here we are, in the full flower of a return visit to America's most famous battleground not named Gettysburg. Everything remains in its place, with the exception of a few new memorials, and unlike those salad days in the waning hours of Clinton, we ventured into the visitor center this time around, finding the building a bit dated to be sure, but an introductory film more than up to the task. I'll say this for the NPS and Native American battlefields - they spare no expense in getting the story right. If only this attention to detail could find the Lincoln Birthplace, or perhaps Pecos NHP near Santa Fe.

I'm not sure why this isn't a National Battlefield, or a National Historic Site, but here's to the powers that be who, in 1991, finally acknowledged that it wasn't enough to commemorate George A. Custer alone. No, Cheyenne, Lakota, and Arapaho also fought here, and rather than assume their lives meant little to the American narrative, Little Bighorn has at last given them equal billing, including the establishment of an elaborate Indian Memorial in 2003 (appropriately enough, on the anniversary of the engagement). In addition, there are numerous red granite markers to give tribute to the Native people where they fell (a practice begun in 1999). Sure, it's long after the U.S. Army started the tradition for their dead (1890, to be exact), but historical sensitivity is often as hard won as the battles we choose to chronicle. As such, this latest visit, coming over a decade since our last, now feels complete, as if a hurried pace at last yielded to care and reflection.

Despite being late afternoon on a Tuesday, Little Bighorn was packed to the gills, a testament to the power of the Custer myth, as well as its convenient proximity to a major interstate. From the usual blue hairs pouring out of their RVs to chugging tour buses, the site was a striking contrast to the other stops on our latest stamp run, which were lucky to have parking lots even half full. Getting the stamp at the VC's front desk was our first priority, of course, and from there, we hit the theater, which was showing a comprehensive 17-minute movie about the battle. As stated, the film was a fantastic, densely packed piece of history, more than adequate for sending us on our way into the battlefield's interior. Before the driving tour, however, is the centerpiece for all park pilgrims - Last Stand Hill. The sheer concentration of markers gives voice to the doomed enterprise of Custer's retreat, speaking further to the wisdom of adding "reminders" that would otherwise be lost on an empty hillside. One can almost picture the panic that set in once the soldiers were forced to shoot their horses in order to erect breastworks.

From there, it is a short hike to the Indian Memorial, which, unlike the Army's impersonal slab, actually conveys nobility and sacrifice. Perhaps therein lies the biggest difference between the two sides, outside of their competing visions of civilization, of course. The driving tour then begins in earnest, allowing visitors to listen in on their cell phones for further information. Early stops include Calhoun Hill (where Custer's command briefly reunited), Keogh-Crazy Horse Fight (markers represent where soldiers were killed as they retreated from Crazy Horse and White Bull), and the original Indian Encampment where, on June 25, 1876, approximately 7,000 Native Americans, including 1,500-2,000 warriors, awaited their fate. Battlefield Road continues on for several more miles, hitting Medicine Tail Coulee, Medicine Tail Ford, and Weir Point (where Captain Weir led his company in an attempt to locate Custer), before ending at the Reno-Benteen Battlefield site. The logistics and troop movements are intricate and fascinating, but this is no place to recount them. Instead, it's enough to present one of the more chilling dispatches from Custer to Maj. Reno, via Benteen: "Come on; Big village, be quick, bring packs." Let it also be said that the site's unigrid and audio tour are essential in understanding what happened on that bloody Montana day, even if you'd be best served by any number of books on the subject.

It's no exaggeration to say that at the time, the unparalleled rout of American soldiers by the Lakota and Cheyenne forces electrified the world. In addition to the shockwaves sent directly into the heart of assumed white invincibility, the killing of a respected Civil War hero further solidified the U.S. position that co-existence was no longer desirable, if not impossible. Eradication and pacification were the orders of the day from then on, and despite being a source of pride for Sitting Bull and his people, Little Bighorn, like so many "victories" of the day, proved to be short-lived and hollow. The white man would have his gold and his territory, damn the cost. Certainly, Little Bighorn resonates then and now because of those involved (imagine had U.S. Grant been shot down on the plains), but on few patches of ground in the whole of North America is so one-sided a battle remembered. We tend to erase our failures, and here, with federal recognition, is one of "our" most humiliating defeats. As such, it's a remarkable place to stand, and the NPS does a great job of withholding judgment. It seems so long ago, indeed, and so removed from our daily experience, to be so utterly consumed with irrational fear and loathing for an unseen, misunderstood enemy, perceived as savage and unyielding. Or, in light of current events, perhaps it doesn't seem so long ago after all.

FINAL RATING

8/10