Custer National Cemetery

Custer National Cemetery: A resting place at Little Bighorn

The Custer National Cemetery, located at the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in southeastern Montana, stands as one of the most hallowed grounds in American history. This cemetery serves as a final resting place for numerous soldiers, Native American scouts, and other military personnel who have contributed to the nation's defense. Beyond its role in commemorating the infamous 1876 battle, the cemetery has grown into a significant burial ground for U.S. military veterans across various conflicts and eras.

Origins and establishment

The Custer National Cemetery was officially established in 1879, three years after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which took place on June 25-26, 1876. Following the infamous battle, the U.S. Army initially interred the remains of General George Armstrong Custer and his men in shallow graves across the battlefield. However, in 1877, Custer’s body was exhumed and transferred to West Point Cemetery, while many of his soldiers were reburied in a mass grave at the battlefield. Recognizing the site’s historical and national significance, the federal government officially designated the cemetery in 1879, expanding its purpose beyond the battle’s casualties to include veterans of other American wars.



Notable burials

Though General Custer himself is not buried at the site, several significant figures rest within Custer National Cemetery, including:

• Soldiers of the 7th Cavalry: Many of the fallen from the Battle of Little Bighorn remain buried in a mass grave at the top of Last Stand Hill, while others from the battle are interred in individual graves throughout the cemetery.
• Marcus Reno: A major in the 7th Cavalry who played a controversial role in the battle, Reno was initially buried elsewhere but was later reinterred at Custer National Cemetery in 1967.
• Other military personnel and veterans: Over the decades, the cemetery has become the final resting place for military personnel from later conflicts, including the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

Number of burials and significance

The Custer National Cemetery holds approximately 5,000 burials, including soldiers, veterans, and some civilians. The cemetery's expansion beyond its original scope makes it a unique landmark within the national cemetery system, providing a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by those who served in the U.S. military.

The cemetery and battlefield together form part of the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, managed by the National Park Service. It remains a place of reflection and historical study, drawing thousands of visitors annually who seek to honor the past and understand the complex history surrounding the Battle of Little Bighorn.



Conclusion

The Custer National Cemetery is more than just a burial ground for the soldiers who fought and died at Little Bighorn - it has become a lasting tribute to American military service across multiple generations. With its deep historical roots and continued significance in commemorating military personnel, the cemetery stands as a place of reverence and remembrance. Whether viewed through the lens of the tragic 1876 battle or as part of a broader narrative of American history, it remains an essential landmark in the nation's heritage.

Custer Black Hills Expedition 1874

Custer's expedition to the Black Hills in 1874: A turning point in the westward expansion of the United States

The Black Hills expedition of 1874, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, marked a pivotal moment in American history, intertwining exploration, military strategy, and the relentless push of westward expansion. This controversial journey was part of a broader narrative of conflict between the U.S. government and the Native American tribes of the Great Plains. To understand the significance of this expedition, in what is now modern-day South Dakota, it is essential to examine Custer's military background, the directives behind the mission, the expedition's encounters with Indigenous peoples, and the lasting consequences of his observations and conclusions.

Custer’s military background: A man of action

Brevet Major General George A. Custer, circa 1865.

By 1874, George Armstrong Custer had solidified his reputation as an ambitious and daring military officer. He gained fame during the Civil War, earning the rank of brevet brigadier general at the remarkably young age of 23. Known for his bold and sometimes reckless tactics, Custer's cavalry exploits helped secure Union victories in battles such as Gettysburg and the Shenandoah Valley campaigns. After the war, Custer joined the U.S. Army's efforts in the West to subdue Native American tribes resisting encroachment on their lands. As a lieutenant colonel of the 7th Cavalry, he became a central figure in the Indian Wars, developing a reputation for his audacity and his contentious relationships with both military superiors and Indigenous groups.

Orders for the expedition: A political and strategic mission

Custer’s 1874 expedition to the Black Hills was not initiated at his own volition but ordered by the U.S. government under the authority of General Philip Sheridan. The mission had several objectives: to explore the Black Hills region in present-day South Dakota, assess its resources, and establish a military presence. Officially, the expedition was framed as a reconnaissance mission to evaluate the area's suitability for a military fort. However, an underlying motive was to confirm rumors of gold deposits in the Black Hills - a region considered sacred by the Lakota Sioux and protected under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. This treaty had guaranteed the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, effectively barring white settlement or resource extraction.

Custer led a force of over 1,000 men, which included soldiers of the 7th Cavalry, scientists, surveyors, journalists, and civilian guides. The scale of the expedition underscored its dual military and exploratory purposes, as well as its potential for long-term ramifications.



Encounters with native tribes: Avoiding conflict but breaching trust

Although the Black Hills were Sioux territory, the expedition surprisingly encountered little direct conflict with Native American tribes during its journey. Custer’s forces were heavily armed and prepared for skirmishes, but reports from the expedition indicate that the Lakota and Cheyenne largely avoided confrontation. This relative peace does not diminish the expedition’s impact on the tribes, as the mere presence of Custer’s men constituted a clear violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty and provoked widespread distrust and anger among the Sioux.

The absence of significant clashes was likely due to the tribes’ strategic decision to observe the expedition without engaging militarily. Many Indigenous leaders understood that any hostilities could provide a pretext for the U.S. Army to escalate its presence in the region, further endangering their sovereignty.

Observations and conclusions: Gold and opportunity

Custer’s expedition confirmed what many settlers and speculators had hoped: the Black Hills were rich in resources, including gold. Geologists accompanying the expedition identified significant deposits, and Custer himself reported favorably on the region’s potential for settlement and exploitation. His accounts, widely publicized through embedded journalists, ignited a gold rush that brought thousands of prospectors into the Black Hills, despite the legal protections granted to the Sioux.

Beyond gold, Custer’s reports extolled the natural beauty of the region, its lush forests, and its suitability for agriculture and development. These findings only intensified pressure on the U.S. government to renegotiate or abrogate the treaty with the Sioux, a process that would lead to increasing tensions and, eventually, violent conflict.



The aftermath: Escalating conflict and the path to Little Bighorn

Custer’s expedition set into motion a series of events that culminated in profound consequences for both Native Americans and the United States. The Black Hills Gold Rush led to a surge of illegal settlers in Sioux territory, and federal authorities proved unwilling or unable to enforce the treaty. Instead, the government attempted to purchase the Black Hills from the Sioux, offering terms that were roundly rejected by tribal leaders. When negotiations failed, tensions erupted into the Great Sioux War of 1876.

Custer’s role in the Black Hills expedition positioned him as a key figure in the unfolding conflict. Less than two years after the expedition, he would meet his end at the Battle of Little Bighorn, a decisive moment in the Indian Wars. While his tactical decisions at Little Bighorn remain controversial, his earlier foray into the Black Hills was undeniably a catalyst for the upheaval that followed.



Conclusion: A legacy of controversy

The 1874 Black Hills expedition remains a defining episode in the history of westward expansion and U.S.-Native American relations. Custer’s mission, though ostensibly exploratory, served as a prelude to the violation of treaty obligations and the dispossession of the Sioux from their sacred lands. His observations of gold deposits and his publicized reports helped to ignite a gold rush that forever altered the landscape of the Black Hills and the fortunes of its Indigenous inhabitants.

For Custer, the expedition was another chapter in his storied and ultimately tragic career. For the Sioux and other tribes, it marked yet another step in the erosion of their autonomy and cultural heritage. The expedition thus stands as a microcosm of the broader struggles and inequities of the American frontier - a moment of discovery intertwined with displacement and conflict.

Myles Keogh

Myles Keogh and the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876

An Irish warrior that fought for the Pope in Italy and then came to the United States to fight for the Union in the Civil War (1861-65), including at Gettysburg. Met his death at just 36 years old fighting Sioux and Cheyenne warriors in Montana at what became famously known as Custer's Last Stand, and then had his remains shipped to New York for burial. Here's his incredible story.

Growing up as a kid, I was quite the history buff. Even though I was on my way to eventually becoming a total slacker in high school, something I don't recommend, I loved to learn as much as I could about a variety of historical eras and events. I loved to play baseball in the street or at the park with my friends, and I played little league for several years (I didn't play high school sports because, again, I was a slacker). But just as much as I loved to play the game, I loved to learn all I could about the history of the game. I was particularly fascinated by the 1900s-1910s era. I loved the designs and artwork of the baseball cards and advertisements from that period. I knew all about the lives and careers of legends like Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Eddie Plank, and my personal favorite because of his wild and unpredictable behavior - Rube Waddell.

For a period of time, I was fascinated with World War II history, and I had a strong interest in the aircraft used in the war - the various bombers and fighters. I wrote on this blog that I recently rediscovered a documentary from 1944 about the amazing accomplishments of the crew of the Memphis Belle, a B-17 bomber that flew bombing missions over Germany from its base in England. I included the full documentary and several clips from a 1990 Hollywood movie about the crew in that post, which you can check out here.

And then there was the period in 2nd-3rd grade where I learned all I could about both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, prompted by seeing my dad's 1976 high school yearbook, the year he graduated. To commemorate the 200th anniversary of American independence, the yearbook featured a section showcasing all the major flags flown in or by the country - flags of individual colonies prior to and during the Revolution; the Confederate flag and its major variants; various battle flags used over the centuries; state flags; and a series of official U.S. flags that showed its evolution leading up to what we now know as its current design. 
 
Finally, getting to the main topic of this post, there was also a period growing up where I learned all I could about what's generally and collectively referred to as the Indian Wars - the various battles and skirmishes that took place out West between the U.S. Army's Cavalry and various Native American tribes after the Civil War. This interest all began when my parents, sister, and myself headed out West on a road trip one summer. I forget how old I was at the time, but I would have been in middle school. We visited Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota; stopped at multiple roadside markers pointing out U.S. - Indian battle sites; ventured into Wyoming for a couple of days; and went into Yellowstone National Park, albeit very briefly due to lack of time. But the highlight of the trip for me was our visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana, site of the June 25-26, 1876 battle and home to a national cemetery for veterans of all wars.

I remember the site being very quiet. It was very peaceful and solemn. It was the perfect place for thinking; for reflecting and just letting your mind wander. Had it not been for all the markers and fences indicating where soldiers and Native warriors had fallen, you wouldn't know that a bloody massacre had taken place there some 120 years (at the time I went there) prior. It was that quiet. I'd love to visit there again someday.

Myles Keogh

Recently, I rekindled my interest in the battle and in that historical period in general. But I came across a "new" character - Myles Keogh, a captain in the battle. Keogh led the men of the U.S. 7th Cavalry's Company I. Now, if I heard of Keogh's name so many years ago, it didn't stick with me. See, as a kid, I remember learning all about the roles of Captain Frederick Benteen (who led companies H, D, and K); Major Marcus Reno (who led companies A, G, and M); and of course, Lt. Col. George Custer, the famed "boy general" of the Civil War, so named because he was made a general at the age of 23. They were certainly the bigger names in the battle on the U.S. side, and a lot has been written about them. Benteen and Reno survived the battle, and Reno went on to face accusations of being a coward for many years after, including by Custer's wife, Elizabeth. Custer, of course, along with all the men he directly commanded in the battle, fell to their deaths. Well, Keogh, it turns out, met the same fate.

As I recently started to learn about Myles Keogh and his brief yet extraordinary military career, I thought to myself simply, "Wow..." Here's a man that met his death at the young age of 36 - my age as I write this - and had, in his short career, left Ireland to fight for Pope Pius IX in defense of the Papal States during the [re]unification of Italy; came to the United States to fight for the Union during the Civil War, surviving major battles like Gettysburg, to name just one; headed out West afterward to participate in the Indian Wars; fights and dies bravely in perhaps the most fabled battle in U.S. history; and then has his remains shipped back to New York for burial.

Myles Keogh in 1872.

It's said that Keogh's body was found stripped of its clothing, but not mutilated, as many fallen soldiers were. There are a couple of theories surrounding this. A devout Roman Catholic, Keogh wore an Agnus Dei (that's Latin for "Lamb of God") on a chain around his neck, and the Indian warriors may have viewed this as powerful "medicine." Another theory, tying into this one, holds that many of the Indian fighters were simply Catholic themselves.

Keogh's horse, Comanche, though badly wounded in the battle, survived and would go on to live another 15 years, dying in 1891. He became a mascot of sorts for the 7th Cavalry after the battle, and he is currently housed at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. He is stuffed and in a humidity-controlled glass case.

Read all about Keogh's extraordinary life and career in this Wikipedia article, and check out the two videos immediately below pulled from YouTube. The third video, also from YouTube, is a news clip from 2015 talking about the battle in general and visiting the site.