Battle of the Little Bighorn

“.....Hurrah, boys! We've got them!”
Geo. Custer, General , Battle of the Little Big Horn.

“....They thought we were but a handful...” Chief Rain In The Face

Six Cheyenne Indians, and 32 Sioux died in the fighting that wiped out the command of General George Custer. Brave Wolf was at the scene on that bloody Sunday in 1876. Brave Wolf and others of his tribe recall the courage of the doomed men in the Seventh Cavalry and give a firsthand account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

“... There was one thing which he had learned, a thing that linked him with the greatest minds of all ages—the value of human liberty—the supreme goal of all...." (A description of Sitting Bull written by news correspondent George Creelman.)

...In 1861, Custer graduated from West Point at the bottom of his class. He remains the youngest general in our history.....

“...Benteen is one of the bravest men I every saw in a fight. All the time he was going about through the bullets, encouraging the soldiers to stand up to their work....” George Herendon, 7th Cavalary scout

“... Sitting Bull said that Waukontonka (Great Sprit) had come to him riding on an eagle. Waukontonka had told him that the Long Swords were coming, but the Indians would wipe them off the face of the earth. His speech made our hearts glad. Next day our runners came in and told us the Long Swords were coming...” Chief Rain In The Face

“... Now, my dear Godfrey, you, as well as I, and all o us know that Custer did disobey his orders, if not in letter then in spirit.....”
Major James S. Brisbin to
General E.S. Godfrey

Did any human being escape death of those who accompanied the five troops of the 7th Cavalry in the Battle of the Little Big Horn? Time and again men have come forward to say they fought with the Custer forces and survived....but none have been able to prove their claims.....

....One of the greatest newspaper scoops ever made in journalism occurred on July 4th, 1876 at Helena, Montana, when Andrew J. Fisk, a reporter broke the story to the world the fate of General George Custer and all of this immediate command.

New York Life insured many in battle. Among the death benefits the company paid were Miles Keough: $9,359; James Porter: $4,750; George Yates: $4,750; James Calhoun: $4,750; George A. Custer: $4,750; John Crittenden: $9,500.

Studio Host: Jim Thompson

In Studio Coordinator Barb Lessard, Spearfish, SD

General George Armstrong Custer: Ross Lamphere, Sturgis, SD	Custer Party Insured by: New York Life, Spearfish, SD * Legal Services Roger Tellinghuisen, Spearfish, SD * Security Clark Sowers, Belle Fourche, SD * Web Audio Program Altaire Enterprises, Spearfish, SD * Meals Holiday Inn, Spearfish, SD * Official Coffee of Custer Expedition Dark Canyon Coffee, Rapid City, SD * Sound Effects Linn Productions, Rapid City, SD Photo/Book Credits: Troopers With Custer by E.A. Brininstool Custer in 76 from Walter Camp’s Notes on the Custer Fight edited by Kenneth Hammer Exploring With Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition Ernest Grafe & Paul Horsted
Bloody Knife: Philip White Man, Lame Deer, Montana
Major Marcus A. Reno: John Hughes, Sturgis, SD
Captain Frederick W. Benteen: Gordy Swanson. Sturgis SD
Lieutenant W.W. Cook: Bob Haivala, Sturgis, SD
Captain Thomas B. Weir: Bruce Hubbard, Sturgis, SD
Reporter with Major Reno Tim Velder, Rapid City, SD Reporter with General Custer Dean Kinney, Sturgis, SD Reporter with Sitting Bull Lisa Bryan, Spearfish, SD Reporter in Washington, D.C. Curt Moberg, Sundance, WY Military Analyst: Colonel Ron Baker (retired) Rapid City, SD President Grant's Representative In Washington : Colonel Gary Hewitt, (retired) Wyoming National Guard