Crazy Horse and Custer

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Crazy Horse and Custer

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Pocket Books
Copyright: 1975
Pages: 496

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On the sparkling morning of June 25, 1876, 611 men of the United States 7th Cavalry rode toward the banks of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory, where 3,000 Indians stood waiting for battle. The lives of two great warriors would soon be forever linked throughout history: Crazy Horse, leader of the Oglala Sioux, and General George Armstrong Custer. Both were men of aggression and supreme courage. Both became leaders in their societies at very early ages; both were stripped of power, in disgrace, and worked to earn back the respect of their people. And to both of them, the unspoiled grandeur of the Great Plains of North America was an irresistible challenge.

Their parallel lives would pave the way, in a manner unknown to either, for an inevitable clash between two nations fighting for possession of the open prairie.

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Background Information

The Seventy Cavalry was the principal Army force assigned to fighting Indians after the Civil War. George A. Custer was an officer during the Civil War who continued his military career in the Indian Wars until his defeat and death at Little Big Horn. The Battle of the Little Big Horn resulted in the annihilation of all the troops under the command of Col. George Custer by Sioux Indians. Crazy Horse was a leader of the Teton Sioux who struggled against white encroachment and was one of the Indian commanders in the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Sioux Indians were a major tribe in the Northern Great Plains, who waged a long struggle against enroachment by settlers until defeated by the US Army.