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 Wooden Leg Hill, June 25, 1876 - Little Bighorn National Battlefield - Crow Agency, MT Posted by:  gparkes
N 45° 34.226 W 107° 25.615
13T E 310630 N 5049186
This is a Historical Marker located in Little Bighorn National Battlefield . A series of markers are located throughout the park to give a good understanding of battle movements and history.
Waymark Code: WM6T6Z
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2009
Views: 13
Wooden Leg Hill, June 25, 1876
The hill in front of you was occupied by Lakota and Cheyenne during the fight on Last Stand Hill. An unknown Sioux warrior wearing a war bonnet was killed here while firing his riffle at soldiers positioned behind a horse barricade on the crest of the ridge behind you. As soldier carbine fire ceased, victorious warriors rushed the hill.
“A Sioux wearing a war bonnet was lying down behind a clump of sagebrush on the hillside only a short distance north of where now is the big stone… He was… up ahead of me. Many other Indians were near him… The Sioux was peeping up and firing a riffle… a soldier bullet hit him exactly in the middle of the forehead… The shots quit coming from the soldiers… All of the Indians then jumped and rushed forward… The air was full of dust and smoke. Everybody was greatly excited.
Wooden Leg, Northern Cheyenne
Describe the area and history:
The Battle of the Little Bighorn occurred on June 25 and June 26, 1876, starting with the troops of the 7th Cavalry entering on horseback in to the region. Plans were for the Cavalry to split into three groups to surround the Indian village, and force a surrender.
What took place was a series of delays and tactical errors, poor luck on the behalf of the Army, and superior numbers of warriors.
The conclusion of two days of battle was 263 dead troopers.
Protection of the area began almost immediately. In 1879, Congress designated the area a National Cemetery. In 1946, President Truman designated the area as Custer Battlefield National Monument. In 1991, in keeping with the modern philosophy of historical accuracy, the area was re-designated as Little Big Horn National Battlefield.
Original stone markers are scattered throughout the park, indicated the location of fallen troops. Indian tribes took away and buried their own dead. Over the past couple decades, an intertwining of the Indian history has occurred, allowing a more respectful remembrance of where significant warrior deaths occurred.
"The Memorial" located at Last Stand Hill, is where the soldiers were buried in a mass grave. The officers were taken east to be buried in National Cemeteries, such as Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as Captain Thomas Custer, George Custer's younger brother. Lt. Col. George A. Custer was buried at West Point.
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