The Fights on the Little Horn: 50 Years of Research into

The Fights on the Little Horn: 50 Years of Research into Custer's Last Stand

Winner of the 2014 John Carroll Award, presented annually by The Little Big Horn Associates, as their Literary Award for the best book/monograph during the preceding year.

Winner 2014 G. Joseph Sills Jr. Book Award

This remarkable book synthesizes a lifetime of in-depth research into one of Americaâ€™s most storied disasters, the defeat of Custerâ€™s 7th Cavalry at the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, as well as the complete annihilation of that part of the cavalry led by Custer himself.

The author, Gordon Harper, spent countless hours on the battlefield itself as well as researching every iota of evidence of the fight from both sides, white and Indian. He was thus able to recreate every step of the battle as authoritatively as anyone could, dispelling myths and falsehoods along the way. Harper himself passed away in 2009, leaving behind nearly two million words of original research and writing. In this book his work has been condensed for the general public to observe his key findings and the crux of his narrative on the exact course of the battle.

One of his first observations is that the fight took place along the Little Horn Riverâ€”its junction with the Big Horn was several miles away so that the term for the battle, â€œLittle Big Hornâ€ has always been a misnomer. He precisely traces the mysterious activities of Benteenâ€™s battalion on that fateful day, and why it could never come to Custerâ€™s reinforcement. He describes Renoâ€™s desperate fight in unprecedented depth, as well as how that unnerved officer benefited from the unexpected heroism of many of his men.

Indian accounts, ever-present throughout this book, come to the fore especially during Custerâ€™s part of the fight, because no white soldier survived it. However, analysis of the forensic evidenceâ€”tracking cartridges, bullets, etc., discovered on the battlefieldâ€”plus the locations of bodies assist in drawing an accurate scenario of how the final scene unfolded. It may indeed be clearer now than it was to the doomed 7th Cavalrymen at the time, who through the dust and smoke and Indians seeming to rise by hundreds from the ground, only gradually realized the extent of the disaster.

Of additional interest is the narrative of the battlefield after the fight, when successive burial teams had to be dispatched for the gruesome task, because prior ones invariably did a poor job. Though author Gordon Harper is no longer with us, his daughter Tori Harper, along with author/historians Gordon Richard and Monte Akers, have done yeomanâ€™s work in preserving his valuable research for the public.
Country USA
Manufacturer Casemate
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2020-01-10
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Casemate
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2020-01-10
Format	Kindle eBook

The Fights on the Little Horn: 50 Years of Research into Custer's Last Stand

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