June 25–26, 1876 · Northern Plains Theater
June 25–26, 1876
Custer's 7th Cavalry attacked the largest encampment of Plains Indians ever assembled — perhaps 7,000 people including 2,000 warriors — along the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory. Splitting his command into three columns, Custer led five companies directly into the encampment from the north while Reno and Benteen attacked from other angles. Custer's 210-man battalion was completely surrounded and annihilated in under an hour. Reno and Benteen's survivors held a hilltop under siege for two days before relief arrived.
Commanders