George Armstrong Custer

In 1874, Colonel George Custer announced that gold had been discovered in the South Dakota's Black Hills, inspiring another one of the west's famous gold rushes. Nearly overnight the nearby city of Deadwood had been established and grown to more than 5000 inhabitants. The only problem? An earlier treaty gave those lands to the Lakota. Surely this wouldn't lead to conflict…

From the Brady-Handy collection at the Library of Congress.

Custer, who had gained the reputation as an "Indian fighter" from previous exploits in Kansas, found himself in the thick of forced resettlements of Native Americans under the new edicts. But the Lakota and Cheyenne were no pushovers. Native leaders like Red Cloud, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse (see Vagabond Adventure Dispatch XV), fought the resettlement and several thousand moved to the Little Big Horn River in the summer of 1876. Custer felt he could corral the leaders and their families, and attacked with his 7th Cavalry, but thousands of Indian braves counter-attacked and Custer's forces found themselves split and cutoff from each other. His cavalry was annihilated, and Custer died on a knoll above the river.

As a decorated veteran, Custer received a funeral at West Point. At first he was popularly regarded as hero and role model, boosted by his widow, Libby's, publications and presentations. Books, films and monuments proclaimed his exploits. Of course, indigenous opinion begged to differ. Today, Custer is recognized as a mix of hero and villain, depending on who you talk to.

You can read more about the Badlands’ remarkable history and extraordinary characters in Dispatches XV and XVI.

You haven't heard the last of Custer's story either. There will be more to tell as the adventure proceeds. We’ll be back when we circle down to Baja (Read about Part One and Part Two), up the coast of California to Vancouver, Canada and then over to Montana where we’ll see (and explain) exactly where one of the most famous battles in U.S. History took place.