Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument - Crow Agency, Montana

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SITE OF BATTLE OF LITTLE BIG HORN. The Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, was fought on June 25-26, 1876.  The Battlefield National Monument – Custer Battlefield – is located near Crow Agency, Montana.. 

The area was first designated as a national cemetery in 1879 to protect graves of the Seventh Cavalry soldiers buried there.  In 1946, it was then renamed Custer Battlefield National Monument and finally in 1991, redesignated as Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. This last name change also included approval for a memorial to be built for the Native Americans who were killed in this battle. This is a memorial to one of the final armed efforts of Indians of the Northern Plains to maintain their way of life.

It is here that Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer – along with twelve United States Army companies of the Seventh Cavalry -planned a surprise attack on a Sioux village.  The three battalions were led individually by Capt. Frederick Benteen, Major Marcus Reno and Captain McDougall.

The Campaign of 1876 was an effort by the United States Government to force the Sioux tribes to live on their reservations.  The success of the American Indians in their defeat of the finest cavalry unit in the U.S. Army surprised and shocked the government as this was totally unexpected.  

The Native Americans who wiped out Custer’s army were bands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors led by Chief Crazy Horse, Chief Lame White Man and Chief Gall.  Chief Sitting Bull, who was too old to fight, was a consultant to the Indian warriors.  

There are many opinions about how this battle was fought from the point of view of Army survivors, Native Americans and historians.  A number of books have been written in an attempt to analyze what really occurred in this historic encounter and visitors from around the world come to see this popular site.  There are also a number of films portraying a fictionalized version of this event.  It is unlikely that the truth will ever be known and conjecture continues. 

Location of site of battle ground and national monument:
By car: Interstate 90, Exit 510 at Jct 212.
Public transportation:  
Bus service available at Billings, MT, Sheridan, WY with travel to Crow Agency, Montana, 1.5 miles NW of the Little Bighorn Monument.
Hours of operation:
Closed:  Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Years Day
Open:
•    Memorial Day to July 31 – 8 am to 9 pm
•    August 1 to Labor Day – 8 am to 8 pm
•    September and October (ends on Daylight Savings Time) 8 am to 6 pm
•    November thru March – 8 am to 4:30 pm
•    April and May – 8 am to 6 pm

Admission fees:
•    $10 per private vehicle
•    $5 per pedestrian

For commercial and non-commercial group fee schedule, contact visitor information at 406-638-3204.

PO Box 39
Crow Agency, MT 59022
Phone: 406-638-2621
Fax: 406-638-2623

Directions:

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument lies within the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana. US 87 (I-90) passes 1-mile to the west; US 212 connects the monument with the Black Hills and Yellowstone National Park. The Crow Agency is 3 miles north, and Hardin, Montana, is 15 miles north. The nearest cities are Billings, Montana, 65 miles northwest and Sheridan, Wyoming, 70 miles south.