Battle of Little Big
Horn
Lieutenant Robert Patterson Hughes
Letter to his wife with map of
the
Battle of Little Big Horn,
June 30, 1876
Page 2 - Page
3 - Page 4
Drawing
Holograph letter and pen and ink drawing
Manuscript Division (46C.1a,b)
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As the military stepped up its efforts at removing Indians from
lands desired by white settlers, Native American tribes focused
their attacks on soldiers. On June 25, 1876, George Armstrong
Custer and 264 men of the 7th U.S. Cavalry were slaughtered
by Teton Dakota/Sioux and Cheyenne along the banks of the Little
Bighorn River in southeastern Montana. Although Custer's conduct
is still in dispute, this map and accompanying letter by Lt. Robert
Patterson Hughes, an aide-de-camp to expedition commander Major
General Alfred Terry, strongly supports the theory that Custer
acted recklessly--not only disobeying orders by engaging the enemy
before help had arrived but by splitting his command into thirds
in the face of overwhelming odds.
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