Benno RIDDERHOF
(VU-University Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Keywords: Battlefield archaeology, history, heritage
Abstract:
In June 1876 George Armstrong Custer and the 7th cavalry fought a heroic last stand at the battle of the little Bighorn against overwhelming forces of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. Best visualized in the movie “They died with their boots on” in which Errol Flynn played the heroic Custer last to fall with his saber in his hand, the general is presented as the quintessential Whitonian hero as described in the poem “Leaves of Grass.
Since then many volumes of research have been written about the battle and about Custer (about 900 volumes), but they all limit themselves to a repetition (with small variations) of the first description in 1876 by F. Whittaker. The only variable is weather Custer is the villain and the Native Americans the victims or whether Custer is the victim of ruthless politicians. Custer and the battle survive as an iconographical picture of the American west.
In modern Battlefield archaeology and Heritage the image of Custer and the battle of Little Big Horn, called Custer’s last stand, change every decade. With every new war America fights the figure of Custer is revitalized as the one true American general, and with every peace Custer will automatically be vilified.
This presentation draws on all the material to present what really happened. Using history, forensic archaeology and the excavation reports it will show that the battle was not a battle but hardly a skirmish which lasted only 5 to 7 minutes. From this it will discuss Custer’s place In American heritage and why George Armstrong Custer still evokes such strong feelings and reactions.