Episode 5474: Failure To Save The House; 150th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Little BigHorn

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Bannon`s War Room 55 min 4 speakers 4 chapters transcribed 2 months ago

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What happened at the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25-27, 1876?

Unknown 0:00

Today was June 25th, a Sunday, cloudless and hot. Custer's Crow Scouts spotted the village from a distant hilltop. They called Custer up to have a look. Even with a telescope, he was unable to see much more than a white blur on the valley floor. His only concern was that he had already been spotted, that unless he attacked right away, the Indians would split up and flee in so many different bands that he could never stop them.

Stephen K. Bannon 0:36

Custer had never yet encountered an Indian band that wouldn't run when the cavalry attacked. So he pushed to an attack as quickly as it could be mounted. Dreadful mistake on his part because his men were exhausted. He should have bivouacked, given them a night's sleep, sent out some scouts to find out how far that village extends in this direction and that, because much of it was hidden by woods along the Little Bighorn.

Unknown 1:02

He knew nothing of the terrain, could not tell how many Indians awaited him. But it had been a surprise attack that had allowed him to destroy Black Kettle Cheyenne on the Ouachita eight years earlier. A victory here seemed just as likely. Custer hurried toward the Little Bighorn. He saw dust rising over a ridge just ahead of him. The Indians, he thought, were already on the move to escape. It was now or never. Some 40 warriors appeared, then began racing back toward their camp. Custer sent Major Marcus Reno and three companies, 140 men in pursuit, promising to support them. The battle of the Little Bighorn was about to begin. Dismount! Form a skirmish line!

Unknown 2:14

Watch your flank! Custard's men are pushed back. They take up defensive positions along a ridge line surrounded by thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse.

Unknown 2:41

Hold your positions. Keep firing.

Unknown 3:14

Hold your positions. Take out your sabres.

Unknown 3:57

Instead of following Reno into the valley, he had led his five companies of 210 men toward a ridge, convinced the Indians were fleeing, and that by charging down into the village from there, he could cut them off. He sent some of his scouts to go look over the hill. They came back, told them, well, they're still there. So he decided to go look himself. He looked over there and pretty soon he beat it back. It was all choked up, as they say. My grandfather used to say, Custer looked whiter than ever. Custer was outnumbered more than four to one, but he led his troops down toward the village, firing as they came. Cheyenne warriors, led by lame white man, hung Papa Lakota under gall, and Oglala under crazy horse rode out to turn Custer back.

Unknown 5:01

Custer's men stopped short, stunned at the sight of hundreds of warriors headed right at them. It appeared there would be no end to the rushing procession of warriors. They kept going, going, going. I wanted to go too. I had seen other battles in past times. I always liked to watch the men fighting. The soldiers began a headlong retreat toward the summit of a long high ridge. Some of the Indians remembered later that the legs of the men and the horses trembled as they scrambled up the slope. I call to my men. This is a good day to die. Follow me. As we rushed upon them, the soldiers dismounted to fire, but they did very poor shooting. They held their horses reins on one arm while they were shooting, but their horses were so frightened that they pulled the men all around.

Unknown 6:16

A great many of their shots went up into the air and did us no harm. Low Dog. I charged in. A tall, well-built soldier saw me coming. When I rushed him, he threw his rifle at me without shooting. We grabbed each other and wrestled there in the dust and smoke. He hit me with his fists on the jaw and shoulders, then grabbed my long braids with both hands, pulled my face close and tried to bite my nose off. I yelled as loud as I could to scare my enemy, but he would not let go. Finally, I broke free. He drew his pistol. I wrenched it out of his hand and struck him with it three or four times on the head, knocked him over, shot him in the head, and fired at his heart. Oh, Hechito. That was a fight. A hard fight.

Unknown 7:12

But it was a glorious battle. I enjoyed it.