Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument near Crow Agency, Montana, commemorates one of America's most significant and famous battles, the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Here on June 25 and 26, 1876, two divergent cultures clashed in a life or death struggle.
Four hundred years of struggle between Euro-Americans and Native Americans culminated on this ground. Like a handful of battles in American history, the defeat of 12 companies of Seventh Cavalry by Lakota (Sioux), Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors rose beyond its military significance to the level of myth. Thousands of books, magazine articles, performances in film and theater, paintings, and other artistic expressions have memorialized "Custer's Last Stand."
The irony of this battle is that the victors wound up having to give up their nomadic way of life and settle down according to the rules of another culture. Not the usual result of a "victory." One of the many examples of winning the battle but losing the war.
This site is also a National Cemetary where veterans of military service are buried. those of the famous battle are certainly here, but also those who died in other wars and battles, as well as veterans of the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Viet Nam. All in all, this is a very significant site to visit.
Originally I failed to note there is an entry fee for the park. The following entrance fees apply daily: Private, non-commercial vehicle - $20.00 Motorcycle - $15.00 Per person, walk-in or bicycle $10.00 Commercial Sedan 1-6 people - $25.00 Commercial Van/mini-bus 7-15 people - $40.00 Commercial Motor Coach (26 or more seats, regardless of occupancy) $100.00
To log the find locate the 7th Cavalry Monument on "Last Stand Hill" and face the side that contains the words "In Memory of Officers & Soldiers that fell near this place fighting with the 7th United States Cavalry against Sioux Indians on the 25th & 26th of June A.D. 1876." There are two columns of names above this inscription, in an e-mail tell me what two names are just above those of Christopher Griddle & Rich Farrell. Please do not put the answers in your log entry, even encrypted. The coordinates given should put you right at the monument. Folks, remember, the point of a "virtual" cache is not that it's an imaginary point in space you can google the answers to and claim a "find". It is the act of creating a place for you to go and see in person where a physical cache is not allowed. YOU STILL HAVE TO GO THERE TO FIND THE CACHE!
Be sure and go by the newly created monument to the Native American participants in the battle. This is a long awaited, and long overdue, addition to the overall monument to this battlefield. The new monument is very well done in my opinion and should not be missed.