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With the fall of the Confederacy came a dramatic downsizing of
the army as the country attempted to return to peace. The Army
Reorganization Act of 1866 authorized an army of just 54,000 men,
still a large force compared to the U.S. Army in peacetime throughout
the 19th century, and it was reduced further to just 25,000 men from
1874 until 1898. Custer remained with the army as a captain initially
and was soon promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 7th U.S. Cavalry.
Though the massive battles in the East were over, the late 1860s and
1870s were hardly a time of peace. Violence continued in the South
during Reconstruction requiring 20,000 federal troops to maintain
order. Mexico in the Southwest remained a potential threat as turmoil
continued, and the Great Plains remained a dangerous launching
ground for Native American raids on American settlers.
The wars in the West on the Great Plains in the latter part of the 19th
century have become integral parts of the American story, solidified
firmly in our memory by popular depictions of the West in this period
from paintings and illustrations by artists like Frederic Remington to
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, numerous western novels by authors such
as Zane Grey, and iconic western films including “Stagecoach” where
the U.S. Cavalry ride in to the rescue with their six-shooters blazing.
Custer and the 7th U.S. Cavalry are by far the most famous of the
cavalry units in this period and were under the command of General
Philip Sheridan in the Department of the Missouri covering vast swaths
of land between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountiains, home to the
famous Native American nations of the Great Plains and their fearsome
horse warriors.
Sheridan was tasked by General Grant with “pacifying” the plains to
end the raids on American settlements in Kansas and Colorado and
launched the Winter Campaign of 1868-1869 to attack the Southern
Cheyenne and Southern Arapaho in their winter quarters. In November
1868. Sheridan gave orders: “To kill all the warriors, capture all the
women and children, destroy all camps and material goods, and kill all
the ponies” as part of his total war strategy to force the native peoples
into reservations and destroy their ability to raid settlements. Custer
and the 7th Cavalry comprised the main advanced force.
The Cheyenne had been pushed westward from the Great Lakes by
competing tribes and had been allied with the Arapaho since the
early 19th century. They held a vast territory on the Great Plains and
into the Rocky Mountains and were among the most talented horsemen
in the world, using their skills to hunt buffalo, conduct raids, and
fight their adversaries. Over time, they became partially divided into
northern and southern divisions, and their relatively small populations
were further divided into smaller bands. In total, the Southern
Cheyenne had an estimated 850 warriors spread across multiple villages.
They were almost wholly dependent on the bison for sustenance. To
attempt to maintain peace as well as secure territory, the United States
government held conferences and made treaties with various tribal
leaders from the Great Plains tribes and established a series of forts to
encourage peace and trade. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 affirmed
the Cheyenne and Arapaho’s vast territorial claims. For much of the
century, the Cheyenne and Arapaho generally avoided conflict with
settlers and the U.S. military, but the wounding of a Cheyenne warrior
in 1856 led to retaliation and a cycle of violence all too familiar on the
American frontier leaving dozens dead or wounded. General fear and
confusion among the settlements as well as inexperienced military
commanders created a powder keg ready to erupt into further violence.
The arrival of more Americans during the Colorado Gold Rush led
to conflict, and the Colorado militia conducted a series of attacks
on the Cheyenne in 1864 and 1865, including the infamous Sand Creek
Massacre on November 29, 1864, during which Chief Black Kettle’s
Cheyenne and Arapaho village was attacked while flying a flag of truce
and the stars and stripes. The massacre left up to 200 dead, mainly
women and children. Though horrific, this was hardly abnormal on the
frontier as many Native American tribes would also target women and
children for slaughter or capture. Regardless, the survivors naturally
vowed revenge and to hold their territory and launched a series of
attacks against American settlers and outposts expanding the conflict.
Frederic Remington
(1861 - 1909)
"The Buffalo Hunt" by Remington (1890)