In a prelude to the battle of the Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer attacked a Cheyenne village on the Washita River in Oklahoma on the bitter cold morning of November 27, 1868. Cheyenne chief Black Kettle, who had survived the Sand Creek Massacre only four years before, died with many of his tribe in the attack. The battle proved to be a model for both Custer's behavior and the U.S. Army's relationship with Plains people for years to come.

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

Mark L. Gardner

Western National Parks Association

Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer was only 36 years old when he rode up the ridge above the Little Bighorn River and into history and legend. The dramatic circumstances of his last battle produced a never-ending stream of speculation about that summer day in 1876. This new brief biography brings Custer’s entire life into focus, from his small-town upbringing through his war career to his life, and death, on the plains. Graduating from West Point in June, 1861, Custer literally charged into the Civil War. His leadership and rapid rise in the Union Army as well as his battle against the people of the Plains are described. Full-color photographs of the places Custer lived and fought bring the United States of a century and a half ago to life. Historical photographs of Custer show his development from cadet to celebrity and, finally, to icon. Read about the life of "Yellowhair" and see the man behind the legend.

George Armstrong Custer: A Biography

The major military base in the West for forty years, Fort Union figured prominently in the history of the Civil War, the Indian Wars, and the Santa Fe Trail. New photography of the park shows the extent of the preserved fort as well as reenactments and artifacts from nineteenth-century military history.

Fort Union National Monument

Time can do serious damage to history, reducing a complex life to metaphor or cliche. Was Geronimo a frowning, rifle-clutching assassin or the defender of a besieged culture? Geronimo: A Biography tells his story through the land of his culture and his people.

Geronimo: A Biography

Biographies & Memoirs

Community & Culture

Located near strategic springs in Apache Pass, this fort was established in 1862 to guard the overland trail through southeastern Arizona. These troops fought against elusive Apache raiders led by Cochise and Geronimo in the late 1800s. Photos by George H. H. Huey, plus historical photos and illustrations.

Fort Bowie National Historic Site

History

Americas