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25 June in military history: Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876

Military history · 25 June · Great Sioux WarFull calendar

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Painting of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors on horseback charging through dust and gun smoke across a dry, sage-covered slope, a warrior in a fur cap on a white horse marked with painted handprints at the center, more riders with lances and rifles stretching into the haze behind.
The Custer Fight, by Charles Marion Russell, 1903: the battle seen from the side of the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors. Public domain. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZC4-7160.
Quick answer

On 25 June 1876 Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors defeated Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry on the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory; no man of the five companies with Custer was found alive. On 25 June 1950 North Korean forces invaded South Korea, opening the Korean War.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876: Custer's Last Stand

25 to 26 June 1876 · 150 years ago

On 25 June 1876, beside the Little Bighorn River in Montana, a huge village of Lakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, inspired by Sitting Bull and led in the fight by Crazy Horse and others, destroyed five companies of the US 7th Cavalry and killed their commander, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.

Read the full story of The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876: Custer's Last Stand ›

The Seven Days Battles, 1862: how Lee saved Richmond

25 June 1862 · 164 years ago

Near Richmond, Virginia, a week of battles pitted Lee's Confederates against McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac. Lee's repeated attacks drove McClellan away from Richmond and down the Virginia Peninsula, the climax of the Peninsula campaign.

Read the full story of The Seven Days Battles, 1862: how Lee saved Richmond ›

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Battle of the Little Bighorn?

The Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors of the camp. They drove Reno's battalion onto the bluffs, killed Custer and the men of his five companies, and besieged the rest of the 7th Cavalry until the camp moved away on 26 June.

How many soldiers died at the Little Bighorn?

General Sherman's report gave the loss in the engagement as 12 officers, 247 enlisted men, 5 civilians and 3 Indian scouts killed, and 2 officers and 51 men wounded. None of the men with Custer was found alive: about 210 by the park service's count, about 215 by Utley's.

How many Native Americans died at the Little Bighorn?

No one knows. Reno saw 18 bodies; Sherman reported estimates of 40 to 100 dead; Low Dog said 38, Gall 43 and Red Horse 136 killed; Wooden Leg named seven Cheyenne dead; Utley wrote that estimates vary from 30 to 300.

Why did Custer split his regiment?

According to the park service, his scouts reported that the regiment had been detected, and Custer, fearing the camp would attack or scatter, advanced at once instead of attacking at dawn on 26 June. Reno and Sheridan both blamed the division for the defeat, and Red Horse said that had the soldiers not divided they would have killed many Sioux.

What happened in Korea on 25 June 1950?

North Korean forces attacked South Korea. Ambassador Muccio reported that the action began about 4 a.m. with artillery fire on Ongjin and that Kaesong was reportedly captured at 9 a.m.

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