Brad D. Lookingbill is Professor of History at Columbia College of Missouri. He is the author of The American Military: A Narrative History (Wiley, 2014) and War Dance at Fort Marion: Plains Indian War Prisoners (2014), and is the editor of American Military History: A Documentary Reader (Wiley, 2010). Lookingbill has received several teaching awards, most recently the Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award from the American Historical Association in 2010. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, Dr. Lookingbill served in the Army National Guard and Reserve.

* An accessible and authoritative overview of the scholarship that has shaped our understanding of one of the most iconic battles in the history of the American West
* Combines contributions from an array of respected scholars, historians, and battlefield scientists
* Outlines the political and cultural conditions that laid the foundation for the Centennial Campaign and examines how George Armstrong Custer became its figurehead
* Provides a detailed analysis of the battle maneuverings at Little Bighorn, paying special attention to Indian testimony from the battlefield
* Concludes with a section examining how the Battle of Little Bighorn has been mythologized and its pervading influence on American culture

List of Illustrations viii
Notes on Contributors x
Acknowledgments xiv
Introduction 1
Brad D. Lookingbill
Part I The Indians of the Northern Plains 11
1 The Lakota Sioux 13
Rani-Henrik Andersson
2 The Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho 34
Leo Killsback
3 Patriot Chiefs 54
Kurt Windisch
4 The Native Way of War 74
Daniel Sauerwein
5 Auxiliaries and Scouts 92
Adam R. Hodge
Part II The US Army in the Western Territories 111
6 The Policies of War and Peace 113
Bill Carney
7 Forts on the Northern Plains 130
Janne Lahti
8 Army Life 148
Robin S. Conner
9 Women and Dependents 170
Shannon D. Smith
10 Technology and Tactics 188
Andrew J. Forney
Part III The Making of George Armstrong Custer 209
11 A Young General 211
Mark Ehlers
12 Commander in the West 229
Jeff Broome
13 The 7th Cavalry 246
John R. Dreyer
14 Elizabeth Bacon Custer 264
Tonia M. Compton
Part IV Into the Valley 283
15 The Convergence 285
Debra J. Sheffer
16 The Reno?]Benteen Site 302
Wesley Moody III
17 Custer's Fight 318
Bob Reece
18 The Aftermath 341
Alan M. Anderson
Part V The Last Stand of Myth and Memory 367
19 Native Traditions 369
Carole A. Barrett
20 The Press 387
Hugh J. Reilly
21 Popular Culture 404
Rebecca S. Wingo
22 Reenacting the Battle 423
Jeremy M. Johnston
23 The Legacy of Archaeology 445
Douglas D. Scott
24 A National Monument 462
Douglas Seefeldt and Jason A. Heppler
25 The Battle of History 485
Michael Welsh
Index 505