June 25th, 1876: General Custer’s Last Stand, in Montana.
![](https://survivalistbriefing.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Custers-Last-Rally.jpg)
On June 25th, 1876, Native American forces led by Chiefs Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull defeated the U.S. Army troops of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in a bloody battle near southern Montana’s Little Bighorn River. The Battle of Little Bighorn – also called Custer’s Last Stand – marked the most decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the long Plains Indian War. While complicated, the generally accepted reason for the battle is that the discovery of gold in South Dakota’s Black Hills in 1875 led to the U.S. government disregarding previous treaty agreements. The gruesome fate of Custer and his men outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty. Meanwhile, the U.S. government increased its efforts to subdue the tribes. Within five years, almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.
—
June 25, 1867: The first barbed wire was patented by Lucien B. Smith of Ohio
—
All of the percussion revolvers in our Elk Creek Company inventory are now on sale, with some deep discounts. No paperwork is required. These can be mailed right to your door, in most states. This sale ends at midnight Pacific Time tomorrow — Tuesday, June 26th, so order soon!
—
Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
—
More than $900,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 113 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.