Battle of Slim Buttes on the Little Big Horn." "By June 23, 1876, Sitting Bull's Camp, following the Rosebud Battle, more than doubled in size to over 1000 lodges and 7000 inhabitants. There were an estimated 1500 to 2000 warriors from Northern Cheyenne and five major Sioux tribes. The Indians had no intention of fleeing. They were determined to stand and fight." On June 25 and 26, 1876, George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry (with 468 fatalities and 55 wounded) were defeated at the Battle of the Little Big Horn by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. News of the defeat of George Armstrong Custer
The Great Sioux Massacre The Senator assigns a newspaper journalist/minder possibly based on Mark Kellogg to Custer, who is sent back without court martial to his regiment. Benton notices that Custer's empathetic feelings for the Native Americans have vanished and he is pushing his regiment into a war where he can claim glory. Custer motivates his command by personally shooting deserters in the back including his scout Dakota who has turned from Indian baiter to Indian booster. This prompts Benton to strike his commanding officer where he is arrested. He is freed by Indians who know of his attempts to help their people at