Thank you. I actually am surprised how much of the area still is in the same condition it was in back in 1876. The Little Bighorn battle area for the most part has been untouched by time. Quite different from the eastern battlefields I live near like Gettysburg, Antietam and Brandywine Creek.
I have been an avid 'fan' of the events leading up to and inclusive of the LBH battle; in terms of personalities of those involved, what happened, etc. and as a result have accumulated quite a collection of books on the topic (as well as visiting the LBH National Battlefield Monument). Thanks for putting all this together so the entire vista of that particular segment of the campaign can be seen in its natural setting. Very good job!
I have since learned that typical miltary-issue field glasses available to the cavalry in 1876 were 2x - 4x magnification; not very good. The morning of the 25th, Custer "commandeered" DeRudio's Austrian binoculars, which were quite a bit more effective, and actually was instrumental in convoncing Custer that there was, indeed, an Indian village accompanied by thousands of ponies.
I am working on a map version of the battle right now, but have been too busy to really finish it. I filmed this segment west of the Wolf Mountains off of Reno Creek Road. The location is north of the area of the divide and the Reno Creek headwaters.
There are really good pictures of the Crows Nest and other sites involving the battle on the "Little Bighorn Associates" Facebook page. You might want to check that out.
For any newcomers a small word of advice. Watch these excellent vids full screen first, don’t get involved with the questions & comments until after. You lose the flow, so to speak. Quite a few of the questions are excellent it takes you away from Bill’s vids, so enjoy the vids first then go back & watch them again. Enjoy as I did, you can learn so much of what happened that day.
There are a couple great photographs from on top of the Crows nest looking toward the Little Bighorn. I have seen them in books before. I have attempted to get to the Crows Nest on two occasions, however the location is on private land and the owners have not allowed access to the area for the past five years. The road is fenced off. I even attempted to get a Little Bighorn Park Ranger that I am friends with to help me by speaking to the owners. They still would not allow access.
Small world.My grandparents owned a farm between Littlestown and Gettysburg. Original from the east coast myself. I was extremely fortunate to get a view of LBH Battlefield from Kitty Dearnose when she was in charge there - even down in the basement where a lot of good stuff was kept before display.
Bill you had mentioned on one of your videos that the national geographic article was what first got you interested in the LBH battle.I discovered something in one of the pictures that a warrior had drawn that you may find very interesting!--it's a VERY small detail but based on one of your debates I read you may have missed it...
What was the magnification of the binoculars used? An appropriately magnified view from this point to the perceived location of the LBH would be awesome. How can one get to the Crow's Nest summit? Thanks for the hard work.
+cmphighpower I like September the best. Not too cold or hot. Not too many bugs to fight. Very little if any rain as well. I always stay at a hotel in Billings. I do so for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is the airport is in Billings. The drive to the battlefield from Billings is a little over an hour, but I prefer the restaurant selection in Billings rather than staying at a closer place like Hardin, with very few selections. The shopping is also better in Billings. And you have better and closer access to places like Red Lodge, Pompeys Pillar, the Baker Battlefield and the Beartooth Highway. The park service always has events planned for the anniversary of the battle. I have yet to attend on the actual anniversary. It will be very crowded at this time and the hotels always jack up their prices due to all the people coming in for the event. Other areas to look at would be the Rosebud Battlefield, Reno Creek, and a drive down to Sheridan Wyoming to see the Wagon Box Battlefield, Fort Phil Kearny, and the Fetterman Massacre site. If you really feel ambitious then drive down to Buffalo Wyoming and visit the Jim Gatchell Museam. It has quite a collection of historic pieces that makes the long drive worth it. One tip though. If you plan on going to any of these places in Wyoming I suggest getting up really early as the drive there and back is long. Any Wyoming trip from Billings is going to be a long day. I suggest getting on the road at 8 am at the latest. Wyoming takes hours to get there. The states in the west are huge and you learn that real quick when driving for hours just to get from point A t point B.
Found a series of great photos. Google images, type "david graham crows nest flickr" the first images you encounter with pine trees, markers, plaque, are the photos. youtube will not allow the paste of the url
Thanks for the info I was thinking of September for that very reason. Probably going to drive from Ohio. About a 20 hour drive but cheaper than flying four people. I was thinking of going to the rosebud but I forgot got about the Kearney massacre sight. Love your videos very dry for a layman buy absolutely outstanding for some how wants to know the facts. Better than the tv type shows that are never very informative. You should write a book. Have you ever read the book A Terrible Glory by James Donovan? I thought it was a good book
+cmphighpower Good luck and have fun. Make sure you give yourself a week to explore not only the Little Bighorn, but the battlefields in Wyoming near Fort Phil Kearny.
I just today found this site today. I think it is great that you have done such vivid research with the battlefield. I've been studying the battle and Custer in general, since I was about ten years old. I'm fifty three, so I've been at it a long time too. I've been the the battlefield in 2002 with my wife. I like to go to the web page, custerwest.org - I've enjoyed that site since I found it too. I've never replied to anyone before. But you've done such a great job recording these sites on the battlefield that I just had to say, thank's for all the info.............Doc. at MrRon482
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it a lot. I am glad that you have found my video series worthy of the watch. Just to let you know, I am currently working on a "map" version of the battle. Feel free to check it out as well. The first four videos are up on RUclips. I am currently finishing up the final two videos of that series.
Reno stated he moved along, however I consider his testimony at the COI to be mostly lies and don't believe that he was not in command of the movement. Also it must be noted that this documentary is my interpretation of the available evidence and based mainly on the research of people like Fox, Gray, Hardorff and Darling. I also tell the viewer at the end of this documentary to not take anything I say as gospel. Do your own research and come up with your own conclusions.
Thank you. I actually am surprised how much of the area still is in the same condition it was in back in 1876. The Little Bighorn battle area for the most part has been untouched by time. Quite different from the eastern battlefields I live near like Gettysburg, Antietam and Brandywine Creek.
I have been an avid 'fan' of the events leading up to and inclusive of the LBH battle; in terms of personalities of those involved, what happened, etc. and as a result have accumulated quite a collection of books on the topic (as well as visiting the LBH National Battlefield Monument). Thanks for putting all this together so the entire vista of that particular segment of the campaign can be seen in its natural setting. Very good job!
CA you did a fantastic job of giving us this great visualization!!!
Thanks for watching.
You are welcome! Glad you are watching and enjoying the videos.
I have since learned that typical miltary-issue field glasses available to the
cavalry in 1876 were 2x - 4x magnification; not very good. The morning of the
25th, Custer "commandeered" DeRudio's Austrian binoculars, which were quite a
bit more effective, and actually was instrumental in convoncing Custer that
there was, indeed, an Indian village accompanied by thousands of ponies.
Thanks for all these vieos....really detailed and informative, appreciate it!
I am working on a map version of the battle right now, but have been too busy to really finish it. I filmed this segment west of the Wolf Mountains off of Reno Creek Road. The location is north of the area of the divide and the Reno Creek headwaters.
There are really good pictures of the Crows Nest and other sites involving the battle on the "Little Bighorn Associates" Facebook page. You might want to check that out.
For any newcomers a small word of advice. Watch these excellent vids full screen first, don’t get involved with the questions & comments until after. You lose the flow, so to speak. Quite a few of the questions are excellent it takes you away from Bill’s vids, so enjoy the vids first then go back & watch them again. Enjoy as I did, you can learn so much of what happened that day.
Thanks for the recommendation Paul. Appreciate it.
There are a couple great photographs from on top of the Crows nest looking toward the Little Bighorn. I have seen them in books before. I have attempted to get to the Crows Nest on two occasions, however the location is on private land and the owners have not allowed access to the area for the past five years. The road is fenced off. I even attempted to get a Little Bighorn Park Ranger that I am friends with to help me by speaking to the owners. They still would not allow access.
Thank u for putting this together
Thanks for watching.
Small world.My grandparents owned a farm between Littlestown and Gettysburg. Original from the east coast myself. I was extremely fortunate to get a view of LBH Battlefield from Kitty Dearnose when she was in charge there - even down in the basement where a lot of good stuff was kept before display.
Bill you had mentioned on one of your videos that the national geographic article was what first got you interested in the LBH battle.I discovered something in one of the pictures that a warrior had drawn that you may find very interesting!--it's a VERY small detail but based on one of your debates I read you may have missed it...
What was the magnification of the binoculars used? An appropriately magnified view from this point to the perceived location of the LBH would be awesome. How can one get to the Crow's Nest summit? Thanks for the hard work.
Bill I would love to talk to you about the battle!You have done a great job with your documentary.
Mark Iannuccilli Thanks Mark. Glad you have enjoyed the documentary. I am all for talking about the battle. I can do that 24/7.
I love your videos extremely informative. Looking to go this year for the first time. Any information you could pass along would be helpful
+cmphighpower You are going to love it. What information would you like?
+CusterApollo best place to stay and time. Do they have anything on June 25th? Also anything particular to see?
+cmphighpower I like September the best. Not too cold or hot. Not too many bugs to fight. Very little if any rain as well. I always stay at a hotel in Billings. I do so for a couple of reasons. The obvious one is the airport is in Billings. The drive to the battlefield from Billings is a little over an hour, but I prefer the restaurant selection in Billings rather than staying at a closer place like Hardin, with very few selections. The shopping is also better in Billings. And you have better and closer access to places like Red Lodge, Pompeys Pillar, the Baker Battlefield and the Beartooth Highway. The park service always has events planned for the anniversary of the battle. I have yet to attend on the actual anniversary. It will be very crowded at this time and the hotels always jack up their prices due to all the people coming in for the event. Other areas to look at would be the Rosebud Battlefield, Reno Creek, and a drive down to Sheridan Wyoming to see the Wagon Box Battlefield, Fort Phil Kearny, and the Fetterman Massacre site. If you really feel ambitious then drive down to Buffalo Wyoming and visit the Jim Gatchell Museam. It has quite a collection of historic pieces that makes the long drive worth it. One tip though. If you plan on going to any of these places in Wyoming I suggest getting up really early as the drive there and back is long. Any Wyoming trip from Billings is going to be a long day. I suggest getting on the road at 8 am at the latest. Wyoming takes hours to get there. The states in the west are huge and you learn that real quick when driving for hours just to get from point A t point B.
Found a series of great photos. Google images, type "david graham crows nest flickr" the first images you encounter with pine trees, markers, plaque, are the photos. youtube will not allow the paste of the url
Bill are you going to the LBH this year?
Thanks for the info I was thinking of September for that very reason. Probably going to drive from Ohio. About a 20 hour drive but cheaper than flying four people. I was thinking of going to the rosebud but I forgot got about the Kearney massacre sight. Love your videos very dry for a layman buy absolutely outstanding for some how wants to know the facts. Better than the tv type shows that are never very informative. You should write a book. Have you ever read the book A Terrible Glory by James Donovan? I thought it was a good book
+cmphighpower Good luck and have fun. Make sure you give yourself a week to explore not only the Little Bighorn, but the battlefields in Wyoming near Fort Phil Kearny.
Good stuff. Been there and done that too.
Hey Alan! Yes it is me. How are you doing these days?
I just today found this site today. I think it is great that you have done such vivid research with the battlefield. I've been studying the battle and Custer in general, since I was about ten years old. I'm fifty three, so I've been at it a long time too. I've been the the battlefield in 2002 with my wife. I like to go to the web page, custerwest.org - I've enjoyed that site since I found it too. I've never replied to anyone before. But you've done such a great job recording these sites on the battlefield that I just had to say, thank's for all the info.............Doc. at MrRon482
Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it a lot. I am glad that you have found my video series worthy of the watch. Just to let you know, I am currently working on a "map" version of the battle. Feel free to check it out as well. The first four videos are up on RUclips. I am currently finishing up the final two videos of that series.
Reno stated he moved along, however I consider his testimony at the COI to be mostly lies and don't believe that he was not in command of the movement.
Also it must be noted that this documentary is my interpretation of the available evidence and based mainly on the research of people like Fox, Gray, Hardorff and Darling. I also tell the viewer at the end of this documentary to not take anything I say as gospel. Do your own research and come up with your own conclusions.
Bill Smith, is this you?