Custer's Last Stand - Norman Franks

Our guest speaker on 7 March 2018 was Norman Franks who spoke about Custer’s Last Stand. Contrary to general belief the battle of Little Bighorn which took place on 25^th June 1876 was not a massacre; only 263 soldiers actually died as a result of the conflict. Custer’s intentions were to surround an Indian settlement and force the Indians to flee and he divided his company to achieve this. However Custer’s force comprised men who had opted for the army rather than prison or who could not hold a job so joined the army for three meals a day and clothing. Their guns were limited to a six shooter which had to be cocked after each shot and a carbine which took one bullet at a time. Ammunition was limited to 24 rounds for the hand gun and 100 rounds for the carbine. Thus his resources were really inadequate to cope with resistance. What he had not foreseen was that the settlement was considerably bigger than he had believed with over 1000 braves who were well armed with weaponry accumulated from various sources. Inspired by their leader, Crazy Horse, to fought rather than ran and their superiority led to a resounding rout of Custer and his forces. According to a book about the battle written by the Indians only 30 braves perished.

President Linda Fearn thanked Norman for coming and giving us the benefit of his knowledge.