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Post by robert on Feb 9, 2006 15:56:43 GMT -6
I just found this forum and joined today. Please forgive me if I make some mistakes a long the way. I have a couple of questions for all you experts. My wife and I are fulfilling one of my life long dreams in June. Will be visiting the LBH. I am an excited old man. For anyone that has been there....what should I make sure I don't miss? We will be staying in Sheridan, Wy. Second question: Any time I am reading about the battle and trying to follow maps (usually small lined drawings) I have a difficult time of it. Are there any well drawn maps available that I could purchase some where? Or am I better off doing what I do now, and draw my own to follow? Thanks for reading my post.
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Post by El Crab on Feb 9, 2006 16:14:49 GMT -6
Well, here's my advice. Don't worry about the maps and what-not until you see the field. All those maps will make much more sense after that.
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Post by George Armstrong Custer on Feb 9, 2006 16:28:56 GMT -6
Hello Robert, welcome to this forum - having been away a while I'm something of a second-time newbie hereabouts myself!
El crab makes a good point on the sense maps of the field will make after you've stood there yourself. I would add that you may find it useful to have good portable maps with you as you traverse the battlefield. The best could recommend for someone who doesnt feel at home with maps is the birds-eye view cartography which appears in the soft-cover book Little Big Horn 1876, by Peter Panzeri. Published by Osprey Military, you ought to be able to purchase a copy or get a local stockist list from :
The Marketing Manager
Osprey Direct USA
PO Box 130, Sterling Hts, MI 48311-0130
Ciao,
GAC
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Post by Jim on Feb 9, 2006 16:30:03 GMT -6
Robert,
Here's my advice also. Bring lots of "Sun-Block", Sun Glasses, water and protective clothing from the sun. It usually gets Extremely hot that time of year. Plus, in the bookstore, they'll have plenty of maps that you can buy that will fit your needs, as well as the one you will get upon entering the battlefield.
AND, Welcome aboard!!!
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Post by crzhrs on Feb 9, 2006 17:07:29 GMT -6
Get to the LBH as early as possible and plan to spend the ENTIRE DAY roaming around. I suggest reading several books about the battle to get some idea of what to expect, bring a camera, video recorder, lunch, water, try to take some guided tours in and around the area . . . basically just have fun.
I've been lucky enough to visit the site once . . . and that was before I really got involved with what took place. If I had known then what I know now I would have appreciated more what I saw. Still it was one of the best days I ever had!
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Post by Tricia on Feb 9, 2006 17:20:11 GMT -6
Robert--
I like your comment about how you and your wife are fulfilling one of your lifelong dreams! Spouse had no idea at the time of our marriage we'd spend so much time on that lonely hillock in southeastern Montana. My advice is ... take it all in. Try to do some of the things the CBHMA or Friends of the Little Big Horn offer during Custer week, visit the Historical Book Fair in Hardin, and start talking to anybody whom you might overhear discussing the battle. It's a great way to meet fellow Custerites.
What they're all say is true. Once you see the battlefield, things in maps and books really start clicking! The things that have been driven home in my mind are just how rugged the place is, and how distant those battalions really were from each other. Give the place as much time as you can.
Regards,
Leyton McLean
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Post by Jim on Feb 9, 2006 17:26:57 GMT -6
Robert,
ALSO, there's a Best Western Hotel that I stayed at in Sheridan, Wyo., a few years back that is across the street from a pretty good sized MALL. That would also make her trip a memorable occasion, and could cement future trips back to the LBH. To me, mall is a 4-letter word, but my first time up there was with my wife and 2 daughters. END RESULT = Success!!!
Good Luck,
Jim
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Post by alfuso on Feb 9, 2006 18:30:02 GMT -6
Jim
yer paintin' the ladies with a wide brush. MALL is a four letter word to me. I only go to one when there is something specific I want there or I am in the mood for a Gyro at the greek place in the food court.
alfuso
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Post by Treasuredude on Feb 9, 2006 18:32:39 GMT -6
If you happen to be going over the anniversary week, take in one or both of the two re-enactmnets.
Like mentioned in another post -- get there early and spend the whole day if possible. Take in ranger talks and bring $$$ for the bookstore. The mornings are the best. It's still relatively quiet and the 40' RVs haven't arrived yet.
Drive south of Sheridan to Ft. Phil Kearney and the spot of the Fetterman Fight. Also the Gatchell Museum in Buffalo is great. There's a diner in Buffalo across the street from the Gatchell. Best burgers I've ever had.
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Post by crzhrs on Feb 9, 2006 18:51:15 GMT -6
Speaking of Greek food . . . YASSOU! My ancestry has the best food known to man . . . anyone for OUZO?
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Gumby
Full Member
Posts: 202
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Post by Gumby on Feb 9, 2006 19:27:59 GMT -6
Robert,
Take in the battlefield after breakfast and bring your lunch. You may enjoy it more if you start by driving all the way over to the Reno/Benteen side of the battlefield and working your way back toward the entrance again, kind of the way Custer did. Maybe even stop at the Garryowen Museum and looking at that area first, before going into the National Park.
Contact the Custer Battlefield Museum and Historical Association (CBHMA) soon and find out what they have going that week. Usually a great symposium on Friday and an Hamburger Party/auction on Saturday night.
Bob
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Post by Scout on Feb 9, 2006 20:30:57 GMT -6
The best battlefield map can be found in the National Park Handbook....a neat little book, my copy says...Custer Battlefield, but of course it is now the Littel Big Horn battlefield. People can recommend all kind of things for you but my advice is explore for yourself...much more fun. Once you get there you will certaintly lay out your own agenda.
Leyton...forget about the Curtis exhibit....it ain't worth the drive.
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Post by Diane Merkel on Feb 9, 2006 22:29:51 GMT -6
Welcome, Robert!
Ditto to all that the others said, especially the part about the forty-foot RVs! ;D
Some people may groan at this, but I think you need to be aware that you cannot legally walk wherever you want on the battlefield. Some of the land is privately owned and, on the parts the government owns, the NPS wants you to stay on the roads and certain trails. The good news is that additional trails are open during Custer week, and Friends of the Little Bighorn Battlefield has knowledgeable volunteers posted along the trails. Even with parts of the battlefield off limits, you will have plenty of places to explore. See you there!
Diane
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Post by stevewilk on Feb 10, 2006 10:21:45 GMT -6
Robert, I highly recommend, as a follow up visit (trust me, you WILL want to return) to go in the fall after Labor Day when the tourists are gone. One year I made an October visit and drove the Seventh's route from the Yellowstone/Rosebud confluence to the battlefield. Seems I had all of SE Montana to myself....no motor homes, no traffic, no people. Got to the battlefield at about 3pm on a weekday; I was the only visitor; I remember being all alone atop Reno Hill, how peaceful it was, and then imagining what those troopers must have experienced there.
So if you can arrange a return visit, fall is the time to walk the grounds minus all the summer clutter with plenty of time to view all the pertinent points without the RVs and mobs of tourists detracting from the experience.
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Post by Tricia on Feb 10, 2006 17:10:01 GMT -6
Scout--
Too bad about the Curtis exhibit; we've been looking for an excuse to head to Memphis. Hope you all are enjoying the snow!
Regards,
Leyton McLean
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