Custer crosses the Little Bighorn

[Spader]

On the Afternoon of June 25, 1876, George Armstrong Custer of the United States 7th Cavalry encountered the largest village of Native American forces in known history. Custer was there to force the Lakota onto a reservation, and severely overestimated his own strength. Custer's forces, already divided into three battalions under his despised subordinates, Major Marcus Reno and Captain Fredrick Benteen , crossed the Little Bighorn river, hoping to capture hostages from Sitting Bull's Lakota village. He meet stiff resistance, as depicted here.

In the end, Custer was surrounded and killed, although, in some sense, this was the Lakota's last stand as much as it was Custer's. The Battle of Little Bighorn was the last major battle of the Indian wars.

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A history build I got the strange urge to build. I hope you guys like it....

For the Praise of His glory!

~Andrew

[Graham Gidman]

Nice job!

[mediumsnowman]

Excellent minifigure posing, and the ground doesn't look bad either.

[TitusV]

Thanks for the history lesson, and the nice MOC!

[Spader]

Nice job!

Thanks, Graham!

Excellent minifigure posing, and the ground doesn't look bad either.

Thanks!

Thanks for the history lesson, and the nice MOC!

My pleasure! Glad you liked it.

[LegoPercyJ]

Awesome MOC!

[ElCrab]

Stylistically, this is very good. Love your terrain and water, and if you're going for a representation of the romantic depictions of Custer's last fight, you nailed it. Early paintings and depictions had Custer charging, headlong and saber in hand, into the throng of warriors.

But historically, while your description is mostly correct, your depiction is wrong. Custer's battalions, Companies E and F (B was the rearguard for the pack train) under Captain Yates, and Companies C, I, and L, under Captain Keogh. E and F approached the river but never crossed, and Custer likely wasn't with that battalion on the first approach. Later, Custer did lead the same companies to a north ford, but again did not cross.

As for your minifigs, using the cavalry troopers from The Lone Ranger sets is a good choice, but the Custer-like character (played by Barry Pepper) is a poor choice, unless you're going for that romantic image of Custer. He wore white buckskins that day, with a blue fireman's shirt and a red tie, and a white hat. His horse, Vic (short for Victory), was a brown horse with a white blazed face and 3 white feet. His other horse, Dandy, wasn't white or gray either. His adjutant rode a white horse, as did all of the trumpeters in the regiment, and the entirety of Company E rode grays, which became whiter and whiter as they aged. The early paintings and drawings would depict him in his Civil War uniform, or in a standard general's uniform of the time. And Custer didn't carry a saber, nor did anyone in his regiment that day. Two officers kept theirs when the regiment's sabers were boxed up and left at the Powder River depot, one to kill snakes and the other for traditional reasons, and both of their sabers were likely stowed with the pack train.

Years ago, before they started making US Army LEGO minifigs of the period, I used the black fireman torsos with a blue legs, changing out the connector piece for one from black legs. I felt the black torso/blue legs best represented the contrast of dark blue for the blouses (jackets), and the sky/kersey blue of the pants. To mix it up, I'd use white arms to make the torso look like it was a trooper in a vest and a white shirt underneath. For a Custer minifig, I used white pants with a bluecoat's officer's torso, changing the arms out for white ones. I don't recall what I used for the hat.

All that said, I love seeing western MOCs, especially historical ones. I myself have had some ideas for similar MOCs, including some in this very genre, as I've been reading and learning about the battle and Custer for over 25 years. It might be my biggest hobby, with LEGO trailing behind.

So I don't want to dissuade you from posting such things, as I'd love to see more. And if you'd like to PM me, I'd love to chat about this stuff if you'd like.

[Spader]

Stylistically, this is very good. Love your terrain and water, and if you're going for a representation of the romantic depictions of Custer's last fight, you nailed it. Early paintings and depictions had Custer charging, headlong and saber in hand, into the throng of warriors.

But historically, while your description is mostly correct, your depiction is wrong. Custer's battalions, Companies E and F (B was the rearguard for the pack train) under Captain Yates, and Companies C, I, and L, under Captain Keogh. E and F approached the river but never crossed, and Custer likely wasn't with that battalion on the first approach. Later, Custer did lead the same companies to a north ford, but again did not cross.

As for your minifigs, using the cavalry troopers from The Lone Ranger sets is a good choice, but the Custer-like character (played by Barry Pepper) is a poor choice, unless you're going for that romantic image of Custer. He wore white buckskins that day, with a blue fireman's shirt and a red tie, and a white hat. His horse, Vic (short for Victory), was a brown horse with a white blazed face and 3 white feet. His other horse, Dandy, wasn't white or gray either. His adjutant rode a white horse, as did all of the trumpeters in the regiment, and the entirety of Company E rode grays, which became whiter and whiter as they aged. The early paintings and drawings would depict him in his Civil War uniform, or in a standard general's uniform of the time. And Custer didn't carry a saber, nor did anyone in his regiment that day. Two officers kept theirs when the regiment's sabers were boxed up and left at the Powder River depot, one to kill snakes and the other for traditional reasons, and both of their sabers were likely stowed with the pack train.

Years ago, before they started making US Army LEGO minifigs of the period, I used the black fireman torsos with a blue legs, changing out the connector piece for one from black legs. I felt the black torso/blue legs best represented the contrast of dark blue for the blouses (jackets), and the sky/kersey blue of the pants. To mix it up, I'd use white arms to make the torso look like it was a trooper in a vest and a white shirt underneath. For a Custer minifig, I used white pants with a bluecoat's officer's torso, changing the arms out for white ones. I don't recall what I used for the hat.

All that said, I love seeing western MOCs, especially historical ones. I myself have had some ideas for similar MOCs, including some in this very genre, as I've been reading and learning about the battle and Custer for over 25 years. It might be my biggest hobby, with LEGO trailing behind.

So I don't want to dissuade you from posting such things, as I'd love to see more. And if you'd like to PM me, I'd love to chat about this stuff if you'd like.

Wow.....that is one long comment. I'm replying to your PM as we speak. Thanks for the comment, it looks like it took awhile. And one last thing I'd like to remind you - to me, legos are art. I am not a historian (I love history, but that's not the point). As such, I am giving a feel, and idea. This is meant to be a symbol, not a military replica. So I know the inaccuracy, but as said, it's not the point. The point is to show a piece of American history. As I said, thanks for the comment!