The Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, was fought on June 25, 1876. Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and over 200 soldiers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment were killed in the battle against a coalition of Native American tribes, including the Cheyenne, Lakota Sioux, and Arapaho. This battle has lived on in the imagination of Americans due to its drama and narrative of hubris leading to tragedy.
Over the years, many riddles and tricky questions have been composed about the Battle of Little Bighorn to challenge people’s knowledge and understanding of this historical event. Below are 49 riddles about the battle along with their answers. Test your own wits against these Battle of Little Bighorn brainteasers!
Riddles About Key Figures
Q: I commanded the 7th Cavalry at Little Bighorn and met my demise there. My blond locks earned me a colorful nickname. Who am I?
A: Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer
Q: I was the Lakota Sioux spiritual leader who had visions foretelling Custer’s defeat. The soldiers called me “Mad Woman’s Son.” Who am I?
A: Sitting Bull
Q: I was the Oglala Lakota warrior chief who led our warriors against Custer. My red hawk feather headdress made me stand out on the battlefield. Who am I?
A: Crazy Horse
Q: I was the Cheyenne warrior who may have taken Custer’s life in the battle. Some called me the “Fighting Cheyenne.” Who am I?
A: Lame White Man
Q: I was Custer’s Crow scout who tried to warn him that he was vastly outnumbered by the Lakota and Cheyenne. Custer dismissed my advice. Who am I?
A: Curley
Riddles About Troop Strengths
Q: The 7th Cavalry troop strength at Little Bighorn was about 600 men. The Native American alliance was estimated to be how many warriors strong?
A: Between 1800 to 4000 warriors
Q: How many companies made up the 7th Cavalry regiment under Custer’s command?
A: 12 companies with about 50 men each
Q: What percentage of Custer’s total force was lost at Little Bighorn?
A: Over 60% – 268 dead of 700 total soldiers
Q: How many Native warriors were killed in the fighting compared to the 7th Cavalry losses?
A: Estimates range from 36 to 136 warriors killed
Q: What was the name of the one 7th Cavalry company that survived the battle intact?
A: Company B under Captain Thomas Weir
Riddles About Weaponry & Tactics
Q: The 7th Cavalry carried single-shot Springfield carbines as regulation firearms. What weapons did many Lakota and Cheyenne warriors possess that gave them an advantage?
A: Repeating rifles like the Winchester and Henry rifles
Q: Most 7th Cavalry soldiers were equipped with sabres for which type of combat?
A: Close-quarters combat on horseback
Q: What common Native American tactics helped to overwhelm Custer’s attacking cavalry formations?
A: Envelopement tactics to surround and attack from all sides
Q: Which tactic did Custer reject that would have made it less likely for his force to be surrounded?
A: Forming into a defensive perimeter rather than attacking
Q: The Native American warriors’ most common firearms were acquired through what means?
A: Purchased from traders with money, furs, and buffalo hides
Riddles About Timing & Duration
Q: On what month, day, and year was the Battle of Little Bighorn fought?
A: June 25, 1876
Q: Once the opening hostilities began, about how long did Custer’s Last Stand battle last until his force was wiped out?
A: Less than an hour after the first shots
Q: The night before the battle, what delayed the Lakota and Cheyenne from detecting Custer’s arrival?
A: They were doing the Sun Dance ritual and celebrations
Q: On the morning of the battle, the 7th Cavalry had advanced across the Little Bighorn River by what time of the day?
A: Around Mid-morning between 8-9 AM
Q: How long had Custer’s troops gone without food by the time they engaged the warriors on June 25?
A: They last ate hot food 2 days earlier on June 22
Riddles About Geography
Q: Little Bighorn Battlefield is located in which present-day U.S. state?
A: Montana
Q: What river passes through the battlefield site, which Custer fatefully attempted to cross?
A: Little Bighorn River
Q: The crow’s nest from which Custer’s vedettes first spotted the Indian village was located atop a high point called the Crow’s Nest. What height was it?
A: 3,056 feet (932 meters)
Q: What present-day Native American reservation surrounds the Little Bighorn Battlefield?
A: The Crow Indian Reservation
Q: The battlefield site is about how many driving miles from Billings, Montana’s largest city?
A: About 250 miles driving distance
Riddles About Native American Encampments
Q: On the Little Bighorn battlefield, Sitting Bull’s Lakota encampment was located on which side of the river from the Major Marcus Reno’s initial attack?
A: North side
Q: Approximately how many Lakota Sioux lodges/tipis made up the encampment village on the Little Bighorn?
A: Around 1000 to 1300 lodges total
Q: The sections of this Native encampment was called “circles.” How many of these circles were at Little Bighorn?
A: About 6 major encampment circles
Q: This tribe had the northernmost circle of lodges in the Little Bighorn village:
A: Sans Arc Lakota Sioux
Q: Most estimates say there a couple thousand Native American horses accompanying the villages. About how many horses might Custer’s 7th Cavalry have had when they entered the valley?
A: About 600 cavalry horses
Riddles About the Opening Battle
Q: Major Reno’s companies first clashed with the warriors in the timbered bottoms region of what creek?
A: Davis Creek to the north
Q: Seeing the huge village, Reno ordered his men into a wooded area that became known by what nickname reflecting the battle’s intensity?
A: Reno’s Wooden Leg
Q: About what proportion of Reno’s force became casualties during the 45 minutes of fighting in the woods by the river bottom?
A: Around one third – over 30%
Q: Around what time in the mid-afternoon on June 25th did Reno’s exhausted troops withdraw from the woods to retreat across the Little Horn River?
A: Around 2:30 PM
Q: On the ridges above, Custer witnessed part of Reno’s battle before withdrawing northward toward what hill where Last Stand began?
A: Custer Hill / Battle Ridge
Riddles About Custer’s Final Charge
Q: From what direction did Custer approach the Little Bighorn Valley just before splitting his force?
A: From the northeast, from Rosebud Creek Valley
Q: Custer divided his remaining 5 companies into a northern force under his command and a southern force under Captain Benteen. How many companies were in each group?
A: Custer took 3 companies north & sent 2 with Benteen’s south
Q: Archaeological evidence indicates Custer’s soldiers may have briefly taken up positions in a small gulch formation nicknamed “Calhoun Coulee” – who was Calhoun?
A: Lieutenant James Calhoun, Custer’s brother-in-law
Q: Analyses of relics show Custer’s force travelled about what maximum distance from Calhoun Coulee to the Last Stand Hill?
A: About 2 miles distance between the sites
Q: Before making his last charge, Custer had the famous buckskin horse named Vic. What was the name of the horse he rode during the final charge into the Indian camp?
A: Dandy
Riddles About Custer’s Last Stand
Q: What was name of the young Gall warrior who knocked Custer off his horse with a blow to the chest as he charged toward the river?
A: Lights
Q: Archaeological study of artifacts indicates Custer’s Last Stand fight may have started by this hill, about 400 yards north of Last Stand Hill:
A: Battle Ridge / Custer Battlefield
Q: Modern archaeologists call the main Custer Last Stand hill by what name reflecting soldiers’ efforts there to make defensive positions?
A: Cemetery Ridge
Q: Skeleton remains show soldiers committed suicide with shots to the temple to avoid capture & slower death. About how many did this?
A: As many as 9 appear to have committed suicide
Q: Before the bodies abandoned on the battlefield were buried, Lakota women walked the grounds after the fight doing what with nails and awls according to tribal oral histories?
A: Mutilating dead soldiers’ eardrums or ears
Riddles About the Aftermath & Burials
Q: Custer’s body was found near the top of Last Stand Hill stripped of clothing except for what two articles?
A: His socks and underwear
Q: The day after the battle, Curley rode to Little Bighorn Valley again with General Terry’s troops. Who was the 7th Cavalry officer who exhumed remains and oversaw the battlefield burials of Custer’s dead?
A: Captain R.E. Thompson
Q: All Custer’s remains except for which body part were buried in a common trench grave on Last Stand Hill?
A: His left leg was buried separately
Q: The burial detachments found several dead Native warriors on the Custer battlefield. How many did they end up burying with Custer’s men?
A: 4 Sioux warriors were buried alongside the soldiers
Q: In 1881, Custer’s remains were exhumed and reinterred at West Point. Which famous leader’s remains had been returned to the U.S. just before, sparking the reburial?
A: Napoléon Bonaparte’s body’s return from France
Riddles About Battlefield Memorials
Q: Just two years after the battle in 1878, a stone monument was erected on Last Stand Hill by Custer’s famous Civil War commander. Who was it?
A: General Phil Sheridan
Q: In 1881, a flagpole memorial was placed atop the burial trench grave containing remains of 42 Seventh Cavalrymen. What was the pole made from?
A: Wood from the U.S.S. Hartford, Admiral David Farragut’s Civil War ship
Q: Granite memorial tablets dot the field today where soldiers fell at Custer Hill. Who was Black Elk, the Lakota man who helped erect and dedicate these in 1950?
A: A survivor of the battle who lived from 1863 to 1950
Q: The entrance to today’s national memorial has a large marble arch dedicated in what year?
A: 1938
Q: The inscription above the memorial arch is a quote by General Sheridan written in tribute to Custer’s 7th Cavalry. How does it go?
A: “In memory of the officers and men killed here 20th June, 1876. When such men as these have journeyed on before, then be it ours to follow without fear where duty leads.”
Conclusion
And those are 49 riddles about various aspects of the fateful Battle of Little Bighorn that claimed Custer’s life and so many of his 7th Cavalry troops. How many were you able to answer correctly? This collection should challenge your knowledge of one of the most studied clashes between the U.S. military and Native warriors in the Great Plains Indian Wars. The battle lives on these many years later as a source of tactics analysis as well as dramatic storytelling. Feel free to take inspiration from these to create your own riddles about Custer’s Last Stand to test fellow history buffs!
