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What was "Custer's last stand"?

Custer's last stand refers to the defeat of U.S. general George A. Custer (1839–1876) by the Sioux at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, in the Little Bighorn Valley in Montana. Custer had become a national hero while serving as a general in the American Civil War (1861–65) and in campaigns against Native Americans in the western United States. Custer and his troops were outnumbered and badly beaten by the Sioux led by Sitting Bull (1831?–1890) just as the United States was ready to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the document that asserted the independence of the American colonies from Britain in 1776. The result was a stunning reversal in the national mood.

The Battle of Little Bighorn was part of a series of campaigns known collectively as the Sioux War. Several events led to Custer's last stand. The Sioux were nontreaty...

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