Battle of the Little Bighorn Tribute Rifle

America Remembers presents the Battle of the Little Bighorn Tribute Rifle. This Battle of the Little Bighorn Rifle features a dramatic battle scene captured in remarkable detail.

On the fateful day of June 25, 1876, the U.S. government and the Indian nations of the Great Plains faced each other on the banks of the Little Bighorn River in the Montana Territory in what was to become a landmark military encounter. The combined forces of the Sioux, Cheyenne, and other allied tribes under chiefs Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Gall, and Low Dog, battled the U.S. Army Cavalry for their right to live freely -- as their ancestors had -- on the rolling plains of the Western frontier at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The ensuing battle and defeat of the Cavalry troops was to be immortalized as "Custer’s Last Stand." Though the outcome of the battle is well-known, the facts of what transpired that day may never be completely revealed. This much we do know: despite warnings from his Crow and Arikara scouts, the brash and flamboyant General George Armstrong Custer split his force into three columns as they approached the Little Bighorn. It was a fatal error that cost him his life and the life of all his men. Among Custer’s column of command at the Little Bighorn -- and those who died with him -- were his two brothers, Captain Thomas W. Custer, and Boston Custer, a civilian traveling with the Seventh Cavalry, his brother-in-law James Calhoun, and his nephew, Henry Reed.

Low Dog, a chief from the Oglala tribe, described the Battle of Little Bighorn saying, "They came on us like a thunderbolt…. We retreated until our men got all together, and then we charged upon them. I called to my men, ‘This is a good day to die; follow me.’ We massed our men, and that no man should fall back, every man whipped another man’s horse and we rushed right upon them." Although we don’t know the details of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, an archaeological survey of the battlefield confirms that the soldiers stood their ground and died fighting. In recounting the battle, Low Dog said of Custer "he was a brave warrior and died a brave man."

In honor of all the brave warriors on both sides who fought so valiantly for their cause, America Remembers proudly presents the "Battle of the Little Bighorn Tribute Rifle." In tribute to these legends that loom so large in Western history, America Remembers selected a firearm with equally legendary status, the incomparable Model ’73, arguably the most famous Winchester lever-action rifle ever produced. The Model ’73 was one of the most coveted rifles of its day, and was the ultimate prize for settlers, lawmen, and Indians of the frontier.