title: The Fights on the Little Horn: Unveiling the Mysteries of Custer's Last Stand
author: Gordon Harper
description: <span style="">"The sheer breadth of Gordon Harpers research is amazing; Ive read every major account of George Custers last battle and the various imbecilities leading up to it (and a good many of the primary sources on which accounts are based), and I was stunned to find that The Fights on the Little Horn is, in its slightly ramshackle way, the best of them all. Care is taken throughout to keep the broader narrative moving forward, but the array of detailed excurses is positively joyful to the historically inquisitive....The Custer disaster is one of those odd little irreducible kernels of American history that exercise perennial fascination. Anybody who feels the pull of that fascination should make sure not to miss this deep-digging book"</span> (<i>Open Letters Monthly</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">" provides a rich, well-documented narrative that will surely become one of the definitive sources of this bloody event. This is exceptional historical reporting that is meticulously researched, clearly written and as exciting as any well-crafted novel. This book is highly recommended"</span> (<i>King Features Syndicate</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"Having read and studied several previous books on the Custer Battle, I was hoping that something new would emerge and I was not disappointed. It is a great pity Gordon Harper did not live long enough to have seen his years of work and research in a completed form, but it does stand as a solid testimony to diligence...certainly a book that one cannot put down"</span> (Norman Franks, Author)<br /><br /><span style="">"... vast amount of research...without a doubt other enthusiasts of one of history's most overrated field engagements will get hours of enjoyment debating just how many of its revelations are truly groundbreaking... the research and passion is commendable</span> (<i>Wild West Magazine</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"... Harper studied the battle for about 50 years but died before completing his book. However, the writers who finished it for him preserved his passionate style... the extensive research and focused conclusions make it an essential read for serious students."</span> (<i>True West Magazine</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"This is a thoroughly researched, intriguing and well-written book that should rank as a definitive source of information about what really happened."</span> (<i>Toy Solder &amp; Model Figure</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"If the reader believes that there is nothing new to be written about the most famous and analyzed battle in the west, this book may convince him otherwise. It deserves a place on the shelf of every student of Custer's battle"</span> (<i>The Journal of Americas Military Past</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"...we are blessed that Gordon Harpers scholarship is now available...he did his homework as his extensive bibliography attests... provide ample food for those who hunger for the serious study of the Little Big Horn, to whom I recommend the book. This contribution will at least challenge us to reexamine (if not revise) time-honored assumptions and conceptions. The reviewer is certain that it will lead to many more fights as we continue the perpetual debate on the subject that Gordon Harper loved so well.</span> (<i>CBHMA Book Review</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"Gordon Harper (1939-2009) had a life long fascination with the battle, lived near the field for a time and toured it often, collected accounts of the battle, official papers, memoirs, and more, and hoped to write a definitive source book on it, but passed away before it was completed. This volume was compiled from his materials by his daughter Tori Harper and Gordon Richard.The first half of the book is essentially a narrative treatment of the operations that culminated in Battle of the Little Big Horn, which Harper had largely completed before his death. It consists of four chapters that follow the various detachments of the 7th Cavalry as the moved toward the battlefield on the Greasy Grass River, followed by three chapters on Maj. Marcus Renos column, and then two chapters on the events and circumstances of the destruction of Custers battalion. The second part of the book is titled Analysis. It consists of eight essays that address particular questions about the battle and battlefield archaeology, from A Question of Disobedience, discussing whether or not Custer deliberately ignored orders throughThe number of Warriors Facing the 7th Cavalry, Burials, Markers, and Survivors, and so forth.While its likely that neither Custerphiles nor Custerphobes will be entirely happy with all of Gordons conclusions, anyone with a serious interest in the events on the Little Big Horn, or in the Indian Fighting Army, will find this excellent reading."</span> (<i>The NYMAS Review</i>)<br /><br /><span style="">"Drawing on Indian accounts, as well as evidence from cartridges, bullets, and bodies discovered on the battlefield, this work for general readers and scholars describes the defeat of Custers 7th Cavalry by Sioux and Cheyenne forces near the Little Horn River (a battle often known as the battle of Little Big Horn). The book also details the immediate aftermath of the battle, including the burial and reburial of combatants. The first half of the book offers a chronological narrative, while the second half offers analysis. B&amp;w historical photos and contemporary battle maps are included. An ebook edition provides primary source appendices. Author Gordon Harper lived near the site of the battle for decades and collected information on the battle from local Native American tribes."</span> (<i>ProtoView</i>)
zlib_text: Jl^onald K. N 
  Introduction by 
  Brian C. Pohanka 
  
  i - ■ 
  I ' 
  i * 
  f 
  - %• 
  \ 
  V 
  
  The harrowing sight of the dead bodies 
  crowning the height on which Custer fell, and 
  which will remain vividly in my memory until 
  death, is too recent for me not to ask the good 
  people of this country whether a policy that sets 
  opposing parties in the field armed, clothed, and 
  equipped by one and the same government 
  should not be abolished. 
  Reno’s Report, July 5, 1876 
  y 
  
  Major Marcus Albert Reno 
  (Glen Swanson Collection) 
  3 1223 07244 4830 
  
  In Custer s Shadow: 
  Major Marcus Reno 
  Ronald H. Nichols 
  ^ Introduction by 
  Brian C. Pohanka y 
  University of Oklahoma Press 
  Norman 
  
  1 
  Photo Credits 
  All photographs courtesy of the Little Bighorn 
  Battlefield National Monument unless otherwise noted. 
  ISBN 0-8061-3281-7 
  The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durabiliry of the Com¬ 
  mittee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Re¬ 
  sources, Inc