As all American school kids know, In June, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (formerly temporary Major General during the Civil War) led his command of 260 soldiers to an encampment of Sioux and other Indian tribes at the Little Big Horn. Ambushed and cut off from help, Custer and his men died in a furious battle, and became part of a legend that still lives as one of the most exciting moments in American history.

This tragic incident is preserved today in Montana as the Custer Battlefield National Monument and Cemetery at Little Big Horn. Historians, writers, school kids, families and many others are amond the nearly half-million visitors who visit the battlefield every year.

The visitor's center is next to the cemetery, and offers a complete schedule of guided tours. While most of the location has remained almost as it was in 1876, long rolling hills and prairie grass, there are replicas of a Native American village and U.S. Army barracks from the era.The charge to enter the national park area is $12 per vehicle.

Little Bighorn Monument is in a vast lonely area of rolling prairie. Except for the monument and facilities, it appears very much as it did in 1876. Maps are provided that locate historic spots, including where the main battle was fought, burial grounds of both Army and Native American veterans of the historic battle. For more information about Custer Battlefield and National Monument/ Cemetery , logon to www.nps.gov.