When you visit...
Spend about 2 hours at the visitors center. Then put on a ruck. Get plenty of water. And spend the next day and a half not only walking the battlefield, but driving it. Remember, the 'battlefield' was encampments 15+ miles away. Cavalry actions were not infantry actions. Cavalry could cover 100 miles a day. Not easily. But they could do it. The battle 'space' that ended with the stand at Little Bighorn is immense. More the size one would expect in a WW2 armored action.
Also, it is the only national battlefield where the headstones are placed exactly where the troopers fell. You can see the 'pockets' where they were herded in and reduced. You can walk out hundreds of yards (in one case a couple of miles) and find graves where 1 or 2 or 3 men tried to escape as a group or solo from the perimeter and were run down and killed by the Indian horsemen. You can 'feel' the battle unfolding much better than on many battlefields where there may be some markers. But the graves are remote and all lined up.
Once you get a mile or so from the park.... even the grass fights you. You step into unseen ditches or chuck holes. It looks smooth and undulating. But under it all is some totally savage dirt and terrain.
Geographic determinism is a major force in history, especially military history. Terrain shapes the battle. Such a good example of it at Little Bighorn.
Cheers,
Sirhr
PS. Gatling Gun was a 4 - 6 man crew. Plus they travelled with 2 - 3 limbers each. So that meant horse teams for each gun and limber. And horsemen to manage those. Then an officer or NCO in charge. Then a loader, and an operator who worked in shifts. And extra men for the setup and digging in as well as security ( infantry and cavalry charging cannon positions was common). A Gatling battery was an artillery battery, for all intents and purposes. So... not one guy by any means. And a definite burden to a cavalry company.
www.kxan.com
Hard to find one with an actual volume knob but glad I did. Steering wheel controls work, used the same interface as the Pioneer.
