1966) Tatanka Iyotake (or "Sitting Bull"), Lakota Oglala Sioux , the nemesis of George Custer's 7th Cavalry Army in the Battle of Little Bighorn in the Great Sioux War (1876): 2021 Oglala Sioux $1 1-oz Silver Ultra High Relief Antiqued Coin: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2021:
The Legacy/Legend of Tatanka Iyotake - "Sitting Bull" - Lives On:
Perhaps no Native American (Indian) is more famous than Tatanka Iyotake, better known as "Sitting Bull".
A Lakota Sioux holy man from the Oglala Tribe, he was instrumental in the galvanization of Indian resistance in the Great Sioux War of 1876 and the defeat of Lt. Colonel George Custer’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the "Battle of the Greasy Grass" and also commonly referred to as "Custer's Last Stand", was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army.
The battle, which resulted in the complete defeat/rout of U.S. forces, was the most significant action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It took place on June 25–26, 1876, along the Little Bighorn River in the Crow Indian Reservation in Southeastern Montana Territory.
The battle resulted in an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who were led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, and had been inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake).
The U.S. 7th Cavalry, believed to be a force of around 700 men, suffered a major defeat while commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer (formerly a brevetted major general during the American Civil War).
Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were annihilated and Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law.
The Belligerents:
On the US Army side: Crow scouts, Arikara scouts - George A. Custer , Marcus Reno, Frederick Benteen, Myles Keogh, James Calhoun. Their combined strength was about 700 Cavalry (7th Cavalry Regiment) and scouts.
The total U.S. casualty count included 268 dead and 55 severely wounded (six of whom died later from their wounds), including 10 Indian scouts (four Crow Indian scouts and at least two Arikara Indian scouts).
The Belligerents on the Indian side were: Lakota, Dakota, Northern Cheyenne, Arapaho led by Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Chief Gall, Lame White Man, Two Moon. Their combined forces were about - 1,500 warriors.
Their combined losses were 31 warriors killed in combat and an estimated 100 injured.
An account of the US Army carnage in the Battle of Little Bighorn:
Captain Frederick Benteen, battalion leader of Companies D, H and K, of the US Army, recalled his observations on the Custer battlefield on 27.06.1876:
"I went over the battlefield carefully with a view to determine how the battle was fought. I arrived at the conclusion I [hold] now—that it was a rout, a panic, until the last man was killed ...
There was no line formed on the battlefield. You can take a handful of corn and scatter [the kernels] over the floor, and make just such lines. There were none ... The only approach to a line was where 5 or 6 [dead] horses found at equal distances, like skirmishers [part of Lt. Calhoun's Company L]. That was the only approach to a line on the field. There were more than 20 [troopers] killed [in one group]; there were [more often] four or five at one place, all within a space of 20 to 30 yards [of each other] ... I counted 70 dead [cavalry] horses and 2 Indian ponies.
I think, in all probability, that the men turned their horses loose without any orders to do so. Many orders might have been given, but few obeyed. I think that they were panic stricken; it was a rout, as I said before."
Aftermath:
Public response to the Great Sioux War varied in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Libbie Custer, Custer's widow, tried hard to burnish her husband's memory, and during the following decades, the "blunder" made by Custer and his troops were presented as "iconic, even heroic," figures in American history.
Nevertheless, the Battle and the loss of highly trained US troops (including veterans of the US Civil War - 1861-65) was a big embarassment for the US Army.
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument honours those who fought on both sides.
Sitting Bull remained a revered leader in the years following the war and today he continues to be a symbol for Native American rights.
The legend of "Sitting Bull" is depicted in two period films which depict the war between the Sioux Chief and the US:
"Sitting Bull" is a 1954 Eastman-colour Western film directed by Sidney Salkow and René Cardona that was filmed in Mexico in CinemaScope. The movie depicts the war between Sitting Bull and the U.S. forces, leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Custer's Last Stand.
"Custer of the West" is a 1967 American Western film directed by Robert Siodmak that presents a highly fictionalised version of the life and death of George Armstrong Custer, starring Robert Shaw as Custer, Robert Ryan, Ty Hardin, Jeffrey Hunter, and Mary Ure. The film was shot entirely in Spain.
The Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation Silver Dollar Commemorative Coin:
A vivid representation of that legacy is presented this incredible silver dollar struck by Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation that depicts the great chief in stunning detail.
Vivid Images of America’s Wild West:
On the Reverse of the $1 (One Dollar) Silver Coin is an equally vivid image, showing a full-grown American Bison that is reminiscent of the famous Buffalo Nickel struck from 1913 to 1938.
The peripheral inscriptions are - "AMERICAN BUFFALO" (on the upper periphery) and "INDIAN SOVEREIGN NATION" (on the lower periphery).
Both the designs have intricate details, and one can see every line on Sitting Bull’s face and every strand of shaggy hair on the wooly buffalo.
To accentuate the designs, this coin has been struck in Ultra High Relief (UHR) with a concave field that creates maximum contrast with the designs.
To further augment that contrast, the coin was layered with a superb antiqued finish.
This unique finish adds a taste of history that will have one imagining a bygone day, when Indians painted for war charged their ponies at U.S. cavalrymen dressed in dirty-shirt blue. Antique finishes like this are typically applied by hand, and no two coins are exactly alike.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Country of issue: United States; Coin Theme: "Oglala Sioux Chief Sitting Bull"; Year: 2021; Denomination/Face Value: $1 (One Dollar); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 1.0 Oz or 31.107 grams; Diameter/Size: 38.60 mm; Thickness: 3.95 mm; Coin Quality: Uncirculated Antique Finish (UAF); Mintage: 2,500 pieces; Presentation Box/Case: Yes; Special Technique: Ultra High Relief (UHR) detail minted with a concave field upon the coin’s surface for maximum contrast with the designs; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes, issued by the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation.
LEGAL TENDER – These One-Ounce Silver Sitting Bull Ultra High Relief Coins are $1 legal tender in the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation, one of the seven tribes of the Lakota Sioux Indians.
EVOCATIVE ANTIQUED FINISH - The 2021 Oglala Sioux One-Ounce Silver Sitting Bull Ultra High Relief Coin comes in Uncirculated (Unc) condition and features an antiqued finish. Typically applied by hand, that means no two coins are exactly alike.
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Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Gr8 informative post. Thanks for sharing."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
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