Thank you to all who attended our chat on the Battle of Little Big Horn and the mystery of Custer's Last Stand! The chat took place Wednesday, July 26 at 1 p.m. EST. Below you will find the full transcript. You may also click here to read the article on Custer's Last Stand.

Hutton is also a professor of history at the University of New Mexico and the executive director of the Western History Association.

Chat transcript
dr_paul_hutton says, "Hello! I'm Paul Hutton. Welcome to the chat room. Our topic is the late Colonel Custer and his famous last stand. I look forward to your questions."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from stevo: The U.S. News and World Report history mystery says that, based on research by archaeologist Richard Fox, Custer might not have made a "last stand." You disagree with these findings. What does your research indicate?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Yes I do disagree with Dr. Fox. I believe that Custer attempted to hold the ridge, put out skirmish lines, and then after they collapsed, made a last stand. A stand on the hill where the mass grave is now, actually. He certainly didn't die like Errol Flynn in the movie. But he wasn't running away, either."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from jellocat: Aside from the Fox study, has there been a consensus among historians that there was a last stand?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Yes, there is."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from lea: What clues in the historical records indicate there was a last stand?

dr_paul_hutton says, "The leading scholar on Custer is Robert Utley and he agrees with me, by the way. Clues? The placement of the bodies of the troopers. The fact that Custer's men on the hill shot their horses for cover. And the fact that the largest number of Indian casualties occurred around the hill where Custer was killed."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rich818: If Custer was such a crafty general, how or why did he so underestimate the Native American numbers and strength?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Well I have never said he was a crafty general. I'm just saying he did make a last stand! He was, in fact, arrogant and self-assured. And fairly contemptuous of his native foes. The responsibility of what happened at Little Big Horn rests with him."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rich818: What is your estimate of the number of Indians on the battlefield? The U.S.News and World Report article mentions 7,000, but I have heard statistics as low as only 500 of the Indians were warriors capable of fighting.

dr_paul_hutton says, "It is impossible to tell, really. We do know that there were far more than 500, based on the Indians that surrendered with Crazy Horse in the following year. There were certainly several thousand people in the village at Little Big Horn and there were certainly enough warriors to take care of the 7th Calvary."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from jenthia: Was Crazy Horse at the battle? Some historians say that when Custer was killed, he was still on the way to join the battle.

dr_paul_hutton says, "No. Crazy Horse was definitely in the fight against Custer. White Bull and others identified him as being there. But Crazy Horse was only one of many Indian leaders."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from lea: How long do you think Custer's last stand lasted? Some say 2 hours while others say two days...

dr_paul_hutton says, "The whole Custer portion of the battle probably lasted less than 2 hours."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rcthames: Granted that he was arrogant, but some of the literature I have read said that he also had compassion for the Indians–take for e.g. his affair with Monaseetah.

dr_paul_hutton says, "I don't know what compassion bedding an Indian captive shows! But certainly in his writing, Custer wrote admiringly of the Indian culture."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from stevo: What do you think when Sioux historian Vine Deloria, Jr. calls Custer "the Eichmann of the Plains who cared more for his own notoriety than the lives of his troops?"

dr_paul_hutton says, "The first part is wrong. The second is right. And Deloria sure knows how to use rhetoric to get a headline! I am a great admirer of his book Custer Died for Your Sins, by the way."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from jellocat: Since there were no Cavalry survivors, historians looking for anecdotal information must look to Native Americans. What special problems did this present in your Custer research?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Well, all interviews with any participant in a battle, especially many years after, suffer from faulty memory; from the questions asked (thus the bias of the interviewer); and from the fact that battle participants usually only witness what is immediately around them. Indian sources, like white sources, suffered from these problems."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rfox: Paul, how do you handle the scores of warrior accounts that describe tactical stability followed by tactical disintegration?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I don't disagree with those warrior accounts. But I do disagree with recent books that portray the battle as a rout. No matter how intelligent I think the authors of the books are. :-) Oh... and get back to work, Fox :-)"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from stevo: James Welsch's Killing Custer has been widely criticized. What do you think of it?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I am a great admirer of Jim and worked with him on the TV documentary that the book grew out of. Like DeLoria's book, it is interpretive rather than a history of the battle."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from calumet7: Do you think that Dr. Fox's theories have been widely accepted because they meet some correct political criteria?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I think they have been made use of by those who have a political agenda concerning the battlefield at Little Big Horn. But, of course, there are others who have an equally strong political agenda on the other side. I believe that Fox and I are really interested in the story and not in its political uses. Modern political uses, that is."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from bill51: Why do you feel Fox's assessment of the archaeological data is flawed with regard to the "Last Stand" concept?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Well, as a historian, I have a natural mongoose-cobra relationship to archaeologists in the first place. The assurety with which Fox and others make their pronouncements, while charming, can also be a bit irritating for those of use who have been working in the sources for the past quarter of a century, and realize there are no easy answers to this battle. The battlefield has been so picked over and disturbed over the last 125 years, that I doubt accurate data can be derived from it. But I do believe there is great value in Fox's book. And he added many new insights to our understanding of the battle."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from mouser: Tell us a bit about Custer's wife Libbie. Wasn't she a key figure in perpetuating the "last stand" theory?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Well, she never actually wrote about the last stand itself. For the obvious reason that is was too painful for her. But in three books she did much to establish the heroic image of her late husband. Her writings helped make him the symbol of the Indian-fighting Army. Which he still is today! Whether that image be positive or negative."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from roadrunner: Dr. Hutton, in your studies of Custer have you ridden the exact route, by horseback as I did, and go[ne] over the terrain Custer did? If so, were you amazed at the obstacles Custer had to face from the terrain such as we climbed the Crow's Nest? Do you think the terrain had any effect on his choice of military maneuvers?

dr_paul_hutton says, "My rear is much too tender for such activity! The terrain dictated his actions. But as an old hand at Indian fighting, he should have expected such broken terrain! And most certainly he should have sent out scouts well ahead of his columns."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from alfuso: What is your assessment of Fox's theory of Custer being the esprit de corps glue that was holding together the disparate companies of the 7th then? Vis a vis that they'd been apart so long that the esprit de corps was missing except on the "bunky" level.

dr_paul_hutton says, "The 7th had more unit cohesion from its identification with Custer than did most other regiments in the west. But still, it was seriously factionalized."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from major reno: Paul, In all my research on Major Reno, I have considerable doubt that he was drunk on the evening of June 25. Your opinion?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I would have had a drink that night! :-) Certainly there is testimony that Reno was drinking. But all we have is that gossip."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rfox: Paul, if you don't disagree with tactical disintegration accounts, how then was there a last stand?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Because, Dr. Fox, it seems clear that a headquarters had been set up atop Custer Hill. And that the wounded were there. And that, according to the Indians, was where they made their last charge! And, while I love the cowboy Celtic song Custer Died A-Runnin, it's wrong!"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from chriss: What unanswered questions about the battle continue to intrigue you, and perhaps drive your research?

dr_paul_hutton says, "When did Custer die? Was he wounded early? Was he still alive at the end? And especially: When did he realize he was going to lose and they would all die? But there are more unanswered questions, concerning that battle, than there are answered ones. That makes it such great fun!"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from lea: Why do you think this one battle or skirmish with the Native Americans has been so studied, reviewed, and examined?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Because of its symbolic importance. In its own time it was the reason used by the U.S. government for the final subjugation of the Indians on the Northern Plains. Since that time it has become the symbol of the Indian wars. Both in the heroic and negative sense. Many events in world history... the Alamo, Leonidus at Thermopyle.. continue to fascinate mankind."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from lea: Do you think there is another battle with the Native Americans that should have received more recognition, acclaim, or study?

dr_paul_hutton says, "No."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from calumet7: What book would you recommend for beginning students of the fight? Lay readers, I should say?

dr_paul_hutton says, "The best biography is Robert Utley's Cavalier in Buckskin. And with all modesty, I would especially recommend my book, The Custer Reader from the University of Nebraska Press."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rcthames: Is there any evidence that Custer planned to run for President after he finished his campaign?

dr_paul_hutton says, "No, there is not. But it is a persistent myth perpetuated by people who know nothing about Gilded Age politics. But that doesn't mean Custer wasn't incredibly ambitious!"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from rfox: Paul, you mentioned the Indians said their last charge was at Custer Hill. What do you make of the various warrior accounts that describe fighting after Custer Hill had been overrun?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I don't agree with them. But as you know, Dr. Fox, the last movement was a breakout from Custer Hill by a group of men."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from alfuso: Fox doesn't say it, but Custer dying early could have precipitated the collapse. But why run away from support?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Yes! That's right. And furthermore, the problem with running is there is nowhere to run! Not that some soldiers didn't try."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from sedori: What do you think was Custer's biggest mistake in the last battle?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Dividing his forces in the face of an unknown enemy. Which is reflective of white arrogance from Custer up to the top of the Army command. Everyone was obsessed with the idea the Indians would escape. Nobody seemed to worry about the Indians fighting! I call this the 'Titanic Syndrome.'"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from chriss: Does the U.S. Army express much interest in new findings about the battle? Or would they rather let sleeping cavalry lie....

dr_paul_hutton says, "The Army actually often does re-rides of the battle from the College at Leavenworth. They try to use it as a teaching tool. One, of course, concerned with how not to conduct yourself as an officer in command."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from tyler222: What current research project are you working on right now?

dr_paul_hutton says, "I am writing a biography of Davy Crockett, which of course has its own controversy concerning how he died at the Alamo. And whether he was captured and executed. Or perished like Fess Parker in the 1955 Disney movie."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from tyler222: You are a collector of Davy Crockett memorabilia. What's your latest acquisition?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Lets see... I'm an e-Bay addict! And thus have too many recent acquisitions to relate! But I am hoping to soon enter a treatment program before I go bankrupt! :-)"

moderator presents the speaker with a question from calumet7: Is there any particular website which you recommend in order to keep updated on developments at the Custer battlefield?

dr_paul_hutton says, "You know? I am not really that familiar with the websites. But there are two groups... The Little Big Horn Associates and The Custer Battlefield Museum and Historical Association and they publish regular newsletters. Those interested in broader themes in Western history, might want to look up the organization I direct... the Western History Association, on the web."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from mark timbrook: Have you been to Custer's rebuilt house at Fort Abraham Lincoln? Any comments?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Yes I have! It is a wonderful reconstruction. I urge everyone to visit Fort Lincoln, which has undergone some marvelous renovations under the direction of Tracy Potter."

moderator presents the speaker with a question from stevo: What is the most important thing you would like those attending this chat to know about Custer?

dr_paul_hutton says, "Well I hope everyone enjoys the study of history and understands that those of use who are fascinated by Western history can disagree, but still have great admiration and respect for one another. I have always had a lot of fun with history and wouldn't work in the field if it weren't enjoyable! Thanks to everyone for joining us this afternoon. I appreciate the insightful questions. I wish everyone well in attempting to solve the Custer mystery!"

moderator says, "That is the end of our time today. Thank you to all who submitted questions as well as to those who simply read along. A very special thank you to Paul Hutton for taking the time to join us today and answer our questions."