Iconic, ironic
On June 25, 1876, one of America's most iconic historical events took place when General George A. Custer, with five companies of the 7th Calvary, was wiped out on a rise above the Little Big Horn River. The news was received with shock by a nation ready to celebrate the centennial of its independence. How could this have happened--since no white man survived the battle--to perhaps the most celebrated and daring Union general of the Civil War?