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Crazy Horse Facts

Crazy Horse Facts
Crazy Horse was a notable war leader from the Oglala band of the Lakota Indians in the Upper Plains and the west of the United States during the late 1800s. From a young age, Crazy Horse was involved in battles and wars against the Lakota's traditional Indian enemies, which included the Crow, Blackfoot, and Pawnee tribes. After gaining a reputation as a skilled and fearsome warrior among his people, Crazy Horse rose during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. The highpoint of Crazy Horse's warrior career was his victory over the U.S. Army led by General George Custer on June 25-26, 1876. It is believed that Crazy Horse was born in 1840 to a man also named Crazy Horse and Rattling Blanket Woman near what is today Rapid City, South Dakota. He married a Lakota woman named Black Shawl Woman and they had one child, a daughter named They Are Afraid of Her.
Interesting Crazy Horse Facts:
The Lakota Indians are sometimes referred to as "Sioux." Although the term Sioux is technically not incorrect, it also refers to the related Nakota and Dakota tribes, who speak a similar language. The term Sioux is derived from a French word and is not aboriginal.
Besides the Oglala, there were six other bands of Lakotas during Crazy Horse's life.
Lakota and Dakota translates into "friend" or "ally" in English.
Crazy Horse' daughter was his only child. She was born in 1873 and died in infancy.
Crazy Horse's first experience with violence from and toward whites was in 1854. In that incident he was living in a Sioux camp in Wyoming when soldiers arrived and killed the chief over a stolen cow. The warriors of the camp retaliated by killing thirty soldiers.
After distinguishing himself in battle against the U.S. cavalry at the Battle of Platte Bridge in 1865, Crazy Horse was promoted to "Shirt Wearer" by his people. The title was the equivalent of general.
Crazy Horse gained even greater fame, and the hatred of the U.S. Cavalry, when he tricked a detachment of cavalry led by Captain William J. Fetterman into an ambush on December 21, 1866. The Lakota and Cheyenne ambush left seventy-nine soldiers, including Fetterman, and two civilians dead. It became known as "Fetterman's Massacre."
Crazy Horse was shot in the jaw when he had an affair with another man's wife.
After his victory over the cavalry at Little Big Horn, the Army dedicated more resources to fighting the Sioux and Cheyenne, forcing them to retreat and live away from their hunting grounds.
Crazy Horse surrendered to the Army at Red Cloud Agency on May 5, 1877, which is near Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
He was allowed to remain with his people in a camp, but was arrested on September 5, 1877. He was bayonetted to death while resisting arrest, although the exact details are left to interpretation.
Crazy Horse's famed increased tremendously after his death. A colossal monument of Crazy Horse, carved into a mountain in the Black Hills, was begun in 1948 but remains unfinished.


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