The Lone Teepee was a landmark along the Seventh Cavalry's march to the Battle of the Little Big Horn. It was where the Indian encampment had been during the Battle of the Rosebud

Battle of the Rosebud

The Battle of the Rosebud occurred June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and a force of Lakota Native Americans during the Black Hills War...

 on June 17. The Indians had left a single teepee standing (some reports mention a second that had been partially dismantled), and in it was the body of a Sans Arc

Sans Arc

The Sans Arc, or Itázipčho in Lakota, are a subdivision of the Lakota people. Sans Arc is the French translation of the Lakota name which means, "Without bows." The translator of Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer renders the name as Arrows all Gone...

warrior, Old She-Bear, who had been wounded in the battle with Crook. He had died a couple of days after the Rosebud battle, and it was the custom of the Indians to move camp when a warrior died and leave the body with its possessions.

The Lone Teepee is an important location for several reasons, amongst which are:

• It is where Custer gave Reno his final orders to attack the village ahead. It's also where some Indians which had been following the command were seen and Custer assumed they had been discovered.

• Many of the survivors' accounts use the Lone Teepee as a point of reference for event times or distances.

• Knowing this location helps establish the pattern of the Indians' movements to the encampment on the river where the soldiers found them.