The Black Hills Yesterday & Today

Custer Expedition: Aug. 1-5, 1874
Permanent Camp and Harney Peak Range..
Illingworth made a second panoramic image of the Aug. 1-5 camp site from a vantage point above French Creek. Harney Peak and the Needles are just visible in the far distance, while part of present-day Calamity Peak is seen at upper left, framing the tents and wagons below.
This was the southernmost point reached by the Expedition as a whole. After camping and exploring here for five days, Custer and his 1,000 men began their return trek, winding through the Black Hills and finally emerging near Bear Butte on Aug. 16...
Today, Highway 16A crosses through the heart of Custer’s 1874 camp, where a commercial campground now offers a less rustic though still scenic experience in this historic valley. Military expeditions of 1875 and 1876 also used the area as a campsite (see following pages), adding lesser-known chapters to the lore of the Black Hills.
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