Go to the battlefield itself and look over the scene and see the weapons recovered from the battlefield, see where soldiers were when they were killed (or where they were found, the Indians took their dead with them)learn about the participants and decide for yourself why this happened. Custer obviously underestimated the strength of the Indians because he died there. Looking at the initial attack by Ried, and why he fled from the Indian camps North to high ground, and why the Ried / Benteen armies were unable to help Custer before the attack that killed him, and the mistakes made by the US Army in this battle, in which Custer was in command.
Custer obviously underestimated the strength of the Indians because he died there.
History has shown Custer had estimated Indian presence to be fairly close to what it was (1800 warriors or so). Actual Indian strength was greatly inflated after the fact by the public (and the military) because that's the only way they could come to grips with how someone like Custer could be defeated by a group of "savages". Custer's defeat was a defeat in detail. He separated the wings of his regiment as he had at the Washita. The river and the Eastern bluffs inhibited two of these wings from aiding each other (Custer sent Reno over the river to attack the village, while he and his 5 troops remained East of the river). The third wing under Benteen dawdled in their support of either wing. The Indians were able to successfully take on each wing in detail, and prevent Reno & Benteen from coming to Custer's aid until it was too late.
Another significant factor in the defeat was in the quantity of repeating arms (especially Winchesters) in the hands of the Indians. They were able to concentrate great firepower at pivotal points during the battle.
Custer's separating his command under other circumstances may not have been the mistake it became. But geography played a role in making it so.
see where soldiers were when they were killed (or where they were found, the Indians took their dead with them)
The markers aren't an accurate portrayal of body locations. They can be generally used to indicate where bodies were found, but many are misplaced, some of the markers meant for the Reno fight were place on the Custer portion of the battleground. Also, the markers near Deep Coulee are especially misplaced because of how the burial was conducted.