Reva, South Dakota Reva, South Dakota Reva is an unincorporated community in Harding County, South Dakota, United States. Although not tracked by the Census Bureau, Reva has been assigned the ZIP code of 57651. The community has the name of Reva Bonniwell, the daughter of a first settler. The Battle of Slim Buttes occurred here on September 9–10, 1876, in the Great Sioux Reservation between the United States Army and Miniconjou Sioux during the Great Sioux War of 1876. It marked the first significant victory for the Army since the stunning defeat of General George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in
Battle of the Little Bighorn bad press and found ways to exculpate Custer. They blamed the defeat on the Indians' alleged possession of numerous repeating rifles and the overwhelming numerical superiority of the warriors. The widowed Elizabeth Bacon Custer, who never remarried, wrote three popular books in which she fiercely protected her husband's reputation. She lived until 1933, thus preventing much serious research until most of the evidence was long gone. In addition, Captain Frederick Whittaker's 1876 book idealizing Custer was hugely successful. Custer as a heroic officer fighting valiantly against savage forces was an image popularized in "Wild West" extravaganzas hosted by showman "Buffalo