The Last Days of George Armstrong Custer (47 page)

The best account of news of Custer's defeat can be found in “Montana Editors and the Custer Battle,” by Myers, which has been reprinted in
The Great Sioux War 1876–77,
edited by Hedren. See also “Why Helena Instead of Bozeman Scooped the News in 1876” in
The Custer Myth,
edited by Graham.

Excellent information about Mitch Bouyer can be found in Gray's
Custer's Last Campaign: Mitch Bouyer and the Little Bighorn Reconstructed
. See also:
Memoirs of a White Crow Indian,
by Marquis; “Mitch Bouyer, a Scout for Custer,” by Hickox; and a letter from W. B. Logan, Fort Belknap Agency, to Walter Camp, dated May 17, 1909, in the Walter Camp Collection, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University. In 1987, it was announced that bone fragments discovered on the battlefield had been identified as belonging to Bouyer.

The remarkable journey of the
Far West
can be found in
The Conquest of the Missouri: Being the Story of the Life and Exploits of Captain Grant Marsh,
by Hanson.

The letter to Libbie Custer from Major Joseph G. Tilford was quoted from
General Custer's Libbie,
by Frost. The original was part of Frost's personal collection.

Final resting places of the officers who were killed on June 25, 1876, are as follows:

First Lieutenant James Calhoun—Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, August 3, 1877

First Lieutenant William W. Cooke—Hamilton Cemetery, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Second Lieutenant John J. Crittenden—Custer National Cemetery, September 11, 1931

Captain Thomas W. Custer—Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, August 3, 1877

Dr. James M. DeWolf—Woodlawn Cemetery, Norwalk, Ohio, August 1, 1877

Second Lieutenant Henry M. Harrington—body never found

Second Lieutenant Benjamin H. Hodgson—Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, October 1877

Captain Myles W. Keogh—Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York, October 25, 1877

Dr. George E. Lord—Custer National Cemetery

Second Lieutenant Donald McIntosh—Arlington National Cemetery, July 28, 1909

First Lieutenant James E. Porter—body never found

Second Lieutenant William V. W. Reily—Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Washington, D.C., August 3, 1877

First Lieutenant Algernon E. Smith—Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, August 3, 1877

Second Lieutenant James G. Sturgis—body never found

Captain George W. Yates—Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, August 3, 1877

Harry “Autie” Reed was killed alongside his three uncles on Custer Hill and temporarily buried on the field. His body was later exhumed and reinterred in Woodlawn Cemetery in Monroe in January 1878. His name on the battle monument is listed as “Arthur Reed.” See “Autie Reed's Last Letters,” by O'Neil.

Boston Custer was initially buried on the battlefield. His body was exhumed in 1878 and reinterred in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery in Monroe, Michigan. See: “Letters from Boston Custer,” by O'Neil.

The best source for this subject is
The Custer Battle Casualties: Burials, Exhumations, and Reinterments,
by Hardorff. See also “With the Indian and the Buffalo in Montana,” by McClernand, an officer with Gibbon's column who witnessed the burials.

George Armstrong Custer's funeral is covered in “The Funeral of General Custer,”
Harper's Weekly
(October 27, 1877), and “Custer's Burial Revisited: West Point, 1877,” by Barnard.

Chapter Fifteen

Custer's Avengers

The best overall account of the period immediately following the Little Bighorn battle is in
Frontier Regulars
, by Utley. See also:
Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876–77,
by Greene;
War-Path and Bivouac,
by Finerty; and
The Great Sioux War 1876–77,
edited by Hedren. For a detailed account of Colonel Miles' 1876–77 campaign, see
Yellowstone Command,
by Green.

The story of Cody's “duel” can be found in
First Scalp for Custer: The Skirmish at Warbonnet Creek, Nebraska, July 17, 1876,
by Hedren, as well as in any Cody biography.

The Slim Buttes battle is covered nicely in
Slim Buttes, 1876: An Episode of the Great Sioux War,
by Greene and
Campaigning with Crook,
by King.

The text of the Agreement of August 15, 1876, in which the Sioux signed over the Black Hills, has been reprinted from the
U.S. Statutes at Large, 19,
which has been conveniently reprinted in the appendix of
Custer's Gold: The United States Cavalry Expedition of 1874,
by Jackson.

The Dull Knife battle is covered in
Mackenzie's Last Fight with the Cheyennes,
by Bourke,
The Fighting Cheyennes,
by Grinnell, and
The Dull Knife Fight,
by Werner.

The best source for the Wolf Mountain battle is “The Battle of Wolf Mountain,” by Rickey; see also
Faintly Sounds the War-Cry: The Story of the Fight at Battle Butte,
by Werner.

For the Lame Deer fight, see “The Last Fight of the Sioux War of 1876–77,” by McBlain.

The flight of Dull Knife and Little Wolf has been sympathetically and vividly portrayed in
Cheyenne Autumn,
by Sandoz.

The surrender and death of Crazy Horse can be found in any of the previously mentioned biographies of him. See also:
The Killing of Crazy Horse,
by Clark and Friswold; “Chief Crazy Horse, His Career and Death,” by Brininstool; “The Man Who Killed Crazy Horse,” by Carroll; and chapter 5, “The Death of Crazy Horse,” in
Camp on Custer,
edited by Liddic and Harbaugh.

The Nez Percé War can be found in
The Flight of the Nez Perce: A History of the Nez Perce War,
by Brown.

For Sitting Bull's adventures in Canada, see “Sitting Bull and the Mounties,” by Anderson. The surrender and death of Sitting Bull can be found in any of the previously mentioned biographies of him. Also see:
My Friend, the Indian,
by McLaughlin; “The True Story of the Death of Sitting Bull,” by Fechet; and “Surrender of Sitting Bull,” by Allison.

A few of the better sources for the Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee affair are:
Eyewitness at Wounded Knee,
by Carter, Jensen, and Paul;
Wovoka and the Ghost Dance,
edited by Lynch;
The Ghost Dance Religion and Wounded Knee,
by Mooney; and
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,
by Brown.

Chapter Sixteen

Mysteries, Myths, and Legends

The mystery of the missing bodies from Company E has been covered in most books about the battle—in particular Hammer's
Custer in '76
and King's
Massacre
. One 350-page book, Michno's
Mystery of E Troop,
has been dedicated to the subject and should have been condensed into a short article. Michno's conclusion, incidentally, was that the bodies could have been found in an adjoining ravine.

The intriguing story of Harrington is covered in Hammer's
Custer in '76
; “Another Custer Mystery,” published in the
Pony Express Courier,
Placerville, California, August 1936; and “Echoes of the Custer Tragedy,” by Scott. Another version of Gall's story about a trooper committing suicide is told by King in his “Custer's Last Battle,” which has been reprinted in
The Custer Reader,
edited by Hutton. King states that a year after the battle one of the Sioux pursuers of this rider pointed out a skeleton to officers of the Fifth Cavalry. King also writes that three years after the battle Harrington's watch was returned to his father after being traded by a Sioux who had fled to Canada.

There is no lack of information about the horse Comanche, with my “The Story of Comanche” leading the way. See also:
Comanche (the Horse That Survived the Custer Massacre),
by Amaral;
Comanche of the Seventh,
by Leighton;
His Very Silence Speaks,
by Lawrence; and
Keogh, Comanche and Custer,
by Luce.

Red Horse's statement about the bravest man can be found in
The Custer Myth,
edited by Graham. Luce's version is in his
Keogh, Comanche and Custer,
and Stewart's story is in his
Custer's Luck
. The statement by Cheyenne chief Two Moon can be found in the article “General Custer's Last Fight as Seen by Two Moon,” by Garland. Cheyenne warrior Wooden Leg's version is in
Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer,
by Marquis.

Those historians who believe Keogh was the bravest man include Kuhlman in his
Legend into History,
Rosenberg in his
Custer and the Epic of Defeat,
and Miller, who interviewed seventy-one Indian survivors of the battle for his
Custer's Fall.

Curley's story can be found in “Was There a Custer Survivor?” by Brininstool;
Indian Fights and Fighters,
by Brady; and “Unwritten Seventh Cavalry History,” by Brininstool.

A collection of newspaper clippings and personal material about Frank Finkel's claim can be found in the Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Public Museum. His story can be found in Stewart's
Custer's Luck
.

The William Heath mystery is covered in
The Billings Gazette,
June 28, 1999.

A list of the signers of the Enlisted Men's Petition can be found in
The Custer Myth,
edited by Graham.

Chapter Seventeen

Clearing the Smoke from the Battlefield

The most convenient reprint of Terry's order to Custer can be found in Stewart's
Custer's Luck,
249–50.

Just about every volume that chronicles the battle discusses Terry's orders. In addition to those, some of the best sources include:
Did Custer Disobey Orders at the Battle of the Little Big Horn?
by Kuhlman;
“Sufficient Reason?” An Examination of Terry's Celebrated Order to Custer,
by Taunton;
Indian Fights and Fighters,
by Brady;
Custer and the Great Controversy,
by Utley; and “A Modern Look at Custer's Orders,” by O'Neil and Vandenberg.

Terry went as far as to delay the departure of the
Far West,
with the wounded aboard, in order to closet himself with his staff to craft a report that would deflect criticism from him as much as possible. That claim can be found in Walker's
Dr. Henry R. Porter
. The statement from Terry that Custer would have faced a court-martial can be found in the
Chicago Times,
September 16, 1876.

The remarks from Mary Adams are in Graham's
Custer Myth,
279. Graham's work also includes other quotes and opinions about this subject from participants.

The controversy about readiness arose from an article, “Varnum, Reno and the Little Bighorn,” written by W. J. Ghent for
Winners of the West
. In this article, battle participant Second Lieutenant Charles Varnum alleged that the number of recruits participating in the battle was greatly exaggerated at the Court of Inquiry in order to aid Reno's case. Varnum went on to claim that most of the new recruits had been left back at the Powder River base camp and that no company had more than two recruits on the march. Regimental records confirm that statement.

The opinion about how soldiers respond under fire can be attributed to the author, a United States Marine Corps Vietnam veteran.

With respect to the malfunction issues concerning the Springfield carbines, the best source is Fox in his excellent
Archaeology, History, and Custer's Last Battle
. See also: “Carbine Extractor Failure at the Little Big Horn,” by Hedren and “The Cartridge Case Evidence on Custer Field,” by Trinque.

Custer's refusal to drag along Gatling guns has been covered in Noyes' “The Guns ‘Long Hair' Left Behind.” Kit Carson's battle at Adobe Walls can be found in my
The Blue, the Gray, and the Red
.

A grasping at straws allegation of Custer's ambition to quickly end the battle and arrive triumphantly at the Democratic Convention to accept the presidential nomination is in Sandoz's
Battle of the Little Bighorn
. Red Star's account appears in “The Arikara Narrative of the Campaign Against the Hostile Dakotas,” edited by Libby. Another embellishment of Red Star's alleged statement can be found in
Custer's Fall: The Indian Side of the Story,
by Miller. See also
Custer for President?
by Repass.

Chapter Eighteen

What Really Happened?

The conclusions contained in this chapter are based on the training, experiences, and observations of the author as a United States Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, as well as his lifelong study of military tactics and history.

Custer's quote about the difference between training and actual combat can be found in Carroll's
Custer in the Civil War,
101–2.

Chapter Nineteen

Heroes and Villains

The best source for the establishment of the battlefield as a national monument is
History of Custer Battlefield,
by Don Rickey, Jr. Rickey, a former historian at the battlefield, provides answers to just about every possible question. See also Rickey's “Myth to Monument: The Establishment of Custer Battlefield National Monument.” For material about the controversial name change, see “Whose Shrine Is It? The Ideological Struggle for Custer Battlefield,” by Utley. Superintendent Baker's “Attack at Dawn” was reported by
The New York Times
on June 23, 1996.