Anniversaries and such

This past week saw two anniversaries.



The first was the third anniversay of my "public" wedding to Miss Heidi. That was a blast. Hard to beleive it's only been three years.



The second is of one of the most contreversial military engagements of the Old West. Custer's Last Stand.



It was the summer of 1876. Generals Terry and Crook were in the field to return the Souix and Cheyennes back to the reservations. From Ft Abraham Loncoln, LTC George Armstrong Custer led an independant column consisting of his 7th U.S. Cavalry. Custer's orders were to make contact, but not attack any large villages until Terry arrived.



The 24th, Custer's scout discovered a broad trail. Custer moved in, but when the indians discovered his presence, he decided to attack. The agents had reported only approx. 2000 men women and children at large. Custer considered his force large enough to enage and defeat the village.



On June 25th, Custer deployed his forces and attacked. Major Marcus Reno led a charge straight into the village. He met heavy resistance, and decided to fall back across the river. Despite confusion and indicisiveness on the part of Reno, his command managed to establish a defensive position on on ridge above the village. Captain Frederick Benteen lead 2 companies of the 7th through the broken ground south of the village to prevent escape from that sectore, as Custer took the bulk of the command around to the back side of the village to cut off the indians escape.

Armchair Generals still critisize General Custer for splitting his command in this manner. They over look the fact that at that time and place, it was a stanard manuver. Unless the odds were enormously in their favor, most warriors would fight a rear guard action as the women and children fled. Unfortuntlay for Custer, Crazy Horse had fought General George Crooke to a stand still on the Rosebud on the 17th. Bouyed by that victory and Sitting Bull's medicine, the Soiux and Cheyenne warriors had no intention of retreating that day.

Custer's first real sign of trouble was when he and the lead elements of his battalion came out of the coolie and crossed the Little Big Horn. Instead of being behind the village, he was only a third of the way along side of it. The agents had under estimated the number of Indians in camp. Instead of facing some 600 warriors, the 7th Cavalry was going against over 2000 of the best light Cavalry the world had ever seen. The battalion was decimated, Commanche, CPT Keough's mount being the only survivor. Reno's battalion took heavy casualties as well, but held off until General Terry's arrival on June 27th.

The best description of this battle can be found in King's "Indian Fights & Indian Fighters." First published in 1909, it has been reprinted a number of times by various University presses. Even with the new archelogic eveidence uncovered after various fires and floods, the account still stands, despite revisionists.

Keep your Powder dry