Riverboat Pilot Grant Marsh and His Record-Setting Run
Grant Marsh is known beyond the realm of Little Bighorn lore. In fact, a statue stands in his honor along the Missouri River in Yankton, South Dakota. Before the Sioux Campaign of 1876 Marsh...
Category: Bios: Scouts, Interpreters, Warriors and Chiefs
James Butler Hickok: Another Legendary “Long Hair” And His Custer Connection
Rather than mark the birth date of another Little Bighorn player, today’s post marks the anniversary of a legend’s death. In reality, he was not at or even near the Little Bighorn when its...
Theodore Goldin: Questionable Storyteller
Theodore Goldin: A Questionable AccounCountless individuals claimed to have been the sole survivor of Custer’s battalion. One writer speculates that they outnumber the actual soldiers in the command. At the same time, several of...
Comanche, Rescued Seventh Cavalry Mascot
On June 28th, Montana Column saviors and Reno/Benteen survivors were sent to bury the bodies of Custer’s battalion. They found a sole survivor remaining on the field. No soldiers had been left alive, but...
“At The Death:” Reporter Mark Kellogg’s Final Dispatch: (“I Go With Custer . . .”)
Mark Kellogg was a Bismarck Daily Tribune reporter who accompanied the 7th Cavalry in 1876. In fact, he rode out with Custer on his final mission June 22. Some confusion seems to prevail regarding...
The Metzger/Myles Keogh Connection and the Little Bighorn’s Bravest Soldier
History often connects through intriguing coincidence. Several such occurrences connect the 1866 Fetterman Fight with the Little Bighorn. The annihilation of an entire force is one. An impetuous cavalry commander could be another. A...
Trumpeter John Martin and His Life-Saving Dispatch At The Little Bighorn
The morning of June 25th, 1876, Lt. Colonel Custer directed his officers to report as soon as each had ensured his company was ready to proceed. Lt. Edward Godfrey complained in his journal that...
Two Moon and Wooden Leg: Cheyennes Who Shared In Honors
On March 17, 1876 a Cheyenne winter camp suffered a surprise dawn attack by troops under General George Crook. Crook led the Wyoming Column, one of three army contingents sent forth by General Phil...
Fred Girard and Frank Gruard: Scouts And Interpreters With Confusing Consonants
Many have read casually about the Little Bighorn and related events. Most have likely confused Fred Girard and Frank Gruard. Although their names bear only small similarities, the two performed similar roles and services...
Benteen: A Brave But Bitter Battalion Leader
One can hardly mention Marcus Reno without also discussing Captain Frederick W. Benteen. Both served under Custer, and both detested him in similar ways. Not that they necessarily like each other, either. Benteen once...
