Aftermath: Moving the Wounded
Three days after Custer’s devastating defeat, most of June 28th was spent in hasty burials of his 212 dead. Later expeditions, as early as 1877, would exhume remains of Custer and other officers. They...
Category: Little Bighorn
Little Bighorn Burial Details
On June 27th 1876, the Montana Column, with General Terry, reached the main field where Custer had fought his final battle. Before mid-morning Lt. Bradley, after scouting forward on the east side of the...
Lt. Bradley’s Little Bighorn Body Count
On the morning of June 27th General Terry and Colonel Gibbon’s command set forth with little delay. They had been informed by the Crow scouts of Custer’s annihilation. They had also been informed that...
How (and Why) Things Happened At The Little Bighorn June 25, 1876
Volumes have been written, and they continue to be, about the Little Bighorn battle. Little more is warranted here aside from a brief summary of what occurred. It might even serve to answer how...
Pre-fight Premonitions: Prelude to the Little Bighorn
Pre-Fight Premonitions Among the many coincidences that surround the Little Bighorn battle are instances of premonition before the fight. Some can simply be attributed to the fact that 7th Cavalry scouts understood the overwhelming...
Should Custer Have Taken Gatling Guns? (And/Or More Cavalry?)
Based on paintings and Hollywood depictions, most of us likely envision the Little Bighorn battle ending with a “last stand” on what is now known as Last Stand Hill. It’s easy to picture a...
Did Custer Disobey Orders?
Taking Sides Pro-Custer and Anti-Custer factions existed long before his Little Bighorn demise. They had taken root during America’s Civil War. In part, Custer rose in rank quickly and others felt personal or professional...
“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...
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...
Results of Reno’s Powder River “Recon” And His Recalcitrant Rosebud Foray
On June 18, 1876 the detachment under Major Marcus Reno descended Rosebud Creek after an eight-day scout. Reaching its mouth at the Yellowstone River, they camped on the river’s south bank, across from Colonel...
