His Name and Nickname

It is well known in Custer lore that George, as a boy, took on the nickname “Autie.” His first attempts, as a toddler, in trying to say his middle name had come out that way. The nickname stuck with Custer more or less for life, In turn his nephew Harry Armstrong Reed was known more by that nickname than by his given name.

The Reed Relationship

Emmanuel Custer, George’s father, had lost his first wife to illness. He was left with two surviving children. He then married Maria Ward Kirkpatrick, who was also widowed the same year. She had two children, David and Lydia. George and three more boys would be born to the new marriage. The families would become close-knit and fun-loving.

George left New Rumley, Ohio to live with his half-sister Lydia Ann. She had married David Reed and lived in Monroe, Michigan. She would have a profound influence on George’s life both during and after the completion of his schooling. Harry Armstrong “Autie” Reed was born to the couple, along with four girls.

Lydia’s Life-Long Influence

Custer completed his schooling in Monroe, then taught in the area for a year. He sought and obtained an appointment to the West Point military academy.  

George’s class graduated early and was thrust into America’s new Civil War. He stayed with the Reeds, though, while on sick leave from the Union Army in 1862. He returned there on furlough the next year.

It was there that Lydia Reed chided George after his boisterous and apparent drunken celebration. She elicited from him a vow of temperance, which he appears to have kept thereafter. He refused even wine at formal dinners. Along with Custer’s wife, Libby, she later led Custer to make a public personal commitment to Christianity.

Adulation and Adventure

It can only be assumed that young Harry, or Autie, grew up adoring his uncle George. Then, at the ripe young age of 18 Harry Armstrong Reed traveled with his sister Emma to Fort Abraham Lincoln, arriving in May of 1876. Like other Custer family members (another topic to come), Autie Reed was employed as a civilian beef herder for the Seventh Cavalry.

George Armstrong Custer rode out on June 22, 1876 for what would be his final foray. His adventurous nephew Autie Reed rode along. Reed apparently was freed of his herding duties, and he continued unassigned with Custer’s 12 troops. He then accompanied the five troops that rode with Custer in their attack at the Little Bighorn. None survived.

More will be written about Custer relatives in coming weeks. Not much information is readily available regarding Custer’s young, adventurous and adoring nephew Autie Reed. His presence in the final advance seems to indicate an audacious overconfidence on Custer’s part. His death is one of the many tragedies that transpired at the Little Bighorn.

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A soldier’s life and duty at remote outposts was often drudging, boring and monotonous – at least when they weren’t fighting. Occasional humor helped break the monotony of their lives. In this case it made light of their diet, or rations, too.

First was Fort Rice. This was a military fort established in 1864. It was named for Civil War (Union) General James Clay Rice. Rice had died honorably in the battle at Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. The fort named for him sat on the Missouri River in what was then Dakota Territory.

Fort Rice was established in order to protect steamboat traffic on the Missouri. It also served as a base for military operations against hostile Indian tribes, mainly the Sioux. These tribes were angered by previous military actions against various Sioux bands after a Sioux uprising in 1862. (President Lincoln had a lot of headaches in a lot of places as the War of Rebellion raged. He truly had to maintain tremendous focus and exert great leadership in order to preserve our nation.)

Several factors led to the 1862 uprising, but war-like actions and atrocities were committed by both sides. Sioux raids continued, leading to the building of Fort Rice.

Fort Rice was a military fort surrounded by a stockade. Initially it stood about 500 feet square, but it was later expanded to larger dimensions in order to hold more soldiers. Just as in the Civil War, more soldiers probably died there from disease than battle wounds. The fort remained in place only until 1878.

Fort Pease was a trade fort, with a stockade, or protective wall, roughly 200 feet (2/3 of a football field) square. It was built along the Yellowstone River in what was then Montana Territory in 1875. A trader named Fellows Pease led a group of 46 trappers and fellow-traders who hoped to trade with nearby peaceful Crow Indians. They also expected to profit from steamboats forging up the Yellowstone, and possibly from an army fort they thought would be built in the area. Together they built Fort Pease with trading in mind.

Fort Pease suffered relentless raids by Miniconjou Sioux through much of the winter in 1875 – 76. One of the traders finally trudged westward in a blizzard to Fort Ellis, the closest army fort. He asked for help, but when U.S. Cavalry troops came to the fort’s rescue, many of its occupants had already left. Major Brisbin, the officer in charge of the army’s relief expedition, required all who remained in Fort Pease or in the area to leave.

As U.S. troops moved down the Yellowstone River later that year (1876), they used the abandoned fort as a supply base. A year later the fort was completely abandoned. It is believed Sioux tribesmen then burned it to the ground.

In July of 1876, after Custer’s annihilation at the Little Bighorn, General Terry found the Yellowstone River becoming shallow. The army had used steamboats to haul horses, men and tons of supplies up the rivers to support their expeditions. After snows had mostly melted from surrounding mountains, however, much of the river became too shallow for steamboats. The army needed a new supply post downstream.

Not far downriver from Fort Pease, the army started a new supply base. With forts in the region named both Rice and Pease, the soldiers jokingly called the new post Fort Beans. (It was not actually an official name.)

When most of an army’s food must be supplied by steamboats, wagons or pack animals, it is important to use foods that are light, durable and easily preserved. (Remember, they had no refrigeration back then.) Dating back through prior wars, soldiers were often fed rice, dried peas, or dried beans.

The reason for this bland and repetitious diet might be obvious: it provides fuel (carbohydrates), and protein, and when dried out these foods are bulky but light. They swell when boiled, making them filling even if they’re not flavorful. They remained easy to preserve when dried. In short, they were a staple of most military diets.

Given this bland and monotonous diet, often accompanied by boring, monotonous duty, it is easy to see why soldiers needed humor. They used it in the name they gave the third of these three forts. It was just a “cantonment,” or supply base, but after Rice and Pease, the name “Fort Beans” seems fitting.

One final note: “desiccated,” or dehydrated, vegetables are referenced in Civil War writings. Apparently they failed to reach Fort Rice amidst that conflict. One of the diseases that plagued Fort Rice was Scurvy. It is an illness often caused by a poor diet. It results mainly from a lack of Vitamin C, which is commonly obtained through fruits and vegetables.

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Due to threat of attacks and raids by various native tribes, most of these posts were, well, fortified. Hence their names. As sad events that unfolded in 1876 and 1877, all three types of fort came into play.

After Europeans discovered the “New World,” many nations went there. They searched for lands and trading opportunities. Just as the native tribes fought over homelands and hunting grounds, European nations fought over territorial claims and potential wealth. That included the fur trade. These nations included France, England, Spain and even Holland.

Russia not only teemed with furs, its adventurers also came across the Pacific Ocean to compete for furs in North America. After America won its independence, many private American companies joined the fur-trade competition. The trade began largely in what is now the eastern United States. The area around the Great Lakes became a hotbed. Many fur forts were established across North America.

These forts increased in number as fur companies pushed westward. The companies soon realized that besides trapping, it was sometimes easier and often more profitable to trade with Indian tribes for furs. Some, especially the Hudson’s Bay company, enticed tribes like the Blackfeet to trade exclusively with them. They incited tribes to avoid or even attack American trappers and traders. Forts were necessary.

Many frontier forts had short life-spans. The heyday of the fur trade was short-lived. Even military forts were often abandoned when no longer needed. The height of the fur trade lasted only a few decades – at most, roughly from 1800 to 1840. Later, most large-scale conflicts between Indian tribes and white settlers on the northern plains fell between 1860 and 1880. After that, both trading forts and army forts were often just abandoned. In some cases towns grew up there instead.

With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United Stated bought much of the land west of the Mississippi River from France. By the time Lewis and Clark made their Voyage of Discovery starting in 1804, many trappers and explorers had already ventured up the Missouri River from a city called St. Louis.

No military forts existed west of the Mississippi River then, but fur companies were establishing many fortified trading posts. Some of them had to be fortified, because the French and British agitated northern Indian tribes. They wanted these tribes to be hostile toward American traders and to trade only with the French and British companies. At times the Indians simply resented any white intruders.

Some fur forts like Fort Union, Fort McKenzie and Fort Owen are examples of trade forts. They were never staffed by our military. Other trade forts along the Yellowstone River lasted only a few years. Still others like Fort Shaw, Fort Abraham Lincoln and Fort Ellis were strictly military forts. It is ironic that none of those forts had outer walls, or stockades.

Ranging northward from Fort Laramie in today’s Wyoming, five forts were built to protect travel on the Bozeman Trail. The Bozeman was an offshoot from the Oregon Trail to newly discovered gold strikes in what would soon be Montana Territory. Most of these forts were stockade army forts. However, after Red Cloud’s relentless attacks, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 resulted in three of the five being abandoned.

Fort Benton, on the Missouri River, began as a fort for trade in furs and buffalo robes. Established in 1846 by the American Fur Company, it was soon moved about 15 miles downriver. In 1850 it was named for Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton. In 1865 it was sold to the Northwest Fur Company, then in 1868 the U.S. Army began using it as a post. It served as a military fort until 1881.

A third type of fort also served military purposes but rarely had walls or other fortifications. These served merely as posts where troops could be based before being deployed elsewhere. Sometimes they served only as a depots for storing the huge amounts of food and equipment needed for supplying soldiers. These ”forts” were sometimes called “cantonments.”

Some of these posts might have been surrounded by berms, or low, sloped walls of dirt in case protection was needed from attackers’ arrows or bullets. Fort Keough was originally called the Tongue River Cantonment. It began as a supply base, but it soon became a garrison for army troops.

In 1877 Colonel Nelson Miles and his troops from Fort Keough played a significant role in area history. They were instrumental in forcing Sioux and Cheyenne bands onto reservations after Custer’s Little Bighorn defeat. They also forced the surrender of Nez Perce bands seeking freedom and peace in Canada.

The term “fort” may seem confusing to newer students of American history, especially the history of the American West. It helps to understand that not all forts were military fortifications. Some were trading posts, especially during early exploration of North America. Some were true military forts and some served only as “garrisons,” or base camps for soldiers and supplies.

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January 31, 1876, a Dead-of-Winter Deadline

Greetings!

From time to time my posts will mark milestone dates in the history of Montana as the Territory neared or passed America’s first centennial. I’ll start with January 31, 1876.

This date, like many, could be called the “beginning of the end.” That “end” might refer to the life and career of the infamous George Armstrong Custer, often referred to as “General” Custer. That “end” might also be the end of free-roaming lifestyles for non-treaty Sioux and Cheyenne tribes who would soon be forced onto reservations.

Again, many different dates or events in that conflict could be titled “the beginning of the end.” This leads to the question of when conflict actually began between those Sioux, Cheyenne (and other allies) and the white men who would be their adversaries. In future posts I’ll try to summarize events that led to the fateful clashes in Montana 150 years ago. For today I’ll discuss the significance of January 31, 1876, 150 years ago today:  

This date, the end of January 1876 had been given by the U.S. Army as a deadline for all non-treaty Sioux and Cheyenne Indians to move onto the “Great Sioux Reservation.” That large chunk of land allotted to the Sioux lay mostly in what is now eastern South Dakota. That deadline had many problems, though.

One issue has to do with treaties between the U.S. government and various Indian tribes across the West. The 1868 (1851) Fort Laramie Treaty tried to end conflicts between the Indian tribes and to allow white settlers to move safely across those tribes’ traditional homelands and hunting grounds. That treaty was signed by some tribal leaders but not all. It was then altered by the U.S. Congress before they ratified it. However, the tribes and their leaders were all scattered by then. They weren’t around to sign the altered treaty, so they believed the first version was what they had agreed to.

Another problem was that those who signed the treaty could not speak for all the tribes or bands, even within their own tribal nations. Some chiefs and leaders such as the Oglalla Sioux chief Crazy Horse and the Hunkpapa Sioux chief Sitting Bull refused to agree to that treaty. Those who did not agree to it were called “non-treaty” Indians. By early 1876 they would be called “hostiles.” Many were hostile.

The 1868 treaty also left lands known as “unceded lands” in which Indians could leave the reservations and hunt traditionally as needed. However, the treaty did not state that white men could not use those lands too. When the Northern Pacific Railroad started to survey a route across those lands, conflicts escalated.

Finally, the Panic of 1873 caused an economic depression that left many white men without jobs back East. Then gold was rumored to be found in the Black Hills. Hordes of miners rushed that way. Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahos all held the Black Hills sacred, and the 1868 treaty gave those Black Hills to the Sioux. Lt. Colonel George Custer led a military expedition there. Commanders claimed it was to keep white men out and keep the Indians safe. However, even Custer’s expedition leaked rumors of “gold at the grass roots,” and the rush got worse. Given the economic depression, the U.S. government appears to have winked at it, or turned a blind eye altogether.

For years the U.S. government and its people had embraced a “Peace Policy” toward nomadic tribes. This included good intentions of educating Indian peoples and teaching them to remain in one place and farm. However, as conflicts with non-treaty Indians grew, the U.S. military decided to force all tribes onto reservations.

One more problem in all of this was dishonest Indian Agents. These men oversaw reservations, or “agencies.” “They were tasked with issuing supplies that had been promised to the tribes that lived there. Treaties had promised supplies of beef, flour, clothing etc. to those who went to live on reservations. All too often, though, sold those supplies to other whites or even charged the reservation residents for them. As a result, Indians often left the reservations to hunt just so they could survive.

One of the biggest issues with the deadline of January 31, 1876 was that it was not just unreasonable, it was completely unrealistic. By the time the order had gone down from the top generals through their various channels (remember, communications were slow 150 years ago, with the cumbersome telegraph being the fastest option) the Indian agents on their agencies did not receive it until December 22, 1875. That left barely more than a month for messengers to notify the tribes that huddled in their winter camps and for those tribes to pack up and move in the dead of winter.

It’s no surprise that few, if any, non-treaty tribes moved by that ridiculous deadline. Sadly, it’s hardly the last time a cruel deadline was dictated against bands of Indians (I’ll write again on that topic, perhaps as late as next year.)

What’s tragic about that ultimatum and deadline 150 years ago today is that it gave the U.S. Army an excuse to start a winter campaign against the “hostiles,” or non-treaty tribes. (Winter military campaigns will be a separate topic in future posts on this site.) Winters were hard for most tribes even without prospects of warfare. In this case it proved tough for the U.S. Army too, even with its many resources. For now, let’s just say that the unreasonable deadline set by General Phillip Sheridan triggered a tragic series of events. It was in many ways – and for many people – the beginning of the end.

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For Younger Readers

Hello Friends. Welcome to Bighorn, Big Hole, and Beyond, or BBBB. I hope you are a history lover just like I am, just like I was from my earliest childhood memories. Looking back to the years even before I started grade school, I recall having a particular interest in the early American West. I thrived on history and historical fiction, and I hope I can make this site as interesting and inviting for you as it would have been for me at a young age.

This site that you have visited is dedicated to discussions and information regarding a few high-points in the history of America and Montana Territory. Over the next few years I plan to touch on events from here in my home state as they commemorate their 150^th anniversaries. Much of the American West was unsettled as America reached its first centennial, or 100^th anniversary. So now, as America celebrates its 250^th birthday I will focus on events that happened during and 1876, America’s centennial year. I’ll look at 1877 events too.

The first of those events is the Battle of the Little Bighorn, in which Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and five troops of the Seventh U.S. Cavalry were completely wiped out. That battle occurred on June 25, 1876, less than two weeks before America celebrated her 100^th birthday. (In a future post I will explain why Custer is still often called “General” Custer.) Through my younger years that fateful battle was usually called Custer’s Last Stand, and it is still often referred to by that name.

The second event, or series of events, is the tragic story of three Nez Perce bands that fled to Montana Territory in search of peace and freedom. They fought a series of battles to defend themselves, both before they reached Montana Territory and as they journeyed through it. Their passage has been called a tactical, defensive retreat. Those events largely ended with a final battle in which they were attacked near the Bear’s Paw, or Bearpaw, Mountains. They finally, tragically surrendered less than 40 miles from Canada, where they sought freedom.

That sad and tragic journey took place in 1877. The 150^th anniversaries of the Big Hole and Bearpaw battles, as well as several others, will be observed in 2027. My discussions and posts will continue as we commemorate those anniversaries too.

As for me, I was blessed not only to be born an American but also to be born and raised in the middle of Montana. My home has long been central to locations and events I will explore and discuss here. Growing up in Fort Benton, Montana on the Missouri River, I was steeped in history, including that of Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery. I was also steeped in history and lore of the Fur Trade Era and much of western settlement. Fur forts and military forts had once dotted the region I called home, and I reveled in many aspects of their history.

On a map, Fort Benton lies directly between the Big Hole battlefield and the Bearpaw Mountains, where the final Nez Perce battle occurred. The Little Bighorn lies hours to the east and south, but near enough for me to visit it at times. I’ve relished the many good-quality museums around the region too. In quality they rival nearly any museum I have seen in more populous areas, and I would venture to say they are often better.

My earliest recollections include a natural desire to be out in the open, wild country that makes up so much of the West. Outdoor pursuits have offered lifelong opportunities to get a feel for these historical landscapes where history unfolded. These lands have always been treasured by those who inhabit them, whether nomadic Plains Indian tribes or the settlers who moved in believing the land was free for the taking. Conflicts that resulted will be discussed in coming months.

My hope is that readers of all ages will receive enjoyment and education here, through painless postings on a few high points in the history of Montana and America. Please visit often, and let me know what you like, what you want me to cover, and what you believe I can do better. Welcome to BBB!

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