Comanche, Rescued Seventh Cavalry Mascot

On June 28^th, 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 a single salvageable cavalry mount remained.

The horse was too wounded, apparently, to be of value even to the Sioux or Cheyenne. As Plains Indians, those tribes treasured good horseflesh. However, that mount left on the field was not the only wounded horse left behind.

Other Survivors

Comanche is often described as the battle’s sole cavalry survivor. Of course that is not entirely accurate. An unknown number of additional cavalry mounts had been taken by the Sioux and Cheyenne. Months later, in the continuing conflict, horses bearing the U.S. brand were found in dispersed villages of non-treaty tribes.

“Horse Holders” Reduced the Fighting Force by 1/4

It might be mentioned again that in standard cavalry operations, members were often required to count off by fours. The fourth man was designated as a “horse holder.” He was out of action, holding his mount along with those of three other soldiers.

Private Wm. O. Taylor described this process on the morning of June 25^th. He had “drawn the short straw,” so to speak, finding himself as a fourth man. During much of Reno’s fiasco following his initial charge, Taylor was inert, merely holding his horse and those of three other privates.

It was likely not new to the Sioux and Cheyenne that every fourth soldier stayed out of action as a “horse holder.” Several accounts relate how they waved and snapped blankets around the held horses, trying to stampede them. It has even been stated that they tried to pick the horse holders off, thereby freeing the horses.

This tactic yielded several benefits. First, it left the attacking cavalry on foot. Also, half of the 100 rifle rounds each soldier carried were in his saddle bags. Without his horse, a soldier lost half his ammunition. Thirdly, of course, the horses could be captured and used by the Indians. They treasured these “spoils” of battle.

Other Equine Casualties

Even on the battlefield, other wounded horses remained when burial parties arrived. Only Comanche, however, was deemed salvageable. Even that might have been due to the sentiments of Lt. Henry Nowlan, best friend of Myles Keogh, who had owned Comanche. Other horses were deemed unsalvageable. Sadly, they had to be “put down” (shot).

Comanche was also severely injured, bearing as many as seven new battle wounds. At least one coincided with a severe bullet wound that had shattered Keogh’s left leg. The wounds included four in or near the mount’s forequarters, one in each hind leg, and one to a hoof. Blood also stained Comanche’s mane. He was not wounded there, and it has been surmised the blood could only have been Keogh’s.

These were hardly Comanche’s first battle wounds, but a bit more background or is in order.

Comanche and Keogh

The army regularly bought both beef for food and horses for transportation. Comanche was one of 41 horses bought in St. Louis in 1868 by Tom Custer, then a 1^st Lieutenant. Upon seeing him at Fort Leavenworth, where the mounts were taken for branding and processing, Keogh took a strong liking the horse.

An Irishman, Keogh had been a mounted soldier in Europe. After serving in the Union Army through America’s Civil War, he joined the 7^th Cavalry as a captain when it was formed in 1866. Officers often bought personal mounts to suit themselves (e.g. Custer’s favorite mounts “Vic” and Dandy.), but often bought them privately. Keogh, however, bought Comanche from the army as a second mount for $90.

Not that Comanche was the horse’s name at the time. It is said that on September 13, 1868 he received his name after an Indian skirmish on the Cimarron River. Unknown to Keogh at the time, the horse was wounded by an arrow that had broken off. Although skittish, the mount continued to serve admirably.

The remaining arrow shaft and head were removed by a cavalry farrier, but another soldier had witness the wounding. He said that when the arrow struck, the horse had squalled as loudly as a Comanche Indian. Keogh named the horse Comanche then and there. The stalwart, dependable horse sustained another arrow wound in 1870. He also suffered an undetermined shoulder wound in 1871 while Keogh was posted in Kentucky on Reconstruction duty.

The Bravest Man the Sioux Ever Fought?

An unknown soldier has been described by at least two Indian survivors as “the bravest man the Sioux ever fought.” We can only speculate as to that soldier’s identity, but Keogh somewhat fits the description, having long, dark hair and a big moustache. (After five weeks of campaigning, his hair may have been longer than what existing photos reflect.)

The brave soldier was  described as riding a sorrel horse with a white face and three white stockings. However, that doesn’t closely describe Comanche. Also, it was said a particular Cheyenne later took possession of the soldier’s horse.

Maybe Comanche sustained more wounds after the Cheyenne took him, but that seems unlikely. Therefore the description probably does not fit Keogh.

Regardless, Keogh’s body was stripped of its uniform. Unlike other soldiers, though, his body was not mutilated after the battle. As noted in earlier posts, he wore a Catholic Pro Petri Sede medal, which was left around his neck. Either the medal was viewed as “strong medicine” by the victors, or he had conducted himself in such a way as to earn their respect for his bravery. Comanche may have played a part.

Worth The Effort

Keogh’s friend Nowlan chose to make the effort to save Comanche. The horse was later described as having wounds that were “serious, but not necessarily fatal if looked after properly . . .” The account was given by farrier John Rivers of I troop, Keogh’s company, to a Bismarck Tribune reporter on May 10 of 1878.

Rivers stated that Comanche had been found huddled in a ravine but had been “raised up and tenderly cared for.” Three bullets were reported as being removed on the battlefield and a fourth was removed back at Fort Abraham Lincoln the next year. Comanche was not big for a cavalry mount, but he was tough if nothing else.

(In 1868 the horse was processed as “a 925-pound cross listed as ¾ American and ¼ Spanish descent.” Indian ponies, descendants of Spanish mustangs, were known for being smaller than cavalry mounts.)

A Tough Trip To the River For the Wounded

How Comanche was moved to the steamboat 15 miles downriver is uncertain. One account states he was carried by wagon, but that seems very unlikely. Both Custer’s and Gibbon’s commands had relied on pack mules for moving supplies. No record of a wagon at the battlefield seems to exist.

Even if a wagon had reached the battlefield, its usefulness for moving a wounded horse over rough ground seems extremely improbable. Gatling guns were taken off their limbers in an effort to move the wounded soldiers via wheeled contrivances, but that option was quickly found unworkable across the rough and often-steep terrain.

It appears the wounded Comanche had to walk, limp or hobble the rough and uneven 15 miles down to the steamer Far West. From there, however, he received almost hallowed treatment. One account says a stall was improvised between the rudders, where he was supported by a sling. He was taken the 700 miles downriver to Fort Abraham Lincoln with the wounded soldiers.

Comanche’s Later Life

All accounts state that Comanche was adopted as a regimental mascot from that point forward. He seemed to embody the resilience needed and admired by the shaken troops. He was carefully nursed back to health by blacksmiths Gustavus Korn and John Rivers.

It appears wives and other young ladies at the fort enjoyed riding Comanche after his convalescence, and a rivalry or competition for him ensued. By April 10, 1878 Colonel Samuel Sturgis issued the order that Comanche not be ridden or put to work by anyone from that time forward.

Sturgis, still grieving the loss of his son James at the Little Bighorn, appreciated what Comanche represented. His order included the words, “Though wounded and scarred, his very silence speaks in terms more eloquent than words of the desperate struggle against overwhelming odds . . .” He decreed that Comanch be saddled, bridled and led by a mounted trooper of I Troop (Keogh’s) and paraded with the regiment in all ceremonial occasions in which the regiment rode in formation.

Comanche was allowed to roam freely about the post. He followed Korn like a pet. He also apparently developed a taste for beer (not too surprising for a beast that feeds on grain). He was reputed to have begged for buckets of the stuff at the enlisted men’s canteen.

After Korn was killed at Wounded Knee in 1890, Comanche was said to have appeared despondent. Although not young (he was listed as 5 years old in 1868) his health failed steadily. He died November 6, 1891.

Preserved for Posterity

A taxidermist/naturalist at the University of Kansas made a life-sized mount of Comanche on the condition the mount would remain in the school’s museum in Lawrence. The it was restored in 2005. Thankfully, it stays inside a climate-controlled display where vandals can’t steal tail hairs “for good luck” before exams.

Comanche’s coloration has been described alternately as sorrel, or claybank, or bay dun. The horse’s appearance is not impressive, and it apparently never was. He was beloved by Keogh, though, and the two together form a heart-warming story, one of the few positives remaining from the battle along the Little Bighorn.