Sergeant Daniel Kanipe: Custer’s First Fortunate Courier

Born on April 15, 1853 near Marion, North Carolina, Daniel Kanipe enlisted in the U.S. Army August 7, 1872 at the age of 19. His military career, like the rest of his life, would be solid but largely unremarkable – except for one fortuitous fact.

In fact, that one fortunate assignment made the rest of Kanipe’s life possible.

On June 25, 1876 Kanipe rode with Company C, his assigned troop, under Captain Tom Custer. Custer’s brother George (Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer) had divided his command four ways. He had sent three troops with Major Reno and  three with Captain Benteen. He assigned one company, under Captain Thomas McDougal, to escort the regiment’s pack mules and act as a rear guard.

Kanipe’s troop was one of five that were annihilated with Custer. However, Kanipe had received an assignment that spared his life. Tom Custer relayed an order to Kanipe to ride back, find Captain McDougal, and tell him to hurry forward with the packs. Those packs included large amounts of much-needed ammunition.

Pack mules were an interesting link in the chain of events that led to the Little Bighorn. (A later post will examine the topic further.) On the night of June 24, 1876, a hardtack crate had fallen from a pack mule during a forced march. Custer had planned to rest his regiment and their mounts on June 25^th.

However, Custer sent a sergeant back to retrieve the lost rations. He found the crate, along with two Indians who were eating the contents. The Indians fled, and the soldier reported the matter back at the main command. Tom Custer reported the incident to the commander. (Later accounts from the Crow and Ree scouts state other “hostiles” had seen the regiment too.)

Custer realized his command had been spotted. He felt he must press the attack before the large gathering of “hostiles” escaped. Forging ahead, he divided his command as he approached their large village.

Custer sent Captain Benteen far to the south to search for hostiles and cut off any escape in that direction. He assigned Major Reno to attack the village’s south end. He took his own five troops northward, apparently intending to strike the hostiles from the flank or rear.

However, Custer had never yet actually seen the size of the village or the force he would encounter. He had ignored his scouts’ warnings as well. (Yet another topic for another time.)

After finally ascending a high knoll on the east side of the Little Bighorn, Custer finally got a look at the encampment, or at least a large portion of it. It extended for miles along the river’s west bank. He also apparently saw what he thought to be Indians fleeing.

Custer had separated from his battalion, taking only an orderly and a few scouts.

His plans appear to have changed at that point, but he knew he would need more ammunition. Thus, he sent the first of two messengers to hurry the ammunition packs toward him and bring Benteen’s battalion into the fray.

The first assignment went to Sergeant Daniel Kanipe as described above. The chain of communication is a bit curious. No written message appears to have been sent, unless it remained with Captain Tom Custer. Kanipe’s later account simply says his captain told him to go back and deliver the orders that had just been issued by “General’ Custer.

Now that Custer had surveyed the village his troops joined him. They advanced at a gallop. Some had trouble reining their mounts back and galloped past Custer. Kanipe recounted that as he rode away, Custer shouted, “Boys, hold your horses. There are plenty of them down there for us all.”

Feeling he had drawn the short straw, Kanipe summed up his account, “They rode on. I rode back.”  He backtracked and dutifully relayed Custer’s message to Captain McDougal. He then located Captain Benteen and relayed the same order.

Major Reno’s attack quickly turned to retreat. It has long been the topic of much heated debate. Most of his battalion fled or straggled up to a high point on the bluffs east of the Little Bighorn. McDougal’s pack train soon found him there after fending off scattered attacks along the way.

Benteen’s command also reached Reno’s demoralized and disorganized troops on the bluffs. Kanipe’s later account states that he remained with Benteen after delivering Custer’s orders. He was unable to return to his assigned “C” troops due to hostiles massed between Custer’s battalion and the troops Kanipe had joined. Because Kanipe had been dispatched with amended orders, however, he lived a full life — unlike the rest of his troop and the others with Custer.

Kanipe was discharged from the army either in 1877, at the end of his five-year enlistment, or in 1887 (sources vary, likely due to a “typo.”) He farmed past the age of 50 and then worked 20 years for the Internal Revenue Service. Only a few other factors in his life bear mention.

Kanipe’s later account mentions a First Sergeant Bobo, who died with Custer. Bobo and his wife were also from North Carolina. Bobo’s wife, Missouri Anne, had married at the age of 15 and was now widowed. On April 12,1877, less than a year after the battle, Kanipe married Bobo’s widow and helped in raising Bobo’s two young sons. The couple appears to have added eight children of their own.

Kanipe’s account of the Little Bighorn campaign seems not to have reached print until April 27, 1924, nearly 50 years after the battle. It offers interesting insights including commentary related to Custer’s Trader Post Testimony. It also includes an opinion on Custer’s lack of artillery. However, Kanipe had ended up with Reno’s command. He could not have known how Custer’s battle really played out.

One amateur student of the Little Bighorn battle has written attempting to discredit Kanipe’s story. The lack of a written dispatch does lead to questions. At least two other accounts surfaced from survivors who claimed to have left Custer’s battalion en route to Reno’s. One has been the source of at least one totally bizarre myth involving Custer, a lone Crow scout and a captured Sioux woman.

However, the other accounts have been widely discredited. On the other hand, Kanipe is mentioned as a messenger by several other credible survivors. His story seems to add up. It meshes with other credible accounts.

Kanipe received an honorable discharge upon leaving the army. Captain Thomas McDougall received Kanipe’s dispatch at the Little Bighorn. He later wrote in a letter of recommendation:

“Sergeant Kanipe is an honest, sober, trustworthy man that always did his duty well, gaining the entire respect of the officers of his regiment, as also the enlisted men. I cannot too highly recommend him for any position of trust that may be given him, knowing that he will perform all duties well that are entrusted to him, with honesty, faithfulness, courage and loyalty to those who employ him… This soldier’s record is good all through, and I gladly recommend him for any position he may seek…. His hard service entitles him to great consideration.”

It appears he was dutifully dependable both at, and after, the Little Bighorn.