The Real Custer

by James S Robbins

  19.Quoted in Charles Francis Roe, “Custer’s Last Battle,” a monograph published by the National Highways Association, New York City (1927), 34.

  20.In 1967, the Army Board of Corrections reversed the decision of the court-martial, and Reno was reburied with honors at the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery.

  21.See John S. Gray, “Nightmares to Daydreams,” By Valor and Arms, Journal of American Military History 1 (Summer 1975), 30–39, for information on parties visiting the battlefield.

  22.“Officers Who Died with Custer,” New York Times, August 4, 1877, 5. Lieutenant McIntosh was later transferred to Arlington National Cemetery.

  23.Quoted in New York Times, May 21, 1877, 1. Crittenden’s remains were left buried where he fell until 1931, when they were relocated to the National Cemetery. His isolated gravesite was not being properly cared for, though the family was at first told it was because of a plan to relocate a road.

  24.See “Gen. Custer’s Remains,” New York Times, September 1, 1878.

  25.The spur is in the possession of the Virginia Historical Society. By coincidence, Santa Anna died in Mexico City four days before Custer, at age eighty-two, impoverished and forgotten.

  26.Benny Havens died May 27, 1877, at ninety years.

  27.The full story of the enduring mystery of the Custer statue is in Last in Their Class, 405–8.

  28.“General George A. Custer,” Galaxy, September 1876, 363.

  29.“A Death-Sonnet for Custer,” New York Daily Tribune, July 10, 1876, 5.

  30.Walt Whitman, “Custer’s Last Rally,” Specimen Days. See also Robert Taft, “The Pictorial Record of the Old West. IV. Custer’s Last Stand. John Mulvany, Cassilly Adams, and Otto Becker,” Kansas Historical Quarterly, November 1946, 361–90.

  31.Quoted in “Mrs. Custer’s Army Life,” Atlantic Monthly, September, 1888, 426.

  32.Charles Godfrey Leland, Memoirs (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1893), 333.

  INDEX

  Numbers in italics refer to illustrative material.

  1st Colorado Volunteer regiment, 284

  1st Connecticut Cavalry, 183

  1st Iowa Cavalry, 224–25, 232, 236

  1st Maine Cavalry, 72

  1st Michigan Cavalry, 97

  1st South Carolina Cavalry, 95

  1st Vermont Cavalry, 93, 96, 158–59

  1st Virginia Cavalry, 83–85, 165

  2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, 143, 189

  2nd New York Cavalry, 57, 92, 174, 408

  2nd Ohio Cavalry, 200, 203–4

  2nd Rhode Island regiment, 203

  2nd Wisconsin Cavalry, 224, 227–28

  3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, 60–61, 85

  3rd Virginia Cavalry, 72

  5th Illinois Cavalry, 224

  5th Lighthouse District, 299

  5th Michigan Cavalry, 68, 80, 84, 86, 95–96, 130, 132, 134, 140, 169, 240–41

  5th New York Cavalry, 87, 120

  5th Virginia Cavalry, 72

  6th Michigan Cavalry, 77, 99, 102, 198, 237

  6th New York Independent Battery, 179

  6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, 115

  6th Virginia Cavalry, 71

  7th Indiana Cavalry, 224, 230–32, 237

  7th Michigan Cavalry, 83, 85

  7th U.S. Cavalry, 242

  8th Illinois Cavalry, 168

  8th New York Cavalry, 70, 183

  9th Michigan Cavalry, 106

  9th Virginia Cavalry, 84, 121

  10th Connecticut, 204

  10th Virginia Cavalry, 60

  12th Illinois Cavalry, 224, 232

  13th Virginia Cavalry, 84

  14th Virginia Cavalry, 204

  15th New York Cavalry, 197, 205

  18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, 79

  21st Ohio regiment, 198

  24th New York Cavalry, 72

  34th Virginia Battalion, 83

  51st New York Volunteers, 217

  II Corps, 188

  V Corps, 188, 190–91, 202, 204–5

  VI Corps, 142, 155, 199, 202

  VIII Corps, 144, 155

  XI Corps, 82

  XIX Corps, 142, 155

  A

  abolitionism, 30–31, 33, 36, 246, 298

  Alexander, John H., 173

  Alexander, Porter, 88, 211, 324

  Alexandrovich, Alexei (The Grand Duke), 311–22

  Alger, Russell Alexander, 131, 140, 169, 240–41

  Allison, William B., 348, 351

  Antelope Hills, 283–84

  Appomattox Court House, 203, 213

  Appomattox Station, 196, 202

  Arapaho tribe, 258, 277, 279, 282–83, 288, 292–93, 329, 348

  Army of the East, 125

  Army of the James, 114

  Army Navy Journal, 360

  Army of Northern Virginia, 78–79, 114, 189, 195–96, 210, 262

  Army of the Ohio, 232

  Army of the Potomac, 49, 52, 55, 90, 126, 215, 219

  Army of the Shenandoah, 140

  Army of the Tennessee, 302

  Army of the West, 215

  Army of West Virginia, 140

  Audenreid, Joseph C., 299

  “Aulde Lang Syne,” 219

  Averell, William Woods, 24, 60, 140, 143, 145, 244

  B

  B&O Railroad, 142

  Babcock, Orville E., 208, 357

  Bacon, Albert, 105

  Bacon, Daniel S., 5

  Baker, Laurence, 84

  Baliran, Augustus, 330–31

  Ballard, Stephen H., 80

  Baltimore (dispatch boat), 214

  Baltimore American, 366–67

  Banning Committee, 360

  Banning, Henry B., 358, 360

  Barnard, John G., 55, 57

  Barnitz, Albert, 258, 261–63, 266, 285–87

  Battle of Brandy Station, 70–71, 115

  Battle of Bristoe Station, 100

  Battle of Bull Run, 50, 63

  Battle of Chantilly, 51

  Battle of Fisher’s Hill, 145, 244

  Battle of Franklin, 326

  Battle of Gettysburg, xi, 17, 77–88, 89–90, 112, 115, 123, 167, 299, 379, 415

  Battle of Namozine Church, 198–99

  Battle of New Market, 139

  Battle on the Rosebud, 374–75

  Battle of Seven Pines, 60–61

  Battle of Trevilian Station, 136

  Battle of Williamsburg, 62

  Battle on the Yellowstone, 323–34

  Bayard, Thomas F., 360

  Beal, Thomas B., 91–92

  Bear’s Ears, 339

  Beauregard, P. G. T., 49

  Beaver Dam Station, 118, 128

  Becker, Otto, 417

  Beeson, Chalkley M., 320–22

  Belknap, William Worth, 353, 357–61, 363–64, 410

  Beloir, Mitchell, 133

  Benét, Stephen Vincent, 42

  Bennett (prisoner), 174–75

  Bennett, John W., 158

  “Benny Havens, Oh!” 24, 414

  Benteen, Frederick, 286–89, 291–92, 303, 305–6, 353, 383, 385, 388–90, 392, 395–97, 402, 412,

  Berryhill, Samuel Newton, 147

  Big Head, 294

  Bighorn Mountains, 353, 375, 399

  Bingham, John A., 7, 50, 68, 123, 136, 247

  Bismarck Tribune, 333, 337, 341, 343–44, 354, 372, 407

  Black Bear, 318

  Black Hills, 277, 337–51, 354, 371–72, 411

  Black Kettle, 273, 283–85, 287, 290–91, 293

  Black Republicans, 33, 36, 38

  Blade Moon, 350

  Bleeding Kansas, 30

  Blinn, Clara, 278–79, 289–90

  Blinn, Richard, 278

  Blinn, Willie, 278, 290

  Bloody Knife, 329, 339–40, 382, 386

  “Bonnie Blue Flag,” 202

  Booth, John Wilkes, 216

  Boots and Saddles, 415

  Bowen, Nicholas, 52, 56–57

  Bowman, Alexander H., 27, 108

  Boy
s and Young Men’s Academy, 4

  Bozeman Times, 408

  Braden, Charles, 332, 414

  Bradley, James H., 399

  Bragg, Braxton, 92

  Brave Shield, 318

  Briggs, George R., 84

  Brinton, John H., 127

  Brisbin, J. S., 355

  Bristoe Campaign, 95, 389

  Brooks, Preston, 30

  Brown, John, 30, 36

  Buchanan, James, 38

  Buckland Races, 99–109

  Buel, David H., 258

  Buford, John, 78, 92, 97, 126

  Bulkley, John McClelland, xvi, 4, 107

  Bull Run, 47, 49–50, 53, 63, 71, 176

  Burlington Hawkeye, 257

  Burnside, Ambrose, 63, 68, 115, 232

  Burton’s Ford, 117

  Butler, Benjamin F., 114, 130, 147

  Buttermilk Falls, 23

  Byrnes, Richard, 60–61

  C

  Calhoun, Charlotte, 304

  Calhoun, Fred, 304

  Calhoun Hill, 393–94, 396

  Calhoun, James, 304, 329, 370, 389, 393–94, 401, 413

  Calhoun, Margaret (“Maggie”) Custer, 407, 414

  Camp Alexis, 315–16

  Camp Robinson, 349

  Camp Sturgis, 305

  Capehart, Henry, 188, 192, 198–99, 209, 219

  Carland, John, 401

  Catlett’s Station, 52

  Cavalry Corps, 69, 73, 125–26, 140, 145, 188, 195, 203, 216

  Cerro Gordo, 101–2, 201

  Chamberlain, Joshua, 212, 215

  Chambliss, John R., 81, 97

  Chance, Josiah, 339

  Chandler, Robert, 268

  Chandler, Zachariah, 136, 350, 353–54, 371

  Chapman, Samuel H., 171

  Cheyenne tribe, xi, 258–61, 263, 266–67, 273, 277, 279–80, 283–84, 287, 291–95, 303, 314, 329–30, 339, 348, 355, 375, 380, 385–86, 388–89, 392–93, 410

  Chicago Journal, 339

  Chicago Tribune, 251, 367

  Chief Red Cloud, 258

  Chipman, J. Logan, 252

  Chivington affair, 283–84

  Chivington, John, 283–84

  Christiancy, Isaac P., 106

  Christian’s Creek, 183

  Churchill, Norval, 80

  Civil War, xiv, xvi, 1–219, 243, 256, 258, 262, 267, 269, 298, 300, 302, 325, 355, 357, 376, 403, 409, 420

  Clark, Ben, 303

  Cleveland, Grover, 246, 250–51

  Clymer, Hiester, 357–58, 360, 362

  Cobb Legion Cavalry, 37

  Cody, Buffalo Bill, 315–19, 322, 409

  Coleman, Pat, 381, 384, 402

  Comanche tribe, 282, 292, 339, 406

  Complete Life of General George A. Custer, The, 416

  Confederacy, xiv, 17, 35, 41, 43, 48, 50, 74, 130, 139, 158, 182, 193, 299

  Conquering Bear, 318

  Cooke and Company, 334

  Cooke, Jay, 323

  Cooke, John E., 98

  Cooke, William W., 264, 266, 276, 373, 377, 385, 388

  Corbin, “Old California Joe,” 284

  Courtenay, William, 350

  Cowan, Robert V., 208

  Cox, Samuel S. (“Sunset”), 362

  Crazy Horse, 12, 330, 349, 355, 374, 386, 389, 410

  Crook, George, 144, 154, 187–88, 196, 249, 354–55, 370–75, 384, 393

  Crooked Run, 140

  Crow King, 402

  Cure, Horace C., 232, 236

  Curley, 388, 403

  Curtis, William A., 382

  Curtis, William E., 349

  Custer, Boston (“Bos”), 304, 370, 373, 378, 388, 401, 413

  Custer City, 371–72

  Custer, Elizabeth (“Libbie”), 11, 21, 24, 62, 65, 94–95, 105–9, 111, 123, 125–26, 130, 152, 161, 166, 202, 209, 226, 239, 242, 251, 268, 298, 300, 314–15, 322, 350, 371, 378, 413, 418

  correspondence with George, 94, 105, 126, 130, 135, 162, 198, 199, 240, 292, 302–4, 325–26, 360, 363, 370, 375

  courtship of, 66–67

  death of, 415

  death of George and, 407, 414

  diary of, 322

  engagement of, 95, 105

  first meeting with George, 5

  at Fort Hays, 262, 267

  at Fort Riley, 255–57, 259, 267

  George court martial and, 271, 275–76

  George standard and, 202, 383

  as military wife, 111, 135–37, 214, 219, 241, 300–1

  Swing around the Circle and, 249

  in Texas, 223, 226, 228–31, 233–37

  in Washington, 123, 125, 163

  wedding of, 106–9

  as widow, 415–16

  Custer, Emmanuel Henry, 1–3, 7, 164, 414

  Custer, George Armstrong 2nd Cavalry Brigade and, 77

  at Aldie, 45, 72–73, 167

  appearance of, 77–79

  as “Autie,” 1–3, 12, 14, 17, 108, 123, 161, 163, 271, 275, 301, 350, 375, 378, 415–16

  as “Baby Custer,” 6

  burial of, 413–15

  at Cedar Creek, 158–60

  charisma of, xv, 1, 12, 89, 112, 301

  childhood of, 1–8

  counterinsurgency of, 165–77

  court-martial of, 255–71

  as “Curly,” 12

  Dahlgren Affair and, 111–23, 125

  as Democrat, xiv, 7–8, 36, 67, 244, 357 361–62

  eccentricity of, xiii, 78, 230

  as “Fanny,” 12, 151, 325

  as frontier warrior, 297–309

  and George McClellan, 163–64, 251

  Gettysburg and, 77–88

  the goat, 11–25, 41, 59

  Indian campaign and, 275–95

  Last Stand of, xi, 335, 379–403, 409, 416

  looks of, 6, 64, 218

  marital fidelity of, xiv, 301–2

  postwar career of, 223–418

  as prankster, xv, 12, 14, 17–18, 108

  in Shenandoah Valley, 139–52

  as symbol, xi–xii

  in Texas, 228–36

  at Trevilian Station, 131–35

  as “trump,” 179–85

  at Washita River, xi, 273, 284

  wedding of, 107

  at West Point, xv, 8, 11–25, 27, 42–43, 47–48, 50, 61, 66, 68, 91, 101, 104, 108–9, 241–42, 247, 298, 413, 415–16

  “whipping order” of, 232

  Custer, Mary, 2

  Custer, Nevin, 2–3, 5, 8–9, 198, 370, 408, 410

  Custer, Tom, xiv, 3 198–99, 264, 269, 287, 303–4, 329–30, 334, 369, 388, 401–2, 406

  Custer’s Creek, 328

  Custer’s Last Fight, 417

  Custer’s Last Rally, 417

  “Custer’s luck,” xii, 20, 48, 68, 125, 405, 411

  Custis Lee, 230, 300

  D

  Dade, Francis L., 408

  Dahlgren Affair, 111–23, 125

  Dahlgren, John A, 111–23

  Dahlgren, Ulric, 114–15, 122

  Dale, N. H., 227–28

  Dana, Charles Henry, 146

  Danville Railroad, 187, 196

  Darrah, Anna, 107

  Davies, H. E., 92, 97, 100–2

  Davis Creek, 380

  Davis, Franklin “Grimes,” 70–71

  Davis, Jefferson, 9, 13, 38, 115, 122, 195, 214, 225

  Davis, Theodore R., 260, 264, 279, 281

  De Gresse, William J., 291

  de Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez, 201, 413

  De Smet, Pierre Jean, 338

  December 1875 ultimatum, 350, 371

  Delaware tribe, 306

  Democratic Peace Platform, 162–63

  Detroit Audubon Club, 288

  Detroit Free Press, 248

  Devin, Thomas C., 129, 132, 140–41, 149, 187, 205

  Devin’s Brigade, 140

  Dinwiddie Battlefield, 190, 202

  Dinwiddie Courthouse, 188

  Disoway, Israel C., 173–74

  “Dixie,” 28, 39

  Dodge,
Grenville M., 259, 281

  Dodge, Richard Irving, 313–14, 345

  Don Juan, 218

  d’Orléans, François, 55

  Douglas, Stephen, 32

  Douglass, Henry, 17

  Douty, Calvin, 73

  Drake, George, 371

  Drake, Jeremiah, 169

  Dred Scott v. Sanford, 30

  Dry Tortugas, 228

  Dubuque Herald, 252, 328

  Duffie, Alfred N., 140

  Dull Knife, 294

  DuPont, Henry, 24, 160

  Durfey, Margaret, 62–63

  E

  Early, Jubal Anderson, 139–40, 151, 182–85

  Edgerly, Winfield Scott, 373, 377, 383, 388

  Egan, James, 348

  Eliza, 133–34, 223, 256, 262, 300

  Elliott, Sam, xiii

  Emory, William H., 154–55

  Emperor Maximilian I, 241

  Evans, A. W., 292

  Ewell, Richard S., 70, 199–200

  F

  Far West (steamer), 371, 376, 406

  Farley, Henry S., 35

  Farnsworth, Elon, 68, 74, 79–80, 87, 92

  Farragut, David G., 249–50

  Fast Bear, 318

  Ferguson, Samuel W., 81

  Ferry, Noah, 80, 83

  Fetterman, William, 258–59, 266

  Fire Heart, 347

  Fisk, Andrew Jackson, 408

  Five Forks, 188, 190, 193, 195, 197–98, 217

  Flynn, Errol, xiii

  Following the Guidon, 415

  Ford’s Depot, 190

  Ford’s Theatre, 216, 236

  Forsyth, George A., 280, 339, 343, 360

  Forsyth, James W., 226–27, 233, 315

  Forsyth, John, 414

  Fort Arbuckle, 290

  Fort Cobb, 279, 282, 292

  Fort Collier, 143

  Fort Delaware, 62

  Fort Dodge, 278

  Fort Ellis, 355, 371, 408

  Fort Fetterman, 370

  Fort Larned, 260, 278

  Fort Leavenworth, 258, 269, 276–77, 413

  Fort Lincoln, 334, 339, 342, 345, 359, 362, 364, 369, 378, 400, 406–7

  Fort Magruder, 53–54

  Fort McHenry, 170

  Fort Riley, 242, 251, 253, 255, 259, 267, 314–15, 418

  Fort Sumter, 39, 43, 49, 242

  Fortress Monroe, 52, 137

  Forty-Third Congress, 201

  Fought, Joseph (“Bugler Joe”), xiii, 111

  Four Horns, 340

  Fourteenth Amendment, 247

  Francis, Philip E., 225, 228–29, 230–31

  Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 302

  Fraser, James, 393

  Frederick Hall Station, 118, 185

  G

  Galaxy, 357

  Gallaher, H. M., 218

  Garfield, James A., 361

  “Garryowen,” 188, 286, 369, 416

  Gerard, Fred, 384–85

  Gibbes, Wade Hampton, 31–32, 79–80, 84, 88, 96, 101, 119–20, 131–34, 206–7

  Gibbon, John, 256, 355, 370, 372, 375–76, 378, 380, 390, 392, 398–99, 401, 406, 412