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Show The Daily Utah Chronicle Openings 1978 Page Seventeen And you thought he was a general? 'Last standing 'with Lt. Col. Custer By KIRK JOHNSON Chronicle staff Sunday: We followed the Seventh Cavalry's approach by car to the Little Big Horn Valley from the Army base camp on the Yellowstone River. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his men some 11 companies, a total of more than 600 soldiers left the Yellowstone June 22, 1876. Three days later the calvary would meet one of the largest congregation of Plains Indians ever assembled; half the command, mcludingCuster, would be wiped out. The Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer's Last Stand. In the chronology of the American West, no other single event has been more romanticized, glorified or Hollywoodized. The Custer Battle has been called the climax of the Indian Wars; and indeed, as far as historical significance goes, George A. Custer has earned his share. The Little Big Horn was the birthplace of a legend: the Custer legend, the legend of Yellow air. Was he a bloodthirsty, incompetent commander? Or rather an able man who simply found his troops vastly outnumbered? The question is still debatable. That it was the Army's greatest defeat at the hands of Indians was the extent of my knowledge when we left Salt Lake. But I learned. For example, one of the numerous historical snippets I picked up in the next eight days was that Custer was not a general he was a lieutenant colonel. "General," was an honorary title for his service at that rank during the Civil War (after Appomattox , the Army demoted most career officers one or two ranks.) And I learned that the massacre was far from being as complete as Hollywood has painted it. All in all, approximately 250 soldiers were killed out of a command of roughly 611 men. The survivors, two batallions under the command of Maj. Marcus Reno and Capt. Frederick Benteen, held out against the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors for another 36 hours after the initial fighting until they were relieved by Gen. Terry's forces approaching from the west. We left Salt Lake on a Friday, taking two days through some of the most parched and some of the most beautiful country in Wyoming, arriving at the battlefield, just outside Crow Agency, Mont., Saturday afternoon. Fergus Moran, 43, a local amatuer historian, was the trail boss on the trip. A Custer buff since he was nine years old, Moran said he was turned on to the battle when he saw the Errol Flynn movie, They Died With Their Boots On though he now realizes its historical inaccuracies. This was his fifth consecutive summer trip to the Little Big Horn. I had signed on as his research assistant. Our plan was to trace the Seventh Cavalry's approach from the Yellowstone to the Little Big Horn and, if possible, to find the spot where the column camped on the night of June 23. The exact location of the June 23 camp is one of the many points of contention among Custer historians. Some argue that it was near a place called Medicine Deer Rocks, an ancient Indian pictograph site; while other accounts place it nearer Rosebud Creek, a tributary to the Little Big Horn. When we left Montana, the argument had not been resolved. And that raises a question: just what is it about the history of this on particular military engagement that captures the imaginations of so many people? What is it that entices people like Fergus Moran to hike the trails and passes of the valley year after year? One historian called it "Custeria," the many amateur and professional historians find themselves caught up in when they begin to study the battleThereare Custer worshippers who believe the man was a great general and a victim of circumstance. There are Custer haters who think he was a screw-u- p so intent on killing Indians, that he led his men to their deaths. And there are men like Moran who maintain a degree of objectivity. Regardless of their various subconflicts, however, most Custer buffs most real Custer buffs do have one thing in common: they're all slightly crazy about their subject and many will admit it. Who but a Custer Buff would be enthused by a "Custer Trivia Quiz" (Little Big Horn Associates Newsletter, June 1977) that contained such questions as: "Libbie Custer's maiden name was Elizabeth C. Bacon. What did her middle initial stand for?" (ans: Cliff) "Name the sergeant who led the detail back on the trail to pick up the packs that zeal so were dropped during the night march." (ans: Curtis). Or, and here's a good one (if you can answer this, you already are a Custer buff): "Capt. Keogh rode the famous Comanche at the Little Big Horn. What wat the name of the second mount that he generally rode on the trail and was back at the pack train?" (ans: Paddy). had three tents altogether two small nylon 12 foot by 12 and one tents monstrous pack foot command post where we stored our books, photo equipment and personal gear, and cooked our meals, the land on which we stayed was owned by Moran's friend. Jack Connors, also a Custer enthusiast and a member of the Associates. Connors is a local, and his gradually evolving interest in the Custer battle is probably typical of most natives who eventually find themselves fascinated by the story. He's lived in the valley for 58 years, and as a boy met some of the survivors. He knows the Little Big Horn Valley intimately the innumerable ridges' draws and past and present stream beds and can show you places on his ranch where he has found various artifacts related to the fight. But Connors said he only became interested in Custer "about 15 years ago." Before that he had largely taken it for granted, even though he lived only eight miles from the monument. Tuesday: This morning we hiked to the top of Davis Creek Pass and saw the crumbling cement marker Walter Kamp placed there in 1913. The Seienth Caialry crossed the pass early on the morning of June 25 after marching all night, reaching the head waters of Reno Creek which they about followed into the valley midmorning. a r w r if - The little monument a monument .o Walter Kamp as much as an historical marker deteriorates alone. Since few people eien know it exists, it seldom receives ii si tors. Wednesday: I'm sitting, at this moment, on the edge of a field where Custer may have made the momentous decision to split his forces. For this point Maj. Reno and Capt. Benteen' s batallions about 350 men went south across the mifr. There, they came under heaiy fire, and after what some soldiers called a collapse of leadership (Ma). Reno, they charged, had been drinking that day), the command dissolved. The soldiers began a ragtag, retreat back across the river and up the steep bluffs on the north. Meanwhile, Custer and the five remaining companies contiued north, possibly with end in mind of catching the Indians in a pincer movement by circling and crossing the river further downstream. But we 11 never be able to really know there were no survivors to explain what went wrong. Custer Battlefield National Monument continued on page 18 lf "J Errol Flynn as Custer in 'They Died With Their Boots On' Custer buff. inspiration for a Who but a Custer buff would have a basement filled with boxes of shell cartridges and 100-year-o- ld T nine-year-o- ld 7 s cavalry horseshoes? (incidentally, of the roughly 40,000 rounds of ammunition fired in the battle, an estimated 90 percent have been found any remaining shells are worth $50 each to collectors if you're lucky enough to find one. Perhaps that is an inducement to keep a basement full of them.) One local man whose home we visited, and who had lived in the valley all his 62 years, had a house that could only be called a live-imuseum. He had copies of all the weapons used by both sides in the battle; a pair of the same model binoculars Custer had when he was killed; and a shell he thinks may have been fired by Custer himself (Custer carried an expensive sporting rifle). The Little Big Horn Associates is the flagship for Custer enthusiasts. The organization, based in Billings, Mont., publishes a high quality Newsletter five to six times a year depending on funds and a research quarterly with articles penned exclusively by members from many parts of the globe. Indeed, the Associates claim card holders in most of the major western European nations and one from Japan. Most have probably visited the battle site at least once; some never return. Others, like Bill Boys, a retired NASA official from Maryland, make the pilgrimage as often as five or six times a n Relationships 400-memb- er year. Historically the greatest of all Custer buffs was undoubtedly a man by the name of Walter Kamp. Between the years 1900 and 1920, Kamp, a railroad engineer, returned to the valley 17 consecutive summers, interviewing every survivor Indian and white he could locate. Kamp rediscovered the pass by which the Seventh Cavalry entered the valley and erected a cement monument at the summit it's still there. He located a spot called the Crow's Nest, a lookout point from which Custer and his scouts surveyed the valley. When he died, his amassed notes and interview texts were simply left in boxes, and many were lost before their historical value was recognized. Monday: today we hiked to the top of Crow's Nest and saw what Custer's Crow scouts Curley and Bloody on the morning saw others Knife, among of June 25, 1876. Bob said that on the day of the battle, a haze in the valley prevented the scouts from seeing the extent of the Indian encampment. Camping was an experience in itself. We White-Man-Runs-Hi- Women's Conference University of Utah Olpin Union 1978 October Co-sponsor- ed 11-1- 4 by the Women's Resource Center and the Associated Students of the University of Utah Featured Speakers: Dr. Joyce Brothers, psychologist and syndicated columnist. Dr. Leo Buscaglia, author, Love, professor, University of Southern California. Dr. Warren Farrel, author, The Liberated Man Beyond Masculinity: Freeing Men and Their Relationships With Women. J Dr. Dorothy Riddle, psychologist, Univeristy of Arizona. 0 45 workshops dealing with values, friendship, roommates, communication skills, consciousness raising, literature on relationships, sexuality, touching, Mormonism and feminism. and and enrichment, family myths patterns aging, marriage Poetry contest Photography show Free child care hour credit for students (must register) Films Distinguished Woman Award Display booths Registration is free for all students, welfare and food stamp recipients and senior citizens. The entire conference registration fee is $10 or $5 per day, or $2 jxt event for single-parentin- g, 1 non-student- s. |
