Show t. t t H 1 H H Y M H H H I Story of Custers Custer's f Fall L. L U I I r I Tho The story of how the tho bodies o of Gen G. G A A. Custer Ouster and his band were identified and hurled buried on the field I where they fell In battle with the Indians Indians In In- was recounted 1 h by Gen E. E S. S Godrey at the fortieth anniversary of the battle of the Little Ittle Big Dig Horn Hornat at Billings Hillings Montana General Godfrey Godfrey Godfrey God God- frey wL was s' s sa a member o of Major Renos Reno's command sent to the field three days after tho the battle Relating the experiences experiences experiences of that hand band General Godfret God fret fro said The day after the tho arrival of General General Gen Gee eral Terrys Terry's relief column a and d three days das after the battle hattle which we now commemorate the Seventh Se cavalry under Major Reno Heno broke camp to march to this field to bury tho the dead On reaching the yonder hill the highest high high- est ost point of this field the command l Ii was as dismounted to receive Ins true With the glint of the early I morning sun the inequalities of or the ground were brought out in striking relief We saw in bewildered astonIshment astonishment aston aston- what appeared to be white whitt bounders scattered all over the field What are arc they Are they rocks These were almost universal exclave i r r- r orations as tho the troops successively arrived on the top of the hill An officer raised his bis field glasses in a moment his bis arms anna dropp dropped d limp by his side Bide and he lie said with suppressed I feelings My l God They are the bodies of the dead Colonel Weir standing by hy hymy my side exclaimed with wilh emotion Oh Oil how ho white they look Jook how white while tho they loo look look It was some minutes before the silence was brok brok- en Cl The trumpet signal of or attention was the stern call to duty and we received received re re- re- re our instructions The hill on which this monument stands being the most prominent landmark on the field was selected as the on which tho rho troops of oC direction should march The troops on the right and left were severally assigned sectors sectors of the tho tho ground within the limits of which each was to bury the tho dead Awful Mutilations C It It so 60 o happened in the advance that the first body we came to was within my sector the body of Sergeant Sergeant Ser Ser- geant Butler He was not altogether stripped he ho had several wounds was scalped and otherwise mutilated m Sergeant Duller Butler had been a soldier in the British army before coming to this country ho had served Inthe in inthe the tho civil war and in his ten years' years se seto ric in in our our regi regiment we we knew him to bo be a bravo and good soldier When we lifted his body to place it in tho the shallow grave we found underneath underneath underneath under under- neath It a large number o of empty cartridge shells This fact and his several wounds gave evidence that he had bad sold Bold his hift life Ile dear dearly I that his body was ost cst from command and nearest to toReno's Reno's Renos positions gave rise riso to Ito the surmise that his had been sent asa as asa asa a messenger to Rono Reno with the Macedonian Macedonian Mace Mace- donian danian cry Help or we perish But Dut with Renos Reno's faltering advance and panic retreat the enemy crossed the theford theford theford ford to cut Reno off orr and Sergeant Butler ran Into them and there gave C up his life The last body to como come coman within my n sector to bury was that t of Boston Custer youngest brother x f of the general While superintending superintend superintend- tend 1 1 ing this Major Reno sent for me mo to tot t come to this hill to identify the dead I i thereon All the bodies were stripped ed od naked and all were scalped and mutilated mutilate except one General Custer Cus Cus- Ir r ter which made it difficult to recognize rec roe them General Cueter Custer was shot in the temple and left breast either of which wounds I believe believer r would have been fatal There were t t 3 no powder marks on either wound which would give the lie to assertions asser asser- assertions r lions that death had been self inflict ed inflict t 6 tf Respected Gallant Commander r Fred Girard our interpreter and j scout told me mo that when ho first came cameto J to General Custers Ousters body it was In a n 1 Bitting sitting posture between the tho bodies of two soldiers one across the other 4 with the generals general's right Tight elbow resting resting rest Test in ing upon the tho upper body his face faceIn facein in the palm of his hand as na if in a position of re rest L When I 1 came upon t. t the body it had been laid out and his co countenance had a calm almost triumphant expression I asked Chief Gall General Custer had not t tJ 1 why n J been scalped Ho He replied Instantly oJ r Because ho he was waa the olg chief and i we we respected his position Tho The bodies of or the other officers killed on this hill bill Yates Tales Cook Smith and Reilly were seedily readily identified That of Capt Tom Custer would not have hate been Identified except for the that I fact that we found his initial tattooed tattooed tat tat- on his shattered arm Ills His whole scalp had bad been removed his hisa a skull crushed in his head and abdomen abdomen abdo abdo- men shot full of arrows his abdo abdo- abdomen abdomen men also had been cut open and his bowels protruded It has been boon said that Face In in the tho excitement excitement excite excite- ment went of a a. a war dance danco had exclaimed Y Z that he had cut out and oaten Tom Custers Custer's heart in revenge far seizing him and carrying him to Fort Lincoln Lin Lin- Lincoln coln coIn and putting him in the guard guardhouse house hous Tho The bodies of Keough Calhoun Calhoun Calhoun Cal- Cal houn and Crittenden were identified and buried in the other part cf pf the field The bodies of oC Porter Harring Harrington I ton Dr Lord and Sturgis were idea Iden In destroying property in the Indian camps I found the underclothing ing of or Sturgis the buckskin blouse of Porter and a pocket instrument case caso of or Dr Lord The shot holes in the clothing of Porter and Sturgis left no doubt as to their fate Inthe Inthe In Inthe the villages I 1 found a number of beheaded be be- headed hooded bodies perhaps of ot those who I had fought their way into the camps but jut they were so mutilated as to be unrecognizable TIle The Burial Service When burying the dead we had 1 but few implements sass less than a dozen dozen dozen doz doz- en spades and picks but to show our respect for our dead comrades with th these e and with hatchets knives and tin cups we dug for each body hody a shallow trench in m the ilic hard dry ground poured over them the loose soil and there Earth to earth and dust to dust we left lert them in this then hen wilderness to the elements clements and wolves Captain Nowlan had taken t he the e precaution to drive a stake at atthe atthe atthe i the grave of each officer Ho He placed placed plat plated ed the name in an empty cartridge shell d drove ove it on the stake staHe and mapped the location The following year ear he was sent with a party to exhume the remains and all aU except those fo Crittenden were sent ent east cast for burial General Cuser Custer Custer Cus- Cus ter er at West rest Point Captain Keough at Buffalo N. N Y and the others in inthe he the national cemetery at Fort Leavenworth Leavenworth Leavenworth Leav- Leav K It n. n When they tele tele- telegraphed telegraphed I graphed GeI General rai Crittenden to w where he wanted his son buried he replied Bury him on the field where lie he 10 died The remains of the men were placed in a pile where this monument monument monument mon mon- stands Several years later it t was discovered that the original burial places could be discovered by bylie bythe he the greener grass than grew in other parts arts of the field that on some of or these hese spots flowers were blooming and in my imagination I tried to tomake tomake tomako make mako myself believe these flowers were beautiful and with sweet fra fra- fra grance Stakes were driven at these spots which are now marked by load head stones l When we came here here forty years ago this whole region from Bismarck to to o Bozeman Dozeman was a wilderness without without without with with- out civilized habitation and now on i this his fortieth anniversary I come to 1 greet you in a land of a promise and plenty Neither ambition nor glory called us to this field The Ices ces we wo then made ade and sufferings we endured were iii in our line of ot duty I Ifray Igray gray fray that these sacrifices and sufferings sufferings sufferings suf suf- may always be a reminder to you to be read ready to defend th the tho country we opened up for your occupancy pancy panty and may peace and prosperity you now en enjoy oy be yours forever |