This Week in Little Bighorn History

John O’Neill died on March 2, 1888, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the U.S. Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Ludwick St. John was born in Columbia, Missouri, on March 3, 1848. He was a Private in Company C who was killed with Custer’s Column during the battle. He was buried in the mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

Thomas F. McLaughlin died on March 3, 1886, in Jamestown, North Dakota, and was buried in the Jamestown State Hospital Cemetery. He was a Sergeant in Company H who was wounded during the hilltop fight.

Henry Rinaldo Porter, M.D., (left) died at the Hotel Metropole in Agra, India, on March 3, 1903, and was buried in the Cantonment Cemetery there. A memorial monument for Dr. Porter sits next to his wife’s grave in Oberlin, Ohio. During the battle, Dr. Porter was the Acting Assistant Surgeon on Staff, and he participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Thomas Henry French (right) was born on March 4, 1843, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the Captain of Company M and commanded his men in the valley and hilltop fights. On what would have been his 48th birthday, March 4, 1891, his body was exhumed from Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, and he was reinterred in Holy Rood Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

John Charles Creighton, who was also known as Charles Chesterwood, was born in Massillon, Ohio, on March 4, 1850. He was a Private in Company K who was in the hilltop fight.

Patrick Corcoran died on March 4, 1822, at Barnes Hospital on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who was wounded in his right soldier during the hilltop fight.

Thomas Joseph Callan

Thomas Joseph Callan (left) died in Yonkers, New York, on March 5, 1908, and was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange, New Jersey. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions there. His obituary, which was printed in numerous newspapers across the country, stated a different reason for the award.

Thomas Patrick Downing was born on March 6, 1856, in Limerick, Ireland. He was a Private in Company I who was killed with Custer’s Column.

John Foley died at Barnes Hospital in Washington, D.C., on March 6, 1926, and was buried in the Soldier’s Home National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

James Calhoun (left) married Margaret Emma Custer on March 7, 1872. Maggie Custer lost her husband, three brothers (GeorgeTom, and Boston) and a nephew, Autie Reed, during the battle.

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