This Week in Little Bighorn History

The Seventh Cavalry left Fort Abraham Lincoln on the Little Bighorn Expedition on May 17, 1876.

Ferdinand Klawitter (left) died in Nax, North Dakota, on May 17, 1924, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bismarck, North Dakota. He was a Private in Company B who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service.

Herbert H. Arnold was born on May 19, 1853, in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. He was a Private in Company C who was not present at the battle due to detached service at Fort Abraham Lincoln.

Hiram Erastus Brown, who was also known as Erastus Groves Brown, died in Watervliet, New York, on May 20, 1904, and was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, Albany County, New York.  He was a Private in Company F who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

James Bustard was born on May 21, 1844, in Drumbar, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a Sergeant in Company I who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Thomas Mower McDougall (left) was born at Fort Crawford, Wisconsin, on May 21, 1845. He was a Captain, commanding Company B during the battle, and was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Hugo Findeisen died on May 21, 1881, at Fort Hamilton, New York, and was buried in the Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn. He was a Sergeant in Company L who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Curley (right) died of pneumonia at the Crow Agency in Montana on May 21, 1923, and was buried in the Custer National Cemetery there. He was a Scout who rode with Custer’s Column.

Louis Baumgartner died on May 22, 1895, in the Anacostia section of Washington, D.C., and was buried at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital East Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

William Carson Williams, Jr. (left) died in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 22, 1919, and was buried in the New Vienna IOOF Cemetery in New Vienna, Ohio. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

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