Tag: Sturgis

This Week in Little Bighorn History

John James Carey was born on June 7, 1853, in Troy, Rensselaer County, New York. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

John Jordan Crittenden III (left) was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, on June 7, 1854. He was a Second Lieutenant with Company L who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Willis B. Wright was born on June 7, 1859, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. He was a Private with Company C who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Strikes the Bear (left) died in Ree, North Dakota, on June 7, 1929, and was buried as Red Star in the Indian Scout Cemetery in McLean County, North Dakota. His gravestone states his death date as May 12, 1929, but the June date appears to be the accepted date among researchers. He was an Arikara Scout who was with Reno’s Column when it crossed the river.

Bear Comes Out (Matokianapa), who was also known as Comes the Bear and Old Caddoo, died in a drunken brawl, according to Fred Girard, on June 8, 1878, at Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, and was buried in the Indian Scout Cemetery in McLean County, North Dakota. He was a Scout with Reno’s Column but did not cross the river.

Michael Crowe died at Fort Yates in the Dakota Territory on June 8, 1883, and was buried in Keokuk National Cemetery in Keokuk, Iowa. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

James W. Butler died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1924, and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company F who was not present due to detached service.

Michael C. Caddle was born on June 9, 1844, in New York City. He was a Sergeant in Company I who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Joseph Bates, who was also known as John or Joseph Murphy, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 10, 1838. He was a Private with Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights during the battle.

Elmer Babcock (left) was born on June 10, 1856, in Pharsalia, Chenango County, New York. He was a Private in Company who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (right) was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1822. Colonel Sturgis was an 1846 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point who was Commanding the 7th Regiment of Cavalry at the time of the battle but was on detached service in St. Louis, Missouri. Unfortunately, his son, Second Lieutenant James Garland Sturgis, was with Company E during the battle and was killed.

Edward D. Pigford (left) was born on June 11, 1856, in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company M who was wounded during the valley and hilltop fights.

William Heyn (right) died in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 1910, and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a First Sergeant in Company A who was wounded in his left knee during the valley and hilltop fights.

Peter Eixenberger was born on June 12, 1860, in Munich, Germany. He was a Private with the Band, so he was not present at the battle.

Peter Gannon died at Fort Assinniboine, Montana Territory, on June 12, 1886. He was first buried in a cemetery there and later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery on the Crow Agency, Montana. He was a Sergeant in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Michael Murphy died on June 12, 1904, at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

John H. Day died in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, on June 13, 1894, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Joseph Carroll was born in New York, New York, on January 19, 1847. He was a member of the band, so he was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

John E. Hammon (left) died on January 19, 1909, in Sturgis, South Dakota, and was buried there in the Bear Butte Cemetery. He was a Corporal in Company G and was in the hilltop and valley fights.

Henry Harrison Davis was born on January 20, 1846, in Bellvernon, Virginia. He was a Private in Company M who was in the hilltop and valley fights during the battle.

John J. Rafter was born in Lansingburgh, New York, on January 20, 1851. He was a Sergeant with Company K who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight during the battle.

August B. Siefert died on January 20, 1921, in Highland Park, Illinois, and was buried in the Fort Sheridan Cemetery in Highwood, Illinois. He was a Private with Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Stephen Cowley (left) was married in County Mayo, Ireland, to Bridget Agnes Moore on January 21, 1871. He was a Private in Company D on detached service at Yellowstone Depot, so he was not present at the battle.

Joseph Kneubuhler died on January 21, 1917, in San Diego, California. He was a member of the band, so he was not present at the battle.

Christian C. Boisen died in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on January 21, 1923, and was buried at the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who was in the hilltop fight.

George H. Geiger was a Sergeant in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight. He showed extraordinary bravery when he risked his life to obtain water from the river for the wounded men, an act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He died on January 23, 1904, in Dayton, Ohio, and was buried in the National Cemetery there.

Left Hand, an Arikara Scout, was born in the Dakota Territory in 1829 and died on January 23, 1931. He was buried in the Saint Charles Catholic Cemetery in Saint Francis, South Dakota.

James Garland Sturgis (left) was born on January 24, 1854, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a Second Lieutenant with Company E who was killed with Custer’s Column. Unlike most officers, he was likely buried in the mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

James McNamara, who was a Private in Company H and participated in the hilltop fight, died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1932, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Troy, New York.

Otto Arndt was born on January 25, 1844, in Bavaria, Germany. He was a member of the band who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Edward Garlick, who was a First Sergeant in Company G on furlough during the battle, died in Sturgis, South Dakota, on January 25, 1931, and was buried at the Bear Butte Cemetery there.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Charles Henry Bischoff was born in Bremen, Germany, on September 23, 1855. He was a Private in Company C who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service.

Daniel Newell

Daniel Newell (left) died of gangrene on September 23, 1933, at Hot Springs, South Dakota, and was buried in Bear Butte Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley fight and was wounded in the hilltop fight.

Jahn Zametzer died at the U.S. Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 1877, and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company M who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to illness.

John Robert Cooper died on September 24, 1903, in Harris, Iowa, and was buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Ocheyedan, Osceola County, Iowa. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

George Hose died at Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, on September 24, 1924, and was buried in the Lake Nebagamon Cemetery there. He was a Corporal in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Joseph K. Ricketts married Alice Williams on September 25, 1884, with whom he later had a son named Bryan. Joseph was a Wagoner with Company M who was not present at the battle due to detached service at Powder River, Montana.

John E. Quinn died on September 26, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was a Private in Company D who was not present at the battle due to detached service at the Powder River Depot.

Thomas Benton Weir (left)  was born in Nashville, Ohio, on September 28, 1838. He was the Captain in command of Company D during scouting and the hilltop fight.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (right) died on September 28, 1889, at St. Paul, Minnesota, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He was the Colonel commanding the Regiment, but he was not present due to detached service at St. Louis, Missouri. His son, Lt. James Garland Sturgis, was killed with Custer’s Column.

Patrick C. White, who used the alias Patrick Connelly, died on September 28, 1909, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. He was a Sergeant with Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Michael C. Caddle was born on June 9, 1844, in Dublin, Ireland. He was a Sergeant in Company I who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service.

Joseph Bates, who was also known as John or Joseph Murphy, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 10, 1838. He was a Private with Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Elmer Babcock was born on June 10, 1856, in Pharsalia, Chenango County, New York. He was a Private in Company L who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (left) was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1822. Colonel Sturgis was an 1846 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point who was Commanding the 7th Regiment of Cavalry at the time of the battle but was on detached service in St. Louis, Missouri. Unfortunately, his son, Second Lieutenant James Garland Sturgis, was with Company E during the battle and was killed.

Edward D. Pigford was born on June 11, 1856, in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company M who was wounded during the valley and hilltop fights.

William Heyn (right) died in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 1910, and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a First Sergeant in Company A who was wounded in his left knee during the valley and hilltop fights.

Peter Eixenberger was born on June 12, 1860, in Munich, Germany. He was a Private with the Band, so he was not present at the battle.

Peter Gannon died at Fort Assinniboine, Montana Territory, on June 12, 1886. He was first buried in a cemetery there and later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery on the Crow Agency, Montana. He was a Sergeant in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Michael Murphy died on June 12, 1904, at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

John H. Day died in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, on June 13, 1894, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight.

George Anderson was born on June 14, 1841, in St. Catherines, Canada. He was a Private in Company K who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

John Samuel Ragsdale married Verna Bell Owen on June 14, 1926, but they divorced after 1940. He was a Private in Company A who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Christopher Pendle  (left) was born on June 15, 1849, in Bavaria, Germany. He was a Private in Company E who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

James O’Neill was born in Liverpool, England, on June 15, 1851. He was a Private in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Charles Windolph, who was also known as Charles Wrangel, married Mary Jones on June 15, 1882. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight. He was awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart for his service during the battle. 

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Henry Harrison Davis was born on January 20, 1846, in Bellvernon, Virginia. He was a Private in Company M who was in the hilltop and valley fights during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

John J. Rafter was born in Lansingburgh, New York, on January 20, 1851. He was a Sergeant with Company K who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight during the battle.

August B. Siefert died on January 20, 1921, in Highland Park, Illinois, and was buried in the Fort Sheridan Cemetery in Highwood, Illinois. He was a Private with Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Stephen Cowley (left) was married in County Mayo, Ireland, to Bridget Agnes Moore on January 21, 1871. He was a Private in Company D on detached service at Yellowstone Depot, so he was not present at the battle.

Joseph Kneubuhler died on January 21, 1917, in San Diego, California. He was a member of the band, so he was not present at the battle.

Christian C. Boisen died in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on January 21, 1923, and was buried at the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who was in the hilltop fight.

 George H. Geiger was a Sergeant in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight. He showed extraordinary bravery when he risked his life to obtain water from the river for the wounded men, an act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He died on January 23, 1904, in Dayton, Ohio, and was buried in the National Cemetery there.

Left Hand, an Arikara Scout, was born in the Dakota Territory in 1829 and died on January 23, 1931. He was buried in the Saint Charles Catholic Cemetery in Saint Francis, South Dakota.

James Garland Sturgis (left) was born on January 24, 1854, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a Second Lieutenant with Company E who was killed with Custer’s Column. Unlike most officers, he was likely buried in the mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

James McNamara, who was a Private in Company H and participated in the hilltop fight, died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1932, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Troy, New York.

Otto Arndt was born on January 25, 1844, in Bavaria, Germany. He was a member of the band who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Edward Garlick, who was a First Sergeant in Company G on furlough during the battle, died in Sturgis, South Dakota, on January 25, 1931, and was buried at the Bear Butte Cemetery there.

John H. Meier, who was also known as Sonomon Angst, was born on January 26, 1846, in Hanover, Germany. He was a Private in Company M who was in the valley and hilltop fights, during which he was wounded.

Walter O. Taylor, a blacksmith with Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights, died in Rockland, Massachusetts, on January 26, 1931. He was buried in the Northville Cemetery in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Charles Henry Bischoff was born in Bremen, Germany, on September 23, 1855. He was a Private in Company C who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service.

Daniel NewellDaniel Newell (left) died of gangrene on September 23, 1933, at Hot Springs, South Dakota, and was buried in Bear Butte Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley fight and was wounded in the hilltop fight.

Jahn Zametzer died at the U.S. Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 1877, and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company M who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to illness.

John Robert Cooper died on September 24, 1903, in Harris, Iowa, and was buried in the Fairview Cemetery in Ocheyedan, Osceola County, Iowa. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

George Hose died at Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, on September 24, 1924, and was buried in the Lake Nebagamon Cemetery there. He was a Corporal in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Joseph K. Ricketts married Alice Williams on September 25, 1884, with whom he had a son named Bryan. Joseph was a Wagoner with Company M who was not present at the battle due to detached service at Powder River, Montana.

John E. Quinn died on September 26, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was a Private in Company D who was not present at the battle due to detached service at the Powder River Depot.

Thomas Benton Weir (left)  was born in Nashville, Ohio, on September 28, 1838. He was the Captain in command of Company D during scouting and the hilltop fight.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (right) died on September 28, 1889, at St. Paul, Minnesota, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He was the Colonel commanding the Regiment, but he was not present due to detached service at St. Louis, Missouri. His son, Lt. James Garland Sturgis, was killed with Custer’s Column.

Patrick Connelly died on September 28, 1909, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was a Sergeant with Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

Conrad Farber died in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 29, 1896. He was a Private in Company I who was not present at the battle due to detached service.


This Week in Little Bighorn History

Joseph Bates, who was also known as John or Joseph Murphy, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 10, 1838. He was a Private with Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Elmer Babcock was born on June 10, 1856, in Pharsalia, Chenango County, New York. He was a Private in Company L who was killed with Custer’s Column.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (left) was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1822. Colonel Sturgis was an 1846 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point who was Commanding the 7th Regiment of Cavalry at the time of the battle but was on detached service in St. Louis, Missouri, at the time. Unfortunately, his son, Second Lieutenant James Garland Sturgis was with Company E during the battle and was killed.

Edward D. Pigford was born on June 11, 1856, in West Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company M who was wounded during the valley and hilltop fights.

William Heyn (right) died in Washington, D.C., on June 11, 1910, and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a First Sergeant in Company A who was wounded in his left knee during the valley and hilltop fights.

Peter Eixenberger was born on June 12, 1860, in Munich, Germany. He was a Private with the Band; therefore, he was not present at the battle.

Peter Gannon died at Fort Assinniboine, Montana Territory, on June 12, 1886. He was first buried in a cemetery there and later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery on the Crow Agency, Montana. He was a Sergeant in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Michael Murphy died on June 12, 1904, at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

John H. Day died in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, on June 13, 1894, and was buried in the Old City Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight.

George Anderson was born on June 14, 1841, in St. Catherines, Canada. He was a Private in Company K who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

John Samuel Ragsdale married Verna Bell Owen on June 14, 1926, but they divorced after 1940. He was a Private in Company A who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Christopher Pendle  (left) was born on June 15, 1849, in Bavaria, Germany, and died on June 4, 1923, in Gardenville, Washington. His remains were cremated, and it is not known where they were dispersed. He was a Private in Company E who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

James O’Neill was born in Liverpool, England, on June 15, 1851. He was a Private in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Charles Windolph, who was also known as Charles Wrangel, married Mary Jones on June 15, 1882. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight. He was awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart for his service during the battle.

 

 


This Week in Little Bighorn History

Stephen Cowley (left) was married in County Mayo, Ireland, to Bridget Agnes Moore on January 21, 1871. He was a Private in Company D on detached service at Yellowstone Depot, so he was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Joseph Kneubuhler died on January 21, 1917, in San Diego, California. He was a member of the band, so he was not present at the battle.

Christian C. Boisen died in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on January 21, 1923, and was buried at the National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company K who was in the hilltop fight.

 

George H. Geiger was a Sergeant in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight. He showed extraordinary bravery when he risked his life to obtain water from the river for the wounded men, an act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He died on January 23, 1904, in Dayton, Ohio, and was buried in the National Cemetery there.

Left Hand, an Arikara Scout, was born in the Dakota Territory in 1829 and died on January 23, 1931. He was buried in the Saint Charles Catholic Cemetery in Saint Francis, South Dakota.

James Garland Sturgis (left) was born on January 24, 1854, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a Second Lieutenant with Company E who was killed with Custer’s Column. Unlike most officers, he was likely buried in the mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

James McNamara, who was a Private in Company H and participated in the hilltop fight, died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1932.

Otto Arndt was born on January 25, 1844, in Bavaria, Germany. He was a member of the band who was not present at the battle due to detached service at the Power River Depot.

Edward Garlick, who was a First Sergeant in Company G on furlough during the battle, died in Sturgis, South Dakota, on January 25, 1931, and was buried at the Bear Butte Cemetery there.

John H. Meier was born on January 26, 1846, in Hanover, Germany. He was a Private in Company M who was in the valley and hilltop fights, during which he was wounded.

Walter O. Taylor, a blacksmith with Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights, died in Rockland, Massachusetts, on January 26, 1931. He was buried in the Northville Cemetery in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Edward H. Pickard (left) was born on January 27, 1854, in Boston, Massachusetts; He was a Private with Company F who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight. He died on January 30, 1928, in Portland, Oregon, and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Park there.

Jacob Katzenmaier was a Private in Company G who was not present during the battle due to detached service. He died in Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, on January 27, 1880, and was buried in the Old Post Cemetery there.


This Week in Little Bighorn History

George H. Geiger was born in 1843 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He was a Sergeant in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight. He showed extraordinary bravery when, along with Private Charles Windolph, Blacksmith Henry Mechlin, and Saddler Otto Voit, he risked his life to obtain water from the river for the wounded men, an act for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He died on January 23, 1904, in Dayton, Ohio, and was buried in the National Cemetery there.

Other Seventh Cavalry anniversaries this week include:

Left Hand, an Arikara Scount, was born in the Dakota Territory in 1829 and died on January 23, 1931. He was buried in the Saint Charles Catholic Cemetery in Saint Francis, South Dakota.

James Garland Sturgis was born on January 24, 1854, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was killed with Custer’s Column and, unlike most officers, was likely buried in the mass grave on Last Stand Hill.

James McNamara, who was a Private in Company H and participated in the hilltop fight, died in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1932.

Otto Arndt was born on January 25, 1844, in Bavaria, Germany. He was not present at the battle due to detached service at the Power River Depot.

Edward Garlick, who was on furlough during the battle, died in Sturgis, South Dakota, on January 25, 1931, and was buried at the Bear Butte Cemetery there.

John H. Meier was born on January 26, 1846, in Hanover, Germany. He was a Private in Company M who was in the valley and hilltop fights, during which he was wounded.

Walter O. Taylor, a blacksmith with Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights, died in Rockland, Massachusetts, on January 26, 1931. He was buried in the Northville Cemetery in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Edward H. Pickard was born on January 27, 1854, in Boston, Massachusetts, and died on January 30, 1928, in Portland, Oregon. He was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Jacob Katzenmaier, who was not present during the battle, died in Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, on January 27, 1880, and was buried in the Old Post Cemetery there.

Wilson McConnell was born on January 28, 1839, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

William Thomas Craycroft was born in Springfield, Kentucky, on January 28, 1847. He was a First Lieutenant in Company B, but he was on detached service during the battle.

 

Remembering Custer’s Last Command in South Dakota

Bates, Also Known As Murphy, Has Three Graves in Sturgis

By Jack McCulloh
Pictures by Scott Nelson

The geography now South Dakota, in 1874, was an empty, blank space on the maps. The highway into this unknown territory was the Missouri River. The post Civil War U.S. Army had troops in camps along the river. Fort Union was one of the major Army forts and was walled with “drive up” windows and a room for trading furs with the Indians. Security dictated Indians not be in direct contact with troops and families inside the fort. The fort in 1874 was commanded by General William Hazen, George Armstrong Custer’s nemesis clear back to West Point when Captain Hazen ordered Custer court-martialed. The fort was where the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers join and run south together.

Southwest of present South Dakota, the Army bought a trading post that became Fort Laramie. Its mission was to supply, rest, repair, and protect the thousands of wagons and people traveling on the Oregon and Mormon Trail. Population in the United States was exploding and everyone with influence in the Territory wanted the Army involved in protection from Indians.

President U.S. Grant’s administration in 1868, by agreement with Red Cloud, abandoned army camps protecting the Bozeman trail to gold fields in Helena, Montana. The treaty agreed buffalo could be harvested by the Indians for seven future generations. (1)

A series of treaties with Indian bands was needed to allow railroads, telegraph lines, roads, and trails to gold rushes to California and Montana, and to the coal mining needed to supply the Transcontinental Railroad and homesteaders moving West up to the 100th meridian. People were moving into blank spots on the map seeking the dream of owning land. What was later labeled “The Great American Desert“, after a generation of starvation, was just on the west side of the Missouri River.

General Phil Sheridan was the driving force behind organizing a massive expedition into this territory in western South Dakota, explore and prepare a map and report on the country around Bear Butte. Sheridan was anxious to have a military post to control the Indians who were not agreeing to go onto a reservation. (2) Crazy Horse was one of those leaders who would not quit the freedom he had always lived.

Sheridan sold President Grant on letting him use the 7th Calvary, stationed at Fort Abraham Lincoln at present day Mandan, North Dakota, for the exploration. Across the river at Bismarck was the end of the rail and telegraph lines. Sheridan had the option to use the railroad and Fort Laramie troops but he did not want to stir up the Indians in the area from Fort Laramie to the Black Hills. There were reporters from Chicago and New York on the trip and many other population centers.

The 1874 exploration in the wilderness is memorialized in modern maps of South Dakota. There are over forty-nine map locations: Ludlow, SD (Chief Engineer on the trip); Tilford, SD (Commander of Fort Rice and head of infantry on the trip), Custer peak, and even “Turk head” rock (after one of the hunting hounds the General brought along) because of the exploration.

Scott Nelson, Pierre, SD (3), is making a serious effort to find and photograph the grave sites of members of the 7th Calvary buried in South Dakota. Many were on the 1874 exploration and others enlisted after the trip and were in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. Some served in building Fort Meade in 1877. The army base was located by Sheridan when public pressure arose from the massive numbers of people seeking fortune in the Black Hills due to the reports of gold from the 1874 expedition.

Locating the graves of the 7th Calvary veterans in South Dakota is a challenge. Joseph Bates is an example. Soldiers of the time may or may not have used their given name and often used different names when they enlisted or re-enlisted.

On the east end of Sherman Street is Bear Butte Cemetery, so named because it has a magnificent view of near by Bear Butte, which has a gravestone purchased by the G.A.R. marked Joseph Bates.(4) Also in the Bear Butte Cemetery is a smaller military marker (5) which reads Jno. Murphy inside the G.A.R. and on top of the gravestone is an attached silver plaque of about 3 inches by 4 inches engraved:

Joseph Bates
Alias
Jos C. Murphy

Ernest C. Gottschalk, 97, was the one who attached the metal plaque to the headstone. The inscription “ECG -97” stands for Ernest C. Gottschalk and 97 is the year he placed the plaque on the tombstone (1997). Before it was engraved by Gottschalk, the silver plaques were the standard marker used to identify grave sites before a headstone was placed in the cemetery. From 1986 Gottschalk, who lived at Vale, S.D., made a project of finding grave sites in many counties in the northwestern part of the state that were no longer marked. He kept records of the graves he found and re-marked them. He filed his findings with county offices in Lawrence, Meade, Butte, Harding, and Ziebach counties, which have booklets of information listing his findings by cemetery (6).

Joseph Bates

Jno. Murphy

Joseph C. Bates

Ernie Gottschalk was given a Certificate of Recognition from the South Dakota State Historical Society Board of Trustees in December 1993 “for documenting burial sites.” These certificates are given out from time to time for meritorious acts in the history field.

Gottschalk depended heavily on pioneer papers of the area, most of which are only available on microfilm in local libraries. Gottschalk died in 1997.

On the west end of Sherman Street in Sturgis is the Catholic St. Aloysius cemetery. It’s about three miles straight west from Bear Butte cemetery.

Joseph Bates

Joseph Bates has the only military marker in one section of the Catholic cemetery. He was a survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn valley and the hilltop fights.

Bates obituary said:

“Joe Bates is dead. And the verdict of the coroner’s jury is ….he took Paris green with suicidal intent. No blame is attached to anybody, as Bates repeatedly said he was all right, and wouldn’t have a doctor. The coroner’s jury decided he died by his own hand.

Deceased served in M Troop, 7th cavalry, and was first sergeant for some time. He has been around Fort Meade ever since the post was established, and was a laborer or teamster in the quartermaster’s department for years. He had only one ear, having lost the other at Fort Lincoln…He was driving an ambulance when the team ran away and he fell under the vehicle, one wheel cutting the left ear off clean, but doing him no other harm. Bates was buried yesterday afternoon, and Calvin Duke post members, G.A.R. followed his remains to the grave.” (7)

Bates was born in Rhode Island and re-enlisted in 1870 at age 31 in Carlisle, Penna. He deserted in 1872, was apprehended in 1873, and joined Company M by Special Order issued by the Headquarters Department of Dakota in 1874. He is not listed as Bates on the 1874 trip into the Black Hills area but John Murphy is listed as a private in 17th U.S. Infantry (commanded by Major Lewis G Sanger) and 7th US Calvary(Commanded by 1st Lt. Donald McIntosh) (8)

Bates was 55 years old when he died. His military record shows when he was 40 years old the post surgeon certified Bates “as incapable of performing the duties of a soldier because the nearly 27 years that I have known this man he has been on Sick Report or in the hospital. Half the time for inebriation bordering on delirium…..He is useless as a soldier and unfit for that profession”

Bates service records listed him as Joseph C. Murphy in L, 1st Massachusetts Calvary in 1863 rising to the rank of 1st Sergeant. After the Civil war he re-enlisted as Joseph Bates and was assigned to the 7th Calvary.

He may have suffered from shell shock/combat fatigue. In those days alcohol or addiction to morphine was the only way soldiers could deal with this problem. Many soldiers were sent to insane asylums or committed suicide. Bates’ long military service and memories of action at Little Bighorn with Company M may have been too much for him. (9 & 10) He was discharged in 1877 after the post surgeon at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, issued his report.

Civil War records say that John Murphy was a Captain in Company L of the 1st Massachusetts Calvary; his death is listed as September 11, 1893, and his headstone was supplied by the Vermont Marble Company for the Bear Butte Cemetery in Sturgis, S.D. (10)

Conclusion

This research is presented with the hope someone has information that will answer questions that still remain.

NOTES-
1. People who have not read the Treaty of 1868 still claim it says “so long as grass grows and water flows.” No agreement with Indians – or Treaty – during Presidents Grants eight year administration has any such language or guarantee.

2. President Grants’ policies for Indians of the time; a. Sanctuaries (Reservations) b. annuities and c. re-location. d. Peace e. time lines.

3. Website is http://pie.midco.net/treasuredude. An active contributor to Little Big Horn Associates and the website http://www.littlebighorn.info

4. Section 2, lot 43, Bear Butte Cemetery. The GAR was active in providing financial assistance to veterans with no family and no money.

5. Section 2, lot 45, Bear Butte Cemetery

6. Angela M. Ross, Meade County Register of Deeds, Sturgis, S.D. – E. Mail – mcrod@meadecounty.org – keeps on file in her office the material Gottschalk filed with Meade County by cemetery of graves he found and marked with these plaques. Ross reports Gottschalk filed with many counties information specific to the county where he filed the report. He also did some marking of graves in Wyoming. The legality of marking 300 graves and changing markings on headstones with aliases used by veterans, based on obituaries published, for over 10 years is an open question.

7. Sturgis Weekly Record, September, 1893

8. In the book Private Theodore Ewert’s Diary of the Black Hills Expedition of 1874 – edited by John M Carroll and Dr. Lawrence H Frost – No Joseph Bates is listed in the roster of the Command and civilians. John Murphy is listed as a Private in Company G, 7th US Cavalry, and command of 1st Lt Donald McIntosh. John Murphy is listed as a private in Company G. 17th US Infantry under command of Major Lewis G Sanger. No Joseph G Murphy, John Murphy, or Joseph Bates is listed in the roster of civilian teamsters

9 & 10 Book – Men with Custer – Biographies of the 7th Calvary – 25 June, 1876 by Kenneth Hammer -E Mail communication with John A. Doerner, Chief Historian, Little Big Horn Battlefield, November 14, 2007. – John_Doerner@nps.gov

11. The NPS Soldiers and Sailors web site lists Joseph c. Murphy. It lists two John Murphy’s in the 1st Mass. Calvary.

Bio-

Jack McCulloh, Larry Owen, and Joe Sanders all of Rapid City started tracking as a hobby and a way of hiking in the Hills every week including skiing Terry Peak. the Custer Trail in the Black Hills with a GPS in 1994. After the publication of this research McCulloh started guiding groups to sites visited by the 1874 Exploration and conducting community education classes on the 1874 expedition.

Scott Nelson describes himself as a Custer buff.