This Week in Little Bighorn History

Frederick Smith died on August 18, 1905. He was a Private in Company K who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service.

Jacob Huff died in Tilton, Illinois on August 18, 1929, and was buried in the North Grove Cemetery in Celina, Ohio. He was a Private in the band, which did not accompany the cavalry to the battle.

Thomas Sherborne died on August 19, 1910, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there under the name Thomas Shereborne. He was a Private in the band, which did not accompany the cavalry to the battle.

Black Elk (left) died on August 19, 1950, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, and was buried in the St. Agnes Catholic Cemetery in Manderson. He was a member of Big Road’s Band and claimed two scalps during the Reno fight.

William L. Crawford died on August 20, 1876, of typhoid fever at Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory. He was originally buried in the Post Cemetery there and was later interred in the Custer National Cemetery on Crow Agency, Big Horn County, Montana. He was a Private in Company K who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Elwyn S. Reid died of heart failure at Fort D. A. Russell in Wyoming on August 20, 1895, and was buried there in what is now the Francis E. Warren Air Base Cemetery in Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming. He was a Private in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

Frederick William Benteen (right) was born on August 24, 1834, in Petersburg, Virginia, the son of Theodore Charles and Caroline Hargrove Benteen. He was the Captain of Company H, commanding a battalion, on scouting duty and in the hilltop fight, during which he was wounded.

James Flanagan was born in Innis, County Clare, Ireland, on August 24, 1839. He was a Sergeant in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

James Calhoun (left) was born on August 24, 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and married Maggie Custer on March 7, 1872. He was the First Lieutenant of Company C but commanded Company L during the battle. He was killed along with three brothers-in-law (George Custer, Tom Custer, and Boston Custer) and their nephew, Autie Reed.

Luther Rector Hare (right) was born in Noblesville, Indiana, on August 24, 1851, the son of Silas and Octavia Elizabeth Rector Hare. He was an 1874 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as the Second Lieutenant of Company K during the battle. He participated in both the valley and hilltop fights.

William August Marshall died on August 24, 1892, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. He was a Private in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

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