This Week in Little Bighorn History

John Gardner was born on February 27, 1845, in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. He was a Private in Company F who was killed with Custer’s Column during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Joseph K. Ricketts was born on February 27, 1850, near Morrow, Ohio. He was a wagoner in Company M, but he was on detached service at Powder River, Montana, during the battle.

Augustus Louis DeVoto was born in Genoa, Italy, on February 27, 1851. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Lewis Merrill (left) died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 27, 1896, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He was an 1855 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, but Major Merrill was not present at the battle due to detached service at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Jacob Hetler (left) died on February 27, 1944, in Greenwich, Ohio, and was buried in the Adario Cemetery in Adario, Ohio. He was a Private with Company D who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

George Washington Wylie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 28, 1848. He was a Corporal in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

Leap Year Trooper: James Dougherty was born on February 29, 1856, in Oxford. New Jersey. He was a Corporal in Company B and was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Edwin Daniel Eldridge was born on March 2, 1852, in Newburgh, Maine. He was a Private in Company A who was not at the battle. He had been discharged from Fort Abraham Lincoln for medical reasons.

John O’Neill died on March 2, 1888, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the 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.

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 (left), 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. The man deserved better.

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