This Week in Little Bighorn History

James Robert 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 committed suicide on May 21, 1881, at the Fort Hamilton, New York, hospital 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 at Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, where he was in charge of the company garden.

Curley (left) 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.

Isaac Adolph Louis Maria Baumgartner, known as 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 during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

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.

Michael Vincent Sheridan (right) was born on May 24, 1840, in Somerset, Ohio. He was the youngest brother of General Philip Henry Sheridan and often served on his staff. He was the Captain of Company L at the time of the battle, but he was not present due to detached service as aide-de-camp for his brother.

William Clemens Slaper (left) married his wife Sarah on May 25, 1882. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Christian C. Boissen was born in Denmark on May 26, 1840. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

John Shauer was born on May 26, 1852, in Bavaria, Germany. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Levi Madison Thornberry died in Palmer Township, Ohio, on May 27, 1902, and was buried in Watertown Cemetery in Watertown, Ohio. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

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