Tag: Burkman

This Week in Little Bighorn History

John E. Armstrong was born on November 4, 1836, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a Saddler for Company A who was killed in the valley fight during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

William David Nugent (left) was born on November 5, 1852, in Grayson County, Kentucky. He was a Private in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Olans H. Northeg committed suicide at Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, on November 5, 1882. He was buried in the Fort Meade National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. He was a Sergeant in Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

William G. Abrams married Elizabeth Adelphine Smith Marine on November 6, 1881. He was a Private in Company A who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

John W. Burkman (left) committed suicide by gunshot in Billings, Montana, on November 6, 1925. He was buried in the Custer National Cemetery in Crow Agency, Montana. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

Henry P. Jones, also known as John Bush, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 1853. He served as a Private in Company I and participated in the pack train escort and the hilltop fight at Little Bighorn.

Crawford Selby married Mary Elizabeth Beck on November 10, 1864, in Sturgis, Minnesota, and they were divorced on December 30, 1874. He was a Saddler with Company G when he was killed in the valley fight at Little Bighorn.

Henry James Nowlan (left) died on November 10, 1898, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and was buried in the Little Rock National Cemetery. He was the First Lieutenant on the Quartermaster staff and was not present at the battle due to detached service.

 

 

 


This Week in Little Bighorn History

Frederick William Benteen (left) married Catherine Louise Norman on January 7, 1862. He was Captain of Company H and commanded a battalion during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He performed scouting duty and participated in the hilltop fight, during which he was wounded.

George Blunt was born on January 9, 1846, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a Private in Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

Francis Johnson Kennedy died on January 9, 1924, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His obituary claimed he was prevented from participating in the battle because of a snake bite. That contradicts all other accounts that have him in sick quarters prior to the battle, with the pack train in June, and fighting on Reno Hill during the battle. At some point, Kennedy apparently said he led Capt. Keogh’s horse Comanche. If his obituary is to be believed, he was perhaps the only “Reverse Sole Survivor;” i.e., someone who was at the battle but claimed not to have been.

John W. Burkman (left) was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1839. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

John Dolan (right) married Lena C. Eagan on January 10, 1876. His second marriage to Josephine Fisher was in 1900. He was a Private in Company M who was on detached service during the battle.

Ferdinand A. Culbertson died on January 10, 1889, in Detroit, Michigan, and was buried in the Woodmere Cemetery there. He was a Sergeant in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Timothy Sullivan died on January 10, 1903, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Benjamin Franklin Burdick died on January 11, 1930, in Albany, New York, and was buried in the Beverwyck Cemetery in Rensselaer, New York. He was a Private in Company A who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Bernard Lyons died on January 12, 1901, in Chicago, Illinois, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Cook County, Illinois. He was a Private with Company F who was in the hilltop fight.

John H. Jordan died in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 12, 1906, and was buried in Old North Cemetery there. He was a Private with Company C who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

Lawrence Murphy died on January 13, 1888, at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C. He was a Sergeant with Company E, but he was on detached service during the battle.

William Martin died in Knoxville, Tennessee, on January 13, 1900, and was buried there. He was a Private with Company B who participated in the hilltop fight.


This Week in Little Bighorn History

William David Nugent (left) was born on November 5, 1852, in Grayson County, Kentucky. He was a Private in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Olans H. Northeg committed suicide at Fort Meade, Dakota Territory, on November 5, 1882. He was buried in the Fort Meade National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. He was a Sergeant in Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

William G. Abrams married Elizabeth Adelphine Smith Marine on November 6, 1881. He was a Private in Company A who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

John W. Burkman (right) committed suicide by gunshot in Billings, Montana, on November 6, 1925. He was buried in the Custer National Cemetery in Crow Agency, Montana. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

Henry P. Jones, also known as John Bush, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 1953. He served as a Private in Company I and participated in the pack train escort and the hilltop fight at Little Bighorn.

Crawford Selby married Mary Elizabeth Beck on November 10, 1864. He was a Saddler with Company G when he was killed in the valley fight at Little Bighorn. Mary remarried in 1880.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

Francis Johnson Kennedy (below, circa 1920) died on January 9, 1924, in St. Paul, Minnesota. His obituary claimed he was “prohibited from participating in General Custer’s famous and ill-fated expedition because of a snake-bite.” That contradicts all other accounts that have him in sick quarters prior to the battle, with the pack train in June, and fighting on Reno Hill during the battle. At some point, Kennedy apparently said he led Capt. Keogh’s horse Comanche. If his obituary is to be believed, he was perhaps the only “Reverse Sole Survivor;” i.e., someone who was at the battle but claimed not to have been.

Other Seventh Cavalry anniversaries this week include:

John W. Burkman was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1839. “Old Nutriment” cared for the Custer horses.

John Dolan married Lena C. Eagan on January 10, 1876. His second marriage to Josephine Fisher was in 1900. He was on detached service during the battle.

Timothy Sullivan died on January 10, 1903. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

George Blunt was born on January 11, 1845, in Baltimore, Maryland. He died of gas asphyxiation at the Joyce Hotel in Baltimore on November 23, 1905.

Benjamin Franklin Burdick died on January 11, 1930, in Albany, New York, and was buried in the Beverwyck Cemetery in Rensselaer, New York.

Bernard Lyons died on January 12, 1901. He was a Private with Company F who was in the hilltop fight.

John Jordan died in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 12, 1906. He was a Private with Company C who participated in the hilltop fight.

Lawrence Murphy died on January 13, 1888, at the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C. He was a Sergeant with Company E, but he was on detached service during the battle.

William Martin died in Knoxville, Tennessee, on January 13, 1900, and was buried there. He was a Private with Company B who participated in the hilltop fight.

James Madison DeWolf was born in Mehonpany, Pennsylvania, on January 14, 1843. He was the Acting Assistant Surgeon for the Seventh, and he was killed during the battle.

Thomas F. O’Neill was born on January 14, 1846, in Dublin, Ireland. He was a Private with Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Andrew Fredericks died on January 14, 1881, at Fort Totten, Dakota Territory. He was buried in the Custer National Cemetery on Crow Agency, Montana.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

William Braendle, of Hermann, Mo., was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, November 1, 1855. His father, Jacob Braendle, was a native of Germany, and came to the United States in 1870, locating first in Allegheny City, Penn., and after a residence there of seven months removed to Gasconade County, Mo. He located eight miles west of Hermann, where he died in 1872. After the father’s death William left the farm and went to St. Louis, where he labored by the day. He returned to Hermann in 1882, where in March of that year he married Elizabeth Trechnlann, daughter of John Trechmann (deceased). Mrs. Braendle was born in Hermann, and she and Mr. Braendle became the parents of three children, two of whom are living: John and Grover Cleveland. Mr. Braendle belongs to the I. O. O. F. in St. Louis, and the E. of P. in Hermann. He conducts a quiet and orderly beer and wine saloon, and is an honest citizen of the county.

This biography of William Braendle was published in 1888. According to Men with Custer, Braendle (also known as Wilhelm Friedrich Braendle, William Brandle, and William Cummings) resided in California for the last 30 years of his life and died there in 1932.

Other Little Bighorn milestones for November 1 include the deaths of James E. Moore in 1894 in Union, South Carolina, and Charles Camillus DeRudio in 1910 in Los Angeles, California. Other Seventh Cavalry anniversaries this week include: