This Week in Little Bighorn History

William Alexander was born on April 8, 1838, in Armagh, Ireland. He was a packer with the Quartermaster who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight during the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

John R. Gray was born in Troy, New York, on April 8, 1855 and died on April 30, 1915, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was a Private in Company B who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Stephen L. Ryan died on April 8, 1885, in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company B who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

James Harrison Smith (left) was born on April 9, 1848, in Madison, Indiana. He was a Private in Company G and one of three James Smiths in the Seventh Cavalry at the time. He was the only one of the three who was not present at the battle because he enlisted in the Seventh on June 20 and was enroute to join his comrades. The other two who shared his name were killed with Custer’s Column and are buried on Last Stand Hill.

Morris Mason Farrar died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 9, 1899, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company E who participated in the hilltop fight.

William Gavin Capes (right) died on April 10, 1900, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the Allegheny Cemetery there. He was a Sergeant in Company M who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Henry W. B. Mechlin (left) died on April 10, 1926, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home Cemetery there. He was a blacksmith in Company H who participated in the hilltop fight. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions there.

Robert Rowland died near the Cannonball River, North Dakota, around April 11, 1879, of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in his head and was buried in the Keokuk National Cemetery in Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa. He was a Private in Company G who was not present due to detached service at the Powder River Depot.

William E. Robinson was born on April 12, 1842, in County Down, Ireland. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Henry M. Brinkerhoff was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on April 12, 1854. He was a Private in Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Daniel Kanipe married Missouri Ann Wycoff Bobo, the widow of L. Edwin Bobo who was killed in the battle, on April 12, 1877.

John McShane died at Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, on April 13, 1877, and was originally buried in the Post Cemetery there and later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery in Montana. He was a Private in Company I who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

Joseph H. Green died on April 13, 1922, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

Patrick Carey was born on April 14, 1828, in Tipperary, Ireland. He was a Sergeant in Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

John Dolan (left), who was also known as Thomas Brown, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on April 14, 1843. He was a Private in Company M who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

John W. Sweeney died in Kentucky on April 14, 1884. He was a Private in Company F who participated in the hilltop fight.

 


This Week in Little Bighorn History

David W. Lewis was born on February 18, 1852, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a Private in Company B who was not present at the Battle of the LIttle Bighorn because he was confined.

William Othniel Taylor was born in Canandaigua, Ontario County, New York, on February 18, 1855. He was a Private in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights. He died in Orange, Massachusetts, on February 19, 1923, and was buried in the Central Cemetery there.

Alexander Brown (left) was born on February 19, 1844, in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was a Sergeant in Company G and was with the pack train and in the hilltop fight.

Thomas Hughes, who was also known as Charlie Hughes, was born in County Mayo, Ireland, on February 21, 1845. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

Charles Ackerman married Ephresina Peterson on February 21, 1881, at Fort Totten. He was a Private in Company K who was not present during the battle due to detached service at the Powder River Depot.

Michael Vincent Sheridan died on February 21, 1918, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was a Captain in Company L who was not present due to detached service. He was the brother of General Philip Henry Sheridan. He was the brother of General Philip Henry Sheridan. Michael died the day after Philip’s funeral.

Dennis Lynch (left) was born on February 22, 1848, in Cumberland, Maryland. He was a Private in Company F who was not at the battle due to detached service.

William Gavin Capes was born in Portland, Maine, on February 22, 1849. He was a Sergeant in Company M who was not present due to detached service.

Andrew Humes Nave was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on February 23, 1846. He was a Second Lieutenant in Company I, but he was not present at the battle due to illness.

Jan Moller, who was also known as James Moller, died on February 23, 1928, in Deadwood, South Dakota, and was buried in the Mount Moriah Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

George A. Rudolph was born in Meuterheim, Germany, on February 24, 1854. He was a Private in the Band and was not present at the battle due to detached service at Powder River, Montana.

Charles Louis Haack died on February 24, 1902, at the Soldiers Home in Washington, D.C., and was buried in its National Cemetery. He was a Private in Company I who was not present at the battle due to illness.

Joseph Greene Tilford (left) died in Washington, D.C., on February 24, 1911, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was a Major who was not present at the battle due to detached service.