This Week in Little Bighorn History

James Montgomery Bell was born on October 1, 1837, in Williamsburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania. He was the First Lieutenant for Company D who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn because he was on leave.

Joseph Milton died in Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada, on October 1, 1904. He was a Private in Company F who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Wilbur F. Blair died on October 2, 1891, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and was buried there in the Lewisburg Cemetery. He was a Private in Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Patrick Carey died in Washington, D.C., on October 3, 1893, and was buried in the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery there. He was a Sergeant in Company M who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Frank Braun died on October 4, 1876, at Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory, during an operation on the gunshot wounds he received during the battle. He was a Private in Company M who participated in the valley fight and was wounded in the face and left thigh during the fight on Reno Hill. He was originally buried at the Fort Abraham Lincoln Cemetery but was later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery on Crow Agency, Montana.

Abram B. Brant died at Camp J. D. Sturgis, Dakota Territory, on October 4, 1878, from a gunshot wound to the abdomen and was buried at Fort Meade National Cemetery. He was a Private in Company D who participated in the hilltop fight. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions on Reno Hill one day after his death.

Black Fox died on October 5, 1936, and was buried in the Holy Family U. S. Scouts Cemetery in Sanish, Mountrail County, North Dakota. He was an Arikara Scout who was not present during the battle.

Jacob Horner was born in New York City on October 6, 1855. He was a Private in Company K who was not present during the battle due to detached service.

John Lattman died of a bleeding ulcer on October 7, 1913, in Rapid City, South Dakota, and was buried in the Elk Vale Cemetery, east of Piedman, South Dakota. He was a Private with Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Henry Petring died in Brooklyn, New York, on October 7, 1917, and was buried in the Cypress Hills National Cemetery there. He was a Private in Company G who participated in the valley and hilltop fights, during which he was wounded in the eye and hip.

James Boggs died on October 7, 1921, in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and was buried in the Shoops Cemetery there. H was a Private in Company H who received a medical discharge prior to the campaign.


This Week in Little Bighorn History

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 (left) 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 (right) 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 (left) 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 A. 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.

John Ryan (right) was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on August 25, 1845. He was the First Sergeant for Company M who participated in both the valley and hilltop fights.

James C. Blair died on August 25, 1918, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a Private in Company K who was not present at the battle due to detached service.

Charles Camillus DeRudio (left) was born in Belluno Venetia, Austria, on August 26, 1832. He was the First Lieutenant for Company E who participated in both the valley and hilltop fights.

Marion E. Horn was born on August 26, 1853, in Richmond, Indiana. He was a Private in Company I who was killed with Custer’s Column.

James Weeks died on Crow Agency, Montana, on August 26, 1877. He was a Private in Company M who participated in both the valley and hilltop fights.

 


This Week in Little Bighorn History

Charles A. Crandall died on April 23, 1885, in New York City. He was a Corporal with Company C who was not present at the battle because he was on detached service.

William James BaileyWilliam James Bailey (left), who was also known as William Baker, was born in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 24, 1850. He was a Private and served as a scout. He was not present at the battle because he was on the steamer Far West. [Photograph courtesy of Sherian Grant Kennedy.]

George Anson Merritt died on April 24, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois. He was a Private with the Band and, therefore, was not at the battle.

 

Wilber F. Blair died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 1918, and was buried at the Lewisburg Cemetery in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He was a Private with Company A who participated in the valley and hilltop fights.

Jasper Marshall was born on April 26, 1852, in Spring Valley, Ohio. He was a Private with Company L who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

James P. McNally died in St. Paul, Minnesota, on April 26, 1893, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota. He was a Private with Company I who was with the pack train and participated in the hilltop fight.

William O’Mann died on April 26, 1901, in Fargo, North Dakota. He was a Private with Company D who participated in the hilltop fight.

Benjamin Franklin Burdick was born on April 27, 1851, in Grafton, Rensselaer County, New York. He was a Private with Company A who was not present at the battle because he was on detached service.

Henry Armstrong "Autie" Reed

 

Henry Armstrong “Autie” Reed (left) was born in Monroe, Michigan, on April 27, 1858. He was a civilian who was hired to accompany the campaign. He was the son of Lydia Custer Reed, the sister of George and Tom Custer.

 

George Hose was born on April 29, 1850, in Hesse Cassel, Germany. He was a Corporal with Company K who participated in the hilltop fight.

This Week in Little Bighorn History

William Van Wyck Reily was born on December 12, 1853, in Washington D.C. He was a Second Lieutenant in Company F who was killed during the battle on June 25, 1876, and was buried on August 3, 1877, in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Other Seventh Cavalry anniversaries this week include:

  • John G. Tritten died in Dayton, Ohio, on December 12, 1918. He was on detached service during the battle.
  • Frederick Deetline died on December 13, 1910, in San Antonio, Texas, and is buried in the National Cemetery there.
  • Francis Marion Gibson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 14, 1847. He survived the battle, but his brother-in-law, Donald McIntosh, did not.
  • Henry Holden, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the hilltop fight, died on December 14, 1905, in East Brighton, England.
  • James P. Boyle was born in County Typrone, Ireland, on December 15, 1983.
  • Matthew Maroney died on December 15, 1880, in Washington, D.C.
  • Felix Villiet Vinatieri, the Chief Musician of the Seventh Cavalry, died in Yankton, South Dakota, on December 15, 1891. He was not present at the battle.
  • John Donahoe died on December 15, 1905, in San Francisco, California, and is buried in the National Cemetery there.
  • William Braendle died in Santa Rosa, California, on December 15, 1932, and is buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery.
  • John McKenna drowned in the Ohio River before December 16, 1888, when his body was found near Constance, Kentucky.
  • Edward D. Pigford died in Lock Three, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1932. He fought in the valley and hilltop fights and was wounded.
  • Myles Moylan was born on December 17, 1838, in Amesbury, Massachusetts, and died on December 11, 1909, in San Diego, California.
  • George Loyd, who participated in the valley and hilltop fights, died in Fort Riley, Kansas, on December 17, 1892, and is buried in the Post Cemetery.
  • George B. Penwell died on December 17, 1905, at Barnes Hospital in Washington, D.C., and was buried at the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery there.
  • John Schwerer died at the National Soldiers Home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on December 17, 1913, and was buried at the Wood National Cemetery.
  • James O’Neill died on December 17, 1931, in Sawtelle, California. He was not present at the battle due to illness.
  • James C. Blair was born in Camden, New Jersey, on December 18, 1850. He was a Private in Company K who was on detached service during the battle.
  • Michael P. Madden died in California, Missouri, on December 18. 1883. He was wounded during the hilltop fight, and Dr. Porter amputated his leg in the field.