This Week in Little Bighorn History

John Gorham, who was also known as John E. Quinn, died on September 26, 1932, in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was a Private in Company D who was not present at the Battle of the Little Bighorn due to detached service at the Powder River Depot, Montana, guarding the wagon train.

Thomas Benton Weir (left) was born in Nashville, Ohio, on September 28, 1838. He was the Captain in command of Company D during scouting and the hilltop fight.

Samuel Davis Sturgis (right) died on September 28, 1889, at St. Paul, Minnesota, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. He was the Colonel commanding the Regiment, but he was not present at the battle due to detached service at St. Louis, Missouri. His son, Lt. James Garland Sturgis, was killed with Custer’s Column.

Patrick C. White (left), who used the alias Patrick Connelly, died on September 28, 1909, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery there. He was a Sergeant with Company H who was wounded in the hilltop fight.

Conrad Farber died in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 29, 1896. He was a Private in Company I who was not present at the battle due to detached service in St. Paul, Minnesota, as a carpenter for the quartermaster department.

A number of men who survived the battle were killed fifteen months later on September 30, 1877, during the battle at Snake Creek.

James H. Alberts

David Edward Dawsey

Otto Durselew

Owen Hale

Michael Martin

George M. McDermott

Max Mielke

Henry W. Raichel

William J. Randall

Francis Roth

William Whitlow

They were initially buried on the battlefield at Bear Paw Mountain but were later reinterred in the Custer National Cemetery in Montana.

James Montgomery Bell (right) was born on October 1, 1837, in Williamsburg, Blair County, Pennsylvania. He served as an Army officer from 1837 through 1919 when he retired as a Brigadier General. He joined the 7th Cavalry in July 1866 and saw action at Washita (1868) and Canyon Creek (1877). In 1876, he was the First Lieutenant for Company D who was not present at the battle 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, serving as the cook for the regimental band.

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.