Information from an old and forgotten history magazine provided potentially credible evidence that Col. Custer may have taken his own life at the Little Big Horn. Could this have happened? Corroborating historical documentation substantiates the claims of the story and indicates the possibility of a Custer suicide is not beyond reasonable thought.
VIDEO HERE (24:18 minutes)
It will never be know for certain, in close quarters battle anything can happen.
ReplyDeleteBut I know for sure that a quick painless death would be better than being scalped and beaten to death! Think about being used as a backstop for arrows!
Many Indian accounts say the Indians were more interested in dispatching the troopers quickly and a quick arrow was the solution. There were 2 more squadrons to deal with and maybe more on the way. Next morning the Indians were gone.
DeleteJest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
ReplyDeleteAn' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Kipling
Hey, he was a Yankee, as were his soldiers. Good Riddance.
ReplyDeleteBet there were more than a few Galvanized Yankees in his command.
DeleteHmm. I thought his brother Tom fired the final head shot into his already dying brother.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely correct. Tom Custer was mutilated so badly they could only ID him from a tattoo on his arm, indicating the Sioux were mad at him for something. Either he or William Cooke, the regimental adjutant, whose face was scalped (he had flowing Dundreary whiskers) is believed to have dipatched Custer. He had taken a mortal round in the side trying to cross the river and probably wasn't even conscious.
DeleteThe Cheyenne and Sioux women were not known for their forgiveness…..
ReplyDelete“ When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come out to cut up what remains, jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains and go to your gawd like a soldier.…Kipling.”
Really? One trooper tried to play dead and he was killed by the squaws quickly. Again, the Indians' own accounts.
DeleteI have read many contemporaneous accounts (some historical, some fictional) of the tortures suffered by captured combatants of various Indian tribes. I probably would have committed suicide if I faced capture at the end of the battle.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ken. Very interesting, and very well-done video. Custer was a hero in the Civil War, but most folks today just remember the Little Bighorn fiasco. Lots of Custer bios, but the one I enjoyed most was by Stephen Ambrose, entitled Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors. Little Bighorn Battlefield NM is a worthwhile visit, too.
ReplyDeleteLittle Bighorn is in MT.
DeleteNational Monument, not New Mexico.
DeleteNot super convinced. 1) Somehow this non-standard gun ends up out west with Custer that's never been mentioned before. 2) Most Indian sources have stated Custer was killed early on in the creek. His body was probably dragged up the hill to prevent the Indians from getting it and Tom was one of the last soldiers fighting. Yeah, he may have put a gun to his brother's head just to make sure.
ReplyDeleteCuster's brother is the only person to receive the Congressional Medal Of Honor, TWICE.
ReplyDeleteWrong. 2 Marines and 5 more Army men won it twice.
DeleteShit. I stand corrected. But I found a wiki page claiming 19 two time recipients! I had no idea. Thanks edutcher.
DeleteThe timing of this post is crazy. Today, I finished a book titled "Wooden Leg". It is about a Cheyenne who fought at Little Big Horn. I was going to shoot you an email, but since you put this up, here goes. It is a great book that gives a lot of insight to the different tribes, customs, beliefs, etc. Wooden Leg's telling of the battle includes details of watching US soldiers killing each other and themselves. In his description of the scenes (several) the natives cannot rationalize why the soldiers are doing this. They believe they have gone mad.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone hasn't read it and/or with an interest in things described above, I'd highly recommend this read.
My God, what drivel.
ReplyDeleteMost of the troopers were found lying on their stomachs with arrows sticking out of their back (old Sioux trick of launching volleys of arrows on a parabolic trajectory) by what was left of the 7th Cavalry and the 7th Infantry. I have a feeling that, like Fred Benteen, a lot of Indians said otherwise just to get even.