Im memorium to Audie, Boston and Libby Custer. Some of history's most colorful people and my favorites to read about.
Happy Birthday to me, too. I have always made this the claim to my birthday's fame.
Monroe, Michigan has a big statue of Custer on His Horse at the city park. I believe he was from Monroe.
** Custer had fought numerous battles against Indians and was almost always badly out numbered. However, due to superior weaponry and to a lesser extent better training and discipline, he was always victorious. Truth is, usually the Indians would hit and then run after a few shots and/or casualties.
** The Indians at LBH was a far more massive contingent then anticipated. This was due to the Indians discussing a change in strategy and tactics (combining forces against a common enemy for example). The Indians made an adjustment in their battlefield tactics, Custer did not. That was his fatal mistake.
** Most of the soldiers of the Seventh Calvary were new immigrants to the USA, many were not fluent in English and thus confusion under pressure, was not uncommon. These men, for the most part, were not highly trained, experienced soldiers. They were instead a mixture of young immigrants who turned to being a soldier to help provide a steady (though meager) income.
** If one goes to to LBH and stands at the monument, facing the river, a better picture of what happened is illustrated by the crosses, memorials to the fallen soldiers. Near the banks of the river where the battle started is the first group, near the top, at the monument is the final group. In between is a line of crosses in an irregular line showing where each soldier fell.
Badly outnumbered, it is clear what their intention was, head for the high ground and fight back to back, with dead horses as coverage. Few made it to the top.
The sight of the crosses and the line they paint of death, confusion, heroism, combined with fear is a very moving sight indeed.
Accounts differ about the rape of white women captives. This practice was common among the western Plains Indians, but many accounts (including Teddy Roosevelt's account of those times) claim that the Eastern Indians believed that rape of captives would lessen the fighting essence that they had cultivated through rituals in preparation for war. However, other accounts say rape of white female captives was common among the Eastern Indians also, but the accounts were oppressed due to public squeamishness in discussing the issue.
The bottom line is, Americans could not have expanded throughout the interior of the US, unless the Indians were tamed (ie, the Indian attacks had to cease).
The only U.S. Army unit to have lost its colors in battle twice.
cavalry ping
BTTT