Will Comstock - Army scout

 Salvete Omnes,

Will Comstock in Harper's illustration from June, 1867

a little article from Old West Magazine 1969 on this US Army Scout and soldiers' guide - William 'Medicine Bill' Averil Comstock (1842-1868). His mother, Sarah Sabina Cooper. was a nice of James Fenimore Cooper, famous American writer.  

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the contest between Buffalo Bill and Comstock in killing bison

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Fort Wallace 

From general G. A. Custer's  Wild life on the Plains and horrors of Indian warfare - the killing of Comstock by the Cheyenns near Fort Hayes in 1868- 

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W.E. Webb's recollections about Comstock from Harper's Monthly Magazine, Nov 1875.

Valete

Little Big Horn or Greasy Grass- a cavalry battle 1876-2025

 Salvete Omnes,

June 25, 1876 - first and the decisive day of the battle in the valley of the Greasy Grass River aka the Little Big Horn River. I have done numerous posts about the battle and yet when then anniversary comes I want to revisit and remember the heroic struggle between the native warriors of Lakota and Northern Cheyennes against the Progress embodied by the politicking commander, G.A. Custer, and his 7th US Cavalry horsemen and native allied scouts.

a view from the Custer Hill towards distant Big Horns

warrior Wooden Leg of the Northern Cheyennes recounts here his recollections about the battle. Perhaps one day I will return to the narratives etc described from this book.

Sitting Bull's recollections about the battle as printed by the New York Times, 1881.
The American Surveyor magazine  - GPS used to solve some Custer's Last Stand mysteries. 

Pacem aeternam

ps

texts about or related to the battle on Archive

Valete

Remembering the Little Big Horn battle

 Salvete Omnes,

today another anniversary - the bloody battle of Little Big Horn or Greasy Grass - victory of the rebellious Lakota and their Cheyenne allies, with some sprinkling of Arapahoes etc, against the US Army - 7th US Cavalry and their Crow allies.

Chief Gall - one of the architects of this Plains Indian victory of the US Cavalry.

Oglala principal war leader or blotahunka Crazy Horse leading and fighting - showing the way 

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Pacem Aeternam 

Valete

April Fool's Day - or Custer on his 1st bison hunt

 Salvete Omnes,

April has come and we should rejoice the return of warm seasons, but for the fact that the world is in turmoil and full of mayhem- eg the Central Kitchen food aid workers massacre in  Gaza. Let us pray for peace to return everywhere.

April Fool's Day was yesterday - and in the spirit of that day I would like to bring to your attention and curiosity a little funnier and tragic event from rather more heroic life of G. A. Custer.

In 1867 American Army brevet general and actual  colonel G.A. Custer, cavalryman and hero of the Civil War, started his  Great Plains military service against the Plains Indian people, that would eventually lead to his death in battle in 1876.
This event - a buffalo hunting - took place during general Hancock's Southern Plains campaign in Kansas and Colorado in the Spring of  1867. 
Custer, pursing fleeing Indians,  decided to seek some bison or buffalo, as he had not hunted them yet, using his trusted army revolvers and his to hound dogs. 

So here is his tale of his 1st hunt, in his own words (My Life on the Plains):

so, our hero lost his valued and trusted thoroughbred steed, survived unscathed and his hounds too,while he was exceedingly lucky that there were no Cheyenne nor Lakotas of Pawnee Killer to finish him off. He finished his Spring-Summer marching in July 1867
Nota bene Custer wrote about his hunting mishap in his letters to a hunting magazine titled :'Turf, Field and Farm' (1867) - you can borrow the edited letters - Nomad, George A. Custer in Turf, Field and Farm - from Archive world Library. (this letter  was written and sent on Sept. 9, 1867, being published in the magazine on Sept 21, 1867)
Valete