The Officers Who Died with Custer & the Young Widows They Left Behind

A look at the tragedies that befell both the men and women of Custer's 7th cavalry...
A tremendous thank you to Anita Donofrio for her research on 7th Cavalry families.
She has an outstanding article in the Brian C. Pohanka 33rd Annual Symposium/ Custer Battlefield Historical Museum Assn: "Smithie, We Hardly Knew Ye"-- The Life of Algernon Emory Smith.
She also has an article out in a recent Little Bighorn Associates Research Review about the Yates family.
AND she has a new article coming soon in the 35th Annual Symposium: The Reluctant Widow: Grace Berard Harrington. IT IS AWESOME!
Anita also gives lectures and interviews, and is a frequent guest on Chautauqua Sunrise with Doc Hamels.
For information about the state of the bodies found at the Little Bighorn Battlefield, please read Richard Hardorff's The Custer Battle Casualties I and II.
For biographical details on their lives, Roger William's Military Register of Custer's Last Command is great.
I recommend anything about Custer's Last Stand by Donovan, Leckie, Stiles, Frost, Utley, Graham, Carroll, Liddic, etc.
And Elizabeth Custer's memoirs are fantastic!
***
If you too have a passion for the 7th Cavalry, please consider joining:
Little Bighorn Associates
www.thelbha.com
Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum Association
custerbattlefield.org
Custer Association of Great Britain www.english-westerners-society.org.uk
**PLEASE DONT FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, & STAY TUNED FOR NEW EPISODES!**
I love hearing suggestions of what you’d like to see next!
For more about my current work-in-progress or my published books (The Confusion of Languages and You Know When the Men Are Gone, both with Putnam/Penguin), please see my author website:
www.siobhanfallon.com
Or follow me on Instagram and Facebook:
siobhanfallonwriter
THANK YOU!

[@mikepulis4618]

Very good research and well presented. I rode as a cavalryman for the 130th anniversary of the battle in 2006. The park service allowed us with horses and weapons for the memorial service near the cemetery and allowed us on horseback and uniforms to cross in front of last stand hill to cross the Little Big Horn and back to our picket line. We did a two day horse ride down to the battlefield following Custer's route via the Crows Nest.

[@FireBlade9773]

Incredible! Well done

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yes, indeed, incredible! I hope you took lots of photos!! If you get a chance, let me know what you think of my other Little Bighorn stories and if you have any suggestions for future videos! All best, Siobhan

[@sophiegeorge2816]

That sounds interesting although I couldn’t have ridden a horse for 2 days, apart from the fact it would have kept throwing me off, I wouldn’t have wanted to walk like John Wayne for several days

[@RailfanDownunder]

There is always a story behind the story, isn't there .... Fascinating... Superb work again 😊

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you! I love the stories behind the stories 😍

[@markhubanks3715]

Once again Siobhan you hit a home run. I liked how you highlighted the individuals in the group photos. You bring them back to life in your narrative. Great Job!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you! I should have done a better job doing that I thought after I posted. So many others I should have pointed out in the group photos. Next time!!

[@markhubanks3715]

That's why people like your work, it's not stiff scripted rehash. I throughly enjoy and look forward to your next post.

[@johnashton485]

Excellent presentation! Great content.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thanks so much!!

[@michaelhart6318]

All of her presentation contain great content and apparently are very well researched.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@michaelhart6318 thank you!

[@mariancolts]

Thank you for the information. Somehow as a history buff it never crossed my mind to learn about the officers ( outside of Custer) and their wives.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yay!! Well I have plenty of videos about them! Please let me know if the others resonate with you. Thanks for commenting! 🙏

[@Jay_Hall]

Just simply a wonderful presentation that I found very informative, very.. I recently read an article about Libbie and Margaret and how they suffered after their loss at the LBH, as well as a number of the other widows, it moved me greatly and disturbed me much. Please keep "Bringing It". :) Nice cat U have, I love cats as well as dogs.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thanks so much! The widows are what drew me into this study... 🐾

[@michaelfrost4584]

Thank you for this very informative history lesson, as an 66yrs old Australian male and ex Army Veteran l have always been very interested in your old western history and your civil war and Indian warriors. Some very sad stories. Once again thank you. 🇦🇺

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you, Michael! Australia! Wow! Amazed to know you are watching from so very far away. 🙏 You mentioned Indian warriors-- I'm working on one now about Bloddy Knife, Custer's half-Arikara, half-Sioux scout and his long standing personal fued with the Hunkpapa Sioux Gall. It's truly eye opening. Hope to hear from you again!!

[@58landman]

Siobhan, thank you for the photographs. They are amazing and so beneficial to your presentations. The best to you.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So good to hear that! Thank you. I love all these old photos myself and always want to see more.

[@sunnyjacksmack]

Again as always; Well done.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@oneida41859]

I learn so much from your channel. The widows were very beautiful women. Thank you. Take care.

[@lesliemoiseauthor]

I love how you delve into this often overlooked facet of battles

[@culloden23]

Great content! Thank you

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yay! Thank you so much!

[@michaelgallagher2663]

Well Done, Siobhan. Thank You.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@REM1956]

I happened to stumble onto your excellent video. Superb information on the subject. Seems the 7th Cavalry wives are usually missing from history books. Their stories give a depth to the officers, as real people, with full, but short lives. Not just names on a marker in the middle of nowhere. Thank you.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So very good of you to take the time to comment. That's what I hope to do-- show the larger picture of the time by showing the individual and very human lives behind the headlines. Please let me know what you think of my other videos! Hope to hear from you again and thank you!

[@russ8261]

Another twenty minutes of great stuff I didn't know before. What a fantastic gift this series has been! Siobhan, Someday down the road should you find yourself running short on 7th material, I'm wondering if you might consider a similar series covering the birth of Texas and the characters who played the major roles in that short period? Just a suggestion in case you ever find yourself looking for another subject. On the other hand, I'm pretty convinced that most of us will have our thirst quenched on a regular basis by whatever adventure you may send our way. Thank you, again, for all of your effort and commitment to bring us these compelling chapters. 🌹R

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Ha ha! We lived at Fort Hood, my eldest daughter was born there, so... maybe? 🥰 thanks for the kind comments !!

[@kcevans4321]

That's a great idea! I would love to see it. The story of the founding of Texas as a state is wild.

[@TimMulligan]

Thanks very, very much for this video, most informative and moving regarding the family tragedies that continued after June 25, 1876.

[@realbay2po]

Siobhan, excellent work as always. I feel like I am running out of superlatives!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Ha ha keep trying! I do the videos, you do the superlatives!! 🤣🤣🤣🎉

[@mikearreola2609]

Wow… wowww! Amazing job you’ve done here! Very tragic devastating stories of these very special people during some of the most pivotal moments of my nation’s history! Thank you! 🙏🇺🇸

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Oh, so kind of you. Thank you! If you have the time, please let me know what you think of my other videos, too 🙏🇺🇸📚

[@gator83261]

Very good video.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@mountainjackietr511]

Another excellent video! Thank you so much! I look forward to your upcoming videos; they are so well done!

[@stanleypelcak1806]

U never cease to amaze me, once again u achieved my undivided attention with this video of the tragic lives and demise of these officers that died at the battle " of the greasy grass " keep ur videos coming i thoroughly enjoy them and never cease to learn something new .

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you. That means a lot 🙏

[@barbaraanneneale3674]

What a treat!! Thanks so much for this new video. As usual I learned things I didn't know about the troops with custer. I know Highland Park. A couple of good friends of mine from college We're from the Hudson valley, One from West Nyak And the other from Stony Point. Please excuse the spelling and capitalization errors I'm still fighting with my speech to text demon. I also volunteered several times on the Clearwater. I agree with you it's a beautiful area. As i've said before, You wonderfully Illuminate the human side of the Custer battle Which as you know is the most important aspect from my point of view. Thank you so much for your impeccable research. Please keep it up.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you, Barbara!! I love hearing from you! You made my day 😉

[@barbaraanneneale3674]

@@SiobhanFallon7 Never heard that before.🤣

[@ktd9]

Great informative presentation…Thanks…🙏😍💪

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@wadesplacejones4577]

Siobhan this is an excellent video! I really learned a great deal from it about the lives of the officers with General Custer that day. I read Libby Custer's book Boots and Saddles. Thank you so much for making it. It's the first of your videos I've watched and I subscribed to channel and look forward to watching the rest. Thanks again! Gary Owen!!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Oh how wonderful of you to say! Please let me know what you think of the others if you have time. Lovely to get your message, you just made my day! 🤗💕🎉

[@aa64912]

Excellent

[@keithagn]

Thank you for yet another excellent video on this story of History. It was a sad and sobering one. Regards from Canada 🇨🇦

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you, Keith!

[@stevengamble2956]

Another really fascinating subject matter Siobhan. You really do put a completely new light on the LBH. It is hardly mentioned that all those killed in the battle, both Officers and enlisted men, had wives, children, parents etc. The amount of research you do is evident in the way you give them their identity. The tragic loss of Officers at the Little Bighorn, and the impact on their families, is mirrored at the battle of Isandlwana in the Zulu war in 1879 where virtually the entire regiment was wiped out.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So true, Steven. There must have been such widespread mourning in England, too. I recall the bodies were left at Islawanda as well for quite some time?

[@stevengamble2956]

I think the bodies were buried over a matter of months and intermittently, and some later reburied elsewhere.

[@robertschultz6922]

I’d like to see a video on the surgeons that were with the 7th during the campaign. Dr lord, Dr Wolfe and Dr Porter. Since Porter survived it would be awesome to see a report on what he went through!!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

YES!! I'm ordering books on the surgeons now actually for a future video!!

[@waqqas800]

Elihu clear of K company was shot during Reno's disorderly retreat to the bluffs. I think he was an orderly or assistant to Dewolf.

[@robertschultz6922]

@@waqqas800 so the entire medical staff of dr dewolfe died. I wonder how many orderlies survived from dr porter or was he literally the only person treating the entire command of Reno/Benten until being relieved. I believe he only had some carbonic acid and morphine/ladmium to ease the pain, that’s about it. Through that he had to perform a amputation and tray multiple gun shot wounds. It’s a miracle not more died from the infections and what not

[@robertschultz6922]

And after doing some research none of the orderlies survived. Dr porter had to use volunteers from the remaining companies to help with the wounded

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@robertschultz6922 wow. Porter is an unsung hero of that fight. You make me want to do a video on him ASAP!

[@frankperkin124]

Very good content. Did any of enlisted men leave a widow, is there even a record of that?

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Oh yes!! That's at least one coming video in itself!!

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

Yes and I recall that one of the Sgt’s who survived LBH married the widow of one of the Sgts who didn’t. Think it was Kanipe.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@Redwhiteblue-gr5em yes! Sergeant Bobo's wife I think!!! This is another topic I want to do! Quite a few enlisted men widows remarried men within the 7th. Must have been an interesting dynamic there.

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

@@SiobhanFallon7 and don’t forget the transgender laundress named Nash. According to Libbie she married several soldiers in the 7th.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@Redwhiteblue-gr5em yes!!

[@mattpiepenburg8769]

Wonderful work you do for us history thirsty types. Many thanks- always so deeply appreciated

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you, Matt 🙏 You just made my day!

[@jefferycsm]

I REALLY LOVE this video! Keep them coming!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

I will!! Thank you! Please check out my other videos and biographies here and let me know what you think 🙏🎉

[@debpratt52]

Siobhan, i enjoy your video stories of the 7th Cavalry and Custer. We have a print of Don Stiver's painting, "The Premonition," on our living room wall. It depicts Custer and his troops leaving in the early morning hours for the 1876 summer campaign, with the young wives tearfully bidding good-bye. It is heart-wrenching.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Ah yes, I know that one! If you have that print, you are a true Little Bighorn aficionado! Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment. I hope I hear from you again soon. Any suggestions on something you'd like to see here in the future? I have a couple fun ones lined up for February/ Valentines Day month 😉...

[@simonking5863]

Another lovely video, one of the best channels on KZbin, it’s very interesting fleshing out the significant others of these soldiers - thank you once again Siobhan.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

What a great note to get from you, Simon! Thank you! These women went through so very much. As an Army spouse, I am amazed at what they endured, and it feels important to me to recognize them in some small way.

[@simonking5863]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I think that’s very important, these ladies and families must have endured significant mental trauma that lasted a lifetime. Have a nice evening Siobhan and once again many thanks for all your hard work and research , please know it’s very much appreciated.

[@dieternowatius5062]

New theme in old quality. Top as usual 😊👍 Love this ❤

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@iangrimwood3345]

Brilliant!! Thank you again!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So good of you to say so! 😊🙏

[@Ru.eliz.]

Another great video!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

You're the best!! Thank you 🙏💕

[@richanglin7994]

Always enjoy your videos

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So good of you to comment!! Thank you!

[@maryettamoody5079]

Brilliant Production

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@marshallsmom]

So interesting! I love to find out 'what happened' to briefly 'historical' characters🤗💕👏👏👏

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you, Rita! Me too ☺️ it's what keeps me hooked to this battle...

[@ronaldringler1497]

Love the info you've uncovered.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@mssmith3604]

Excellent work. I became fascinated with the Custer story as a youth. I've read a few books on the subject including "A Terrible Glory," "Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of the Little Bighorn," "A Wounded Thing Must Hide," "The Custer Album," and Libbie's books. I wrote a screenplay titled "Libbie and Autie," but having no connections in Hollywood, it has gone nowhere.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

I have no connections in Hollywood either, and don't know much about screenplays, but can only tell you not to give up. Can it also function as a play? Do you write other genres like articles or stories?

[@mssmith3604]

@@SiobhanFallon7 Pretty cat, BTW. Thanks for replying. As a play, I suspect it would need major adjustments due to the Civil War battle scenes and other outdoor locations. I did not describe the Little Big Horn battle. If you are interested, I could send you the logline and synopsis. I've written only technical articles beside the screenplay. I was motivated to write it because I was dissatisfied with the grossly inaccurate Hollywood movies about Custer and the fact that none of them focussed on Libbie. She was an amazing and beautiful woman.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@mssmith3604 Libbie drew me into this story myself. And she is key to the 600 plus page novel I'm finishing up. So I too hope there is a market for her story!!

[@mssmith3604]

@@SiobhanFallon7 It's fiction?

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@mssmith3604 yes!!

[@dougmoore5252]

Thank you for this very thoughtful and interesting.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So very good of you to comment! Please let me know what you think of my other videos too! 🙏

[@walterbrown9651]

The stories of those at LBH, with ties to LBH are so interesting! Another great insight into the aftermath of LBH! Nice cat!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you so much!

[@gregdavis19]

You do a awesome job! Thank you.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you so much, Greg! 🙏

[@colinraine8245]

I'm so glad l found your channel Siobhan. I'm not even American I'm English but have always been fascinated by Custer and the 7th Cavalry from a very early childhood age I'm sure it's because at about 5 l saw "They Died with their boots on " and l remember having a blue US Army Cap which my parents bought for me on holiday at the seaside. So I'm enjoying learning more.... and yes l know that movie was probably 90% incorrect.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So lovely to hear from you! Thank you! I have so much fun putting these together. How wonderful to learn you are finding these all the way in the UK 🇬🇧 😍 Let me know what you think of my other 7th Cavalry videos if you get a chance! Cheers, Siobhan

[@colinraine8245]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I definitely will , l started with the episodes of the officers and was really intrigued with the conflicts going on between them when the battle had already started and one officer adamant they should assist... always head towards the sound of gunfire seems to be forgotten with his senior . It really makes you wonder what motives he had . Wasn't one of the officers British and is thats how they adopted the regimental match tune ?

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@colinraine8245 ha yes! Captain Miles Keogh was from Cpunty Carlow, Ireland, and he often gets the credit for the regimental song Garry Owen (a traditional Irish tune). ☘️

[@gregchaynes]

You're great! Thank you

[@SiobhanFallon7]

You made my night!! Thank you, Greg!! Please let me know what other videos of mine you like if you get a chance 🙏 I'm so grateful you took the time to comment. I needed to hear that today!

[@user-kq7bf1et1i]

Really interesting video,thankyou

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!

[@keithballard-yy5hf]

a great video.. very well done

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!! 🙏

[@RaoulThomas007]

Incredible amount of trauma that lasted a lifetime for the young spouses and survivors of the battle. Sadly, Comanche was treated better from a trauma standpoint, than the surviving spouses.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Ouch. Very true!

[@pigmanobvious]

Good job.. Again! I always was of the opinion that Maggie was stricken worse than Libbie by the awful event.

[@maxdavid84]

After the women were informed ot their husbands' death on July 6 when the Far West reached Bismark, Maggie followed the officer out the door crying "Is there no message for me."

[@kennethblack7753]

Thank you 😊

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!

[@marcwitt8507]

Thank you so much this was so interesting and the pictures some I have never seen before ..I live in jersey and in east orange there is a 7th Calvary trooper a Medal of Honor recipient who is buried there I can’t think of his name at the moment do you know this soldier and was he at the battle that day

[@SiobhanFallon7]

I don't know but I will try to look him up and let you know! Thanks so much for your kind comment. Please let me know what you think of my other videos. I am planning on doing a video on an enlisted man soon so feel free to give me suggestions if that is something you are interested in! Hope to hear from you again, Siobhan

[@anthonytroisi6682]

It is easy to forget how young the officers and men at the Battle of Little Bighorn were.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

It truly is. And there often even younger wives.

[@FireBlade9773]

Great vid😊

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!!

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

Fascinating video! Thoroughly enjoyed it and thank you for your efforts and deep dive research into the lives of these officers. So many tragic events associated with the 7th. Always thought it was so strange that Harrington, Porter and Sturgis bodies were never found. I feared they met a grisly end in the Indian village. And poor Maggie losing five relatives at LBH. Also interesting that many of the wives never remarried. Was it adhering to some sort of Victorian rule of etiquette??

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you! Re: the missing bodies... I plan to do a longer video on Harrington soon. Major Reno gave an interview after the fight saying he thought he saw someone being burned at the stake the night of June 25, and the man looked like Harrington. So Harrington may have met an even more grisley end than others. Also there were three burned heads found in a pot in the village. Sturgis, Porter, Harrington? Perhaps. And Porter's dead horse was found in the village too. So... 🤷🏼‍♀️ did some men and officers actually infiltrate the village or get close? Were some captured alive and tortured (warrior Little Knife mentions at least one soldier who was). Re: the widows not remarrying. Good question. I can't remember exactly but I feel like Libbie was disappointed that Maggie remarried. So maybe they felt that their remaining widows better honored the memory of their fallen men? There were widow funds being raised and tgeir pensions getting doubled etc, so some media attention was on them too which may have exerted pressure to stay true to their lost husband's name. Maybe I will do a video on it. Also I find it very strange how few of them had children!

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I always suspected Porter and Sturgis were taken alive to the village. Or maybe they got away on horseback from the command and ended up riding in the village. And I thought Harrington was possibly the soldier who got away on a fast horse from several Indians chasing him. And the Indians gave up the pursuit but were then surprised when the soldier committed suicide. Yes I too recall reading somewhere that Libbie was not happy that Maggie remarried. I also recall reading somewhere that frequent riding of horses caused fertility problems for males. Not saying I believed this but could be one of the perils of choosing the cavalry as a career.

[@debpratt52]

@@Redwhiteblue-gr5em I think your childless theory may be correct as George Washington never had children, either.

[@allisonyoung7604]

I would love to know your resources! You have shared amazing photos of Custer in past podcasts and I am not able to find it myself (the one of him in his teens while teaching). Can you please provide your resources? Much appreciated!🙏

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Sure!! The best images of Custer can be found in Dr. Lawrence Frost's General Custer's Libbie This book was mass produced, and I'm pretty sure i got my hard cover copy for about $10 on Thrift books dot com

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Also Dr Frost's The Custer Album 💕

[@SiobhanFallon7]

There's another by D. Mark Katz: Custer in Photographs All of these books are inexpensive and rather easy to find and are just full of amazing photos that capture the essence of the time and the 7th CAV

[@maxdavid84]

Please keep the stories coming. The death of Lt. Porter is especially tragic as his transfer had already come through and he did not have to go on the campaign, but he wanted to be part of the last great Indian fight.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

So awful!! Imagine his wife having to live with that knowledge? If she had only begged him to stay... that's terrible. Thank you so much for sharing that insight here.

[@zingwilder9989]

Thanks!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

WHOA!! Thank you 🎉🎉🎉🍀 So good of you! One of these days I will manage to get a decent audio/ recording system. This will go directly to that. YOU ARE AWESOME 🙏🙏🙏

[@zingwilder9989]

@@SiobhanFallon7 The sound quality is fine, ma'am. It's no issue, whatsoever.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@zingwilder9989 thank you!! I could use a little upgrade but I have been trying out new programs and techniques lately to try to fix the problems. You are very kind.

[@hardtruth63americanpatriot66]

Hello beautiful! Wonderful content!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you!

[@swannoir]

This was interesting, I thought especially the last couple, the missing Henry Harrington and his wife Grace, who also went missing for a time.

[@anthonytroisi6682]

I always wondered if Harrington was captured and killed while a prisoner of war.

[@james_t_kirk]

*There are some interesting parallels between this 1876 clash of civilizations in America and the 1879 clash of civilizations in South Africa at the Battle of Rorke's Drift.*

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yes! Absolutely ! I do not know the Islawanda fight very well, but I do see the echoes there...

[@maxdavid84]

I am really enjoying your videos. Thank you for all the time you put into doing the research. I also know how much of a financial burden it is to do the research. I am glad to see Captain Yates getting his due. He probably was the best company commander in the 7th. Heny Nowland who was shanghaied by Terry is the other candidate. Out of the senior Captains, Benteen was terrible subordinate. Company H was shoddy and undisciplined. He was slow not only at LBH, but also at the Washita and he always seemed to have his shirt tail hanging out even on Reno Hill. That might not sound like much, but trust me, it is a big deal. Keogh was an alcoholic and prone to depression. Custer was really down on him for his constant requests for leave. He had missed every campaign of the 7th and had even put in a leave request prior to this campaign Custer had turned down. Weir, of couse, was an alcoholic. Yates and F Company as you said was the show company.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

They all have such complicated stories! Which makes it endlessly interesting for me. Thanks so much for watching and comment. Let me know what you think of my other videos if you can 🎉

[@chriswalter7419]

Great work..I like how your voice inflection changes when you are speaking as one of the wives, eg. " he was the handsomest man..." 😊

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thank you for noticing and commenting! Some people think I'm annoying but I don't how how else to differentiate betqeen folks other than changing my voice (and it's kind of fun 😉).

[@chriswalter7419]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I think it's awesome!

[@frankenz66]

That's a liability of everyone being so tight in one Company or battalion, the risk of so many related men lost to a battle. That's crazy that so many family members were lost. They should have been split up in other battalions . I am sure they were unrealistically confident that things would always turn out ok every time.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

There were so few instances of mass casualties like this that, as you point out, they could not have possibily expected such losses. And who better to live on the frontier and also fight alongside than the men and brothers you trust most in the world? It's hard to decide what they should have done here. I am sure being with family on those faraway posts made everything better. Yet of course a loss like this is the most horrible ending imaginable for that same community/family.

[@frankenz66]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I can definitely imagine that is how it went for certain. It would belp with the loneliness of the undertaking. Thank you Ma'am..

[@garydavis1845]

How about a video on the Canadians who rode with Custer?

[@zingwilder9989]

I would not want to be the individual to describe the condition of the bodies, of the fallen soldiers, to any relative. It would simply be too difficult. In addition, poor Mrs. Yates, after her miscarriage, had 3 children under the age of four. I just can't imagine how horrible that was for her? Moreover, I never knew that the Utica, NY, area had an officer (Algernon Smith) that was killed at this battle. I did read that he attended Hamilton College, so it was no surprise that he would have lived in the vicinity(Newport). He must have been exceptionally tough to be in that unit with a disability.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yes. Can you imagine riding a wild cavalry horse with a bum arm?? And SHOOTING?? Incredible.

[@mikelewis1436]

Wow! That a company photo of B Troop circa 1877 at the start of (another) fantastic photo - sure each troop would have probably had annual company photos, Siobhan, but unfortunately this is the only one I've come across...

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Man, I never even thought of the potential existence of Company group photos!! What I would give for a D Co/ Weir with his men photo!! 😍

[@mikelewis1436]

That B Co pic is in Glen Swanson's book - given what close-knit units those troops were, I find it hard to believe there aren't others out there...I would kill for a group portrait of the Gray Horse Troop!

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@mikelewis1436 yes! Can you imagine! E Troop! 🙏 must have depended on where they were posted and if there was a photographer who could take photos outdoors?

[@mikelewis1436]

@SiobhanFallon7 I would bet a fair sum of money there's one out there somewhere - probably in the hands of some private collector I would imagine...

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@@mikelewis1436 yes 😭😭😭

[@jogeraghty4774]

I found this information completely different to a recent documentary. Last one i heard said Custer was not naked, and found with his head resting again a dead horse restinng

[@user-up5vp8gk4k]

Hi Siobhan dear, Did Libbie Custer ever come to England?

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Oh my... I do not know off the top of my head...

[@user-up5vp8gk4k]

@@SiobhanFallon7 ok Thank you x

[@maryettamoody5079]

I’m on other side my great grandpa was pure Choctaw. So on other sid my dad despised Custer and dad wasin wW l I’m is army

[@dustinneely]

😢

[@ronaldmendez4112]

I have my volume at 90%. I am having trouble hearing the program. Are you talking low for a reason ?

[@SiobhanFallon7]

No, I'm not. I have trouble with my audio all the time but this is the first time I heard there was an issue with this video! S I'm sorry! 😬🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

[@tbenedict6335]

You know its simply amazing kids today think of custer as nearly being a roman gladiator 😂. When the truth is it really wasn't that long ago. My grandparents remembered a lot of old civil war veterans with missing limbs riding the rails bc it was free to them at the depot in town. My own grandfather was born in 1896 and once told me he had an amazing life from horse drawn carriages to automobiles to man walking on the moon. He said i can only imagine what you will witness,lmao i cant wait to tell him men and women became so confused at which bathrooms to use 😂😂

[@debpratt52]

My Grandfather, too! He was born in 1897, and my interest in the Civil War began when at a Memorial Day parade in his hometown of Gilbertsville, NY. I was probably only 8 years old and remarked how amazing it was to see WWI soldiers marching. Grandpa turned to me and said, "When I was your age, there were Civil War soldiers marching in it." Blew my mind. P.S. My husband and I have portrayed Libbie and Custer since 1976!

[@goonertrooper]

She a stunning Irish Colleen. Fancy her.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

With your Keogh name 🍀, please tell me you have watched my Captain Myles Keogh biography? kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHu6f5edfKZsr5Isi=5tltRHiC1Onkc2f5

[@angloaust1575]

Reno and benteen managed to avoid the massacre!

[@alwaysfourfun1671]

Discovering and recounting the microscopic details of any humans live gives an enormous weight to the sad turns that live can take. The men were all united as soldiers and accidentally dying as soldiers. The widows were differently talented and had different aspirations. I was also naturally carried away by your storytelling, your choice of words and your intonations. While listening to your story, I also couldn't help but think about the thousands and thousands of native husbands, native uncles, native mothers, native children, native nephews, native nieces, native brothers and native sisters, who were driven from their country, while their rich cultures were actively destroyed, while the Americans resented their freedom and self-determination. White people didn't value their lives. That is the real tragedy. Custer is a much overrated person who was, on that day, quite a disservice to his unit. The column of Terry was near and he split his command, while not listening to his scouts. He hastily wrote in not knowing the size of the village. He caused his own doom and of that of the men who wrote with him. Sad, but not especially more sad than the fate of the native people.

[@ccahill2322]

You mentioned Myles Keogh but that was all. Did he not die there as well? Strange.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Yes, he absolutely died at the Little Bighorn and he has a marker near the spot where he fell with so many of his men. Sorry, I was focusing on just the married officers here and he was single. But I do plan to do a biography on Keogh soon so please check back again!! ☘️

[@TERMICOBRA]

Did any of the missing troopers end up in the Little Bighorn River and float away? I know there are some theories that Custer was shot crossing the river so could this action have resulted in any of the others getting shot off their horses and into the river? Also: Are there any stories of the missing troopers possibly getting carried back to the village for torture? I can't remember if I've read any of those rumors/theories/stories. It could be possible some of the men made it out onto the tall grass of the wide open plains with terrible wounds and died alone and unaccounted for. There's also the gruesome reality that some of the men were simply mutilated beyond recognition. Not knowing what happened to your family member would deny you of closure and make it more difficult to pick up what was left of your life and rebuild it. Man...

[@SiobhanFallon7]

There were three decapitated heads found in the village burned beyond recognition. And there's a story told by a young warrior about a man taken alive, tied up, and later killed with knives. Abd Reno thought he saw Harrington being burned at the stake the night of June 25. And all the things you mentioned as well. So ID-ing bodies must have been incredibly difficult. The smell was so bad men were vomiting while trying to bury their friends on June 27/28.

[@maxdavid84]

Custer's battalion never reached the river despite claims to the contrary. There were 3 burned heads found in the village, but they were from Reno's command. Sioux did not take or torture captives. The Indians told a story of an officer who almost escaped but shot himself. If this story is correct, then this was Harrington as the 3 missing officers are the only candidates and the only dark haired one was Harrington.

[@TERMICOBRA]

@@maxdavid84 I don't know man... There are so many accounts that say Custer reached the river it's impossible to say it didn't happen or, in the very least, to say it couldn't have happened. "At the top of this bluff we halted, and at foot there was a ford, and this was where Custer had first encountered the Indians, as we found some of the dead bodies there two days afterwards." - Sgt. John M. Ryan (also; White Cow Bull, White Man Runs Him, Curley, Pretty Shield, Bobtailed Horse, White Shield, Sitting Bull, Horned Horse, He Dog, Foolish Elk, Peter Thompson)

[@maxdavid84]

@TERMICOBRA He could not have reached their river. What the claims he reached the river leave out is the Cheyenne defending the Ford were on the same side of the river as Custer.

[@maxdavid84]

@TERMICOBRA Pretty Shield lied claiming her husband was standing beside Custer when he was shot and we know the Crows were long gone at that point. White Cow Bull also claimed he killed Custer on Last Stand Hill. He was also a Sioux and the Ford was defended by the Cheyenne at the Ford on the same side as Custer. None of whom ever said White Cow Bull was there.

[@maxdavid84]

Moylan lied in his letter to Maggie which was the right thing to do. We know from other sources that Calhoun was horribly disfigured and was only identified by a distinctive dental filling.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

That's right!!!! Darn, I forgot to mention that 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@robertshotzberger]

His body was discovered a few miles east of the battlefield. He was ID by his skull.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Going on Walt Cross books by chance?

[@michaelhart6318]

Wished Custer would have lived long enough to learn that F.W. Benteen retired as a brevetted Brigadier General.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Ha ha yes. Maybe they would have finally got along, drank lemonade of their porch swings and chatted about the good old days and their silly old fights 😉

[@michaelhart6318]

The order that sealed the fate of the 7th cav at LBH so eloquently illustrated in the 1991 movie "Son of the Morning Star"...George Custer shouts, "Captain Benteen, to the front! You will take your battalion and diverge on a left oblique, about 45 degrees, and sweep everything before you." Benteen responds, "Hadn't we keep the regiment together? If this village is as big as they say it is, we are going to need every man that we've got." Custer retorts, "You have your orders." Benteen responds, "General, I'm not clear about this. Just how much of an area do you want me to scout?" Custer vociferously replies, "You heard me Captain! Now Stand to Horse!" Benteen then orders companies D,H and K, "Battalion, left oblique!" and the rest is history.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@michaelhart6318 Things surely would have been different if Benteen had remained with Custer or been given Reno's role! But Michael, you do know it didn't actually happen like that, right? One soldier recalled Benteen saying, "Shouldn't we keep the forces together." But Benteen never mentioned this in all his letters etc. Custer may have said "You have your orders" and i dont blame him as Benteen had been questioning so many of the orders Custer had been giving thus far. (And remember the argument between them witnessed a few nights earlier). And the rest of the dialogue you mention is not documented in that way. I love the Connell book, it was one of the hooks that drew me in. But there are no footnotes, which makes it hard to view as a scholarly work as we can't check his sources. I have heard historians call it a historic novel. I wouldn't go that far myself, his research was unbelievable and outstanding, but I am sad that it doesn't contain footnotes of his wonderful materials / eyewitnesses etc for us.

[@michaelhart6318]

@@SiobhanFallon7 Your question appears rhetorical. Always thought the initial order from General Terry was the 7th was to remain intact and act as a 'reconnaissance in force' to locate the village. General Terry would approach from the east, Col. Gibbon would approach the Indian camp from the west, while Gen Crook would approach from the south (until Hump and Crazy Horse scared them at Battle of Rosebud causing Crook to retreat into Wyoming.) Why Custer would ignore every warning he receive regarding the size of the Indian village at LBH and yet continue to divide his men is beyond understanding. You can't send Benteen off the grid, exhausing the horses over steep terrain, and then expect him to be available when you finally arrive at the epiphany (as Scooby-Doo would say..."Ruh-Roh) the Indian village was much larger than Custer expected. Can't recall a situation when the Indians were vulnerable during the summer months. That's why the U.S. Army would attack the Indian villages during the winter months.

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

@@michaelhart6318there no evidence that Benteen ever said that. You can’t believe the dialogue in every scene in a movie is accurate.

[@gray3553]

Who was the former British officer, or is that fiction ??

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Perhaps the Irish officer Captain Nowlan? He may have served with the British? I think he was a few years older than the other officers. He was the quartermaster and was not at LBH but with Terry, I believe.

[@gray3553]

@@SiobhanFallon7 Thank you for the info.

[@gray3553]

@@SiobhanFallon7 I found him, Lt. “Queen’s Own” William Cooke he was Canadian. But I guess you know that.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@gray3553 anytime!!

[@CSAFD]

Sry I got no sympathy for Custer, who was a war criminal from 1861-1876. Custer graduated last in his class in '61. George Pickett was also one who graduated last in his class. Both went down in history for their failed charges "Pickett's charge" @ Gettysburg on July 3,1863, and criminal Custer on June 27,1876 @ LBH (Greasy grass)

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Hi there. Thanks for commenting! The Battle of the Little Bighorn/ Greasy Grass occurred on June 25, 1876. That's the thing, people say "war crimes" without giving any examples or citing any sources. Those are serious charges against a man who dedicated his entire life to the service of the United States Army, fighting against slavery during the Civil War, and the Klu Klux Clan during Reconstruction, though people casually toss that accusation around all the time. If you research the Washita fight (which I assume you mean and which everybody brings up without knowing the facts) and the campaign that followed you would see that Custer actively stopped his scouts from killing women and children during the Washita. When the campaign continued all the way to the Sweet Water in an effort to corral the Cheyenne, he chose to negotiate rather than attack the village there, although his forces greatly outnumbered the Cheyenne. I'm not saying the guy was Gandhi but we are talking about a violent war, with violence occurring on both sides, and within the limited scope of power Custer had, if you read his own writings or fact based histories of the time, he greatly respected his Native enemies and chose negotiating over violence when other military leaders would have done differently. The name Custer is famous, and it's easy to scapegoat him for the Indian policy as he's one of the few names people remember. But he was a man, a mere Lt Col (not the President), and you will find nothing diabolical in his character or career if you scratch below the surface of cliche and slap dash history.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

And my goodness what does last in his class at West Point have to do with anything?????? 🤯🤣 It was West Point! Do you know how hard it is to get into?? You need a Congressman to sponsor you! He was the son of a poor blacksmith and dirt poor! What were your grades in school? He was last in his class but you are forgetting nearly half of his class left West Point to join the Confederacy. Custer stayed the course and fought to preserve the Union and abolish slavery. An average of 500 men died EVERY DAY during the Civil War. He stayed, he fought, he led the charge in every bloody fight. I wish there were more last-in-the-class men and women like that. Of all the accusations made against Custer, his grade point average seems the most preposterous and biarrely elitist to me 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@scaredy-cat]

The 7th was inexperienced, largely untrained young immigrants. That’s not an elite regiment

[@SiobhanFallon7]

They were as elite as they got. Everyone was understaffed. Everyone was full of immigrants. It was the Army of the time. I'm traveling now but I'll find the stats and share with you when I can. Most of the new men were left at the Powder River depot. It's a myth that the soldiers were new, one that surviving officers played up to help alleviate their guilt.

[@gemellodipriapo]

Interesting documentary especially from a socio/cultural point of view. The son of a blacksmith becomes a national hero! What's more interesting however is that the war crimes committed by Custer and his cabal better known as the 7th Cavalry are never mentioned. Why is that? I'm all for discovering these dead soldiers humanity and what happened to their wives. What's more important though is how these people supposedly defeated slavery only to slaughter thousands of natives. Do I care if Yates' finger was cut off? Not really. Do I care about his widow? No. These facts though interesting are mere historical side issues. We should be informed about who these people really were or how they were experienced by the natives. And this includes George Custer massacres of Cheyenne on the Washita River or indeed what happened after the Battle of the Greasy Grass ... events like Wounded Knee. Custer's demise did not occur in a vacuum but I suppose all this doesn't chime with the BS of him being a hero.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Hi! Thanks for commenting! I didn't mention any specific war crimes, and neither did you, because they didn't actually happen. Custer had two major battles with Native Americans. The first was in 1868 at the Washita, and his second was in 1876 at the Little Bighorn. At the Washita, he was led to the Southern Cheyenne camp by his Osage scouts. Native scouts, such as the Osage, Delaware, Arikara, or Crow, chose to ally themselves with the United States Army against their traditional tribal enemies, and there were Native scouts fighting alongside Custer and the Seventh Cavalry in nearly every action they took on the plains. It is well documented that it was Custer himself who stopped his Osage scouts from killing Cheyenne women and children at the Battle of the Washita. It is also documented that the Seventh Cavalry did not deliberately kill noncombatants at that fight or any other. When Custer had the opportunity, he chose negotiations. He followed the Cheyenne to the Sweetwater in Texas in March 1869. The Cheyenne were outnumbered by the Seventh CAV and the 19th Kansas, yet Custer decided to ride into their village alone to smoke the peace pipe. Rather than attack, he captured three Cheyenne chiefs to broker the release of two white women who were being held hostage there. If those who continue to disparage Custer’s career tried to learn just a little bit about him, they would know Custer was in Washington DC in the Spring of 1876 testifying to Congress against the corruption that was robbing the supplies from Army forts as well as depriving Native American agencies of their promised rations. And Custer nearly lost his job because of it. George Custer continues to be an easy scape goat for an unjust Indian Policy he had absolutely no control over. People attack Custer because he is the only military figure whose name they recognize. Calling Custer a War Criminal is historically inaccurate and morally wrong. I can give you more details on all of the above. Can you give me details on the accusations you make? You wrote of the men and women in my video: "these people supposedly defeated slavery only to slaughter thousands of natives" which is utterly and completely incorrect. "Cabal"! You are too funny.

[@gemellodipriapo]

@@SiobhanFallon7 These are not accusations. They are facts. Now whether you do not wish to accept those facts then that is a different matter. You are not a definitive voice of what did or did not happen. There are others who would disagree with you and that is acceptable even if you don't like it. Custer may have had only two "major battles" as you suggest but that does not make them less of a war criminal. Moreover it seems that as an historian (albeit an amateur) you seem to be overtly invested in George Custer and perhaps this impacts on your objectivity. Perhaps it would be constructive to look at what other historians have written on the matter or perhaps explore the Native Americans viewpoint. Evidence suggests that at Washita 103 native Americans were killed along with 800 of their animals indeed some refer to it as a "massacre". Black Kettle and his tribe were at peace. Nonetheless under Custer's command the 7th cavalry killed women and children in addition to warriors, they also took many captive to serve as hostages and human shields. Which seems to recall the behaviour of modern day terrorists. Historian Stan Hoig noted that the encounter was in fact a "massacre" because a group of people, even one in possession of weapons as the Cheyenne were, were killed "indiscriminately, mercilessly and in large numbers". An historian Joseph B. Thoburn suggested that what happened at Washita was not a battle. Thoburn concluded that had Indians attacked a white settlement, with a similar denoument the event would have been defined as "a massacre". Interestingly Custer tried a similar feat at the greasy Grass, Indeed a pictograph by Cheyenne warrior Little Wolf of the Battle of the Greasy Grass shows Major Marcus Reno's troopers killing Sioux women and children at the outset of the battle. The heading reads "Sioux squaws killed." Do you work with Native American primary sources? Perhaps you haven;t read either Hoig or Thoburn or studied Native American primary sources. Thank you for appreciating my "cabal" reference. History is all too often shared in a dry and monotanous way an interesting use of language I find keeps us all on our toes.

[@SiobhanFallon7]

@gemellodipriapo I am an amateur historian! I am not trained in history in any way or form except my own attempt to read everything and anything I am able to get my hands on, with a special emphasis on primary/ eyewitness accounts. You might want to take a look at my videos on the Washita? I'm at soccer practice now and away from my books. But I will point out that it was Custer who gave the casualty count at Washita at 100, and contemporary Natives sources at the time, including George Bent and others, said that number was grossly exaggerated. I can cut and paste the recorded casualty lists from Native sources later if you'd like? I appreciate your perspective on this. I am always willing to learn about the time period. Here's one video on Chief Black Kettle and Custer you might be interested in: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHWmfJtneLFogKMsi=bbYhg2Z4KnZbfRv6 Thanks!

[@gemellodipriapo]

@@SiobhanFallon7 Soccer! The sport of the gods! Do you play or is it your kids? I love the game! I will do as you say and look up your suggestions. What's interesting is that soon after the Washita massacre articles started to appear in the US press like this one in the Herald Tribune ... "Col. Wynkoop, agent for the Cheyenne and Arapahos Indians, has published his letter of resignation. He regards Gen. Custer's late fight as simply a massacre, and says that Black Kettle and his band, friendly Indians, were, when attacked, on their way to their reservation."

[@Redwhiteblue-gr5em]

@@gemellodipriapoyou are such a leftist wokester lol. Can’t have reasonable discussion with people who have been brainwashed by the leftist media and politicians.

[@coloyikes]

FYI I am 7 and hearing is no as good as it once was. Your voice deflection made it too hard to follow you

[@SiobhanFallon7]

Thanks!

[@bsorryrthatsit7055]

This is false. Custer's head was claimed by the Indians. He was not respected by them at all. Thus, a false narrative was spread to protect what was left of the reputation of the "General" who was court martialed for disobeying orders and leading his troops to destruction. Only one deserter survived the battle, the other 6 or so were all killed while running away. He was a "yes man" for obvious reasons.