Greetings from Georgia

[oldtimer]

Hi folks,

I came across this site while starting some research on my 2nd great grandfather. I never had the chance to meet the man but I was very close to his daughter which was my great grandmother. With my research, I am trying to trace my 2nd great grandfather through his journey of the Indian Wars. I have in my possession his original discharge paper and a verified period correct pipe axe that great grandmother claims was from Custards battle field. The information on the discharge paper puts my second great grandfather in all of the correct areas at the correct time but needless to say many questions are unanswered. I am planning a 3 week trip next spring to Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana to hopefully gain additional information.

The information on the discharge paper is as follows:
He was Private Monroe Cole
Member of Avery Cain's Company D of the 4th Regiment of infantry
Enlisted Dec 8 1871 for 5 years
Discharge Dec 8 1876 at Camp Robinson Neb
Of Excellent character as signed by Let. Johnson 1st let. 4th Infantry

So far I have sent off requesting his service records and an additional record of court-martial at Fort D. A. Russell but have not received these items yet. I can place Company D of 4th Regiment at the Battle of Rosebud but have found nothing about them being at Little Bighorn. A possibility is they went there after receiving information of Custard's defeat. Or mor possible the pipe axe is from the Battle of the Rosebud.

Any additional guidance or information as to where to look would be of great help.   

Thank you for a great web site.
Dan

[tubman13]

Dan,
Welcome to this board. If the 4th Infantry was with Crook at the Rosebud, they would not have been at the LBH. The 7th Infantry was part of the Montana Column, under Gibbon. Neither infantry unit participated in the battle of the LBH. 7th Cavalry only. The two battles were fought about a week apart(8 days).

He may, though taken part in part of the remainder of the campaign, to include the "Starvation March."

Regards,
Tom

[fred]

First of all, welcome to these boards. I hope to enjoy what is here and I hope you stay around for a long time.

Next... bubble-bursting time.

Monroe Cole was not at the Rosebud fight. Two companies of the 4th Infantry were there: Avery Billings Cain's D Company and Gerhard Luke Luhn's F Company. They were, specifically, under the command of Major Alexander Chambers, but none of the 4th were listed on the May 20, 1876, roster. That means Crook picked them up some time after he returned to Fort Fetterman in March after the Powder River fiasco. Crook used three staging areas to prepare for the upcoming summer campaign: Fort D. A. Russell (near Cheyenne), Fort Laramie, and Fort Fetterman. Additional troops were even brought in from other departments and that is probably when he picked up the two companies of the 4th.

This does not mean, however, your ancestor was lying or forged his papers or was not with D Company, 4th Infantry. When Crook left Fetterman at the end of May, D Company had left two men back at Fort Steele in Wyoming. Since I do not have the names of those two privates, I would guess your ancestor was one of them. A lot changed after the Little Big Horn, however, and at least one other company of the 4th Infantry-- CPT William H. Powell's Company G-- had been attached and fought at Slim Buttes.

Best wishes,
Fred.

[oldtimer]

Jan 29, 2017 11:13:58 GMT -6 fred said:

First of all, welcome to these boards. I hope to enjoy what is here and I hope you stay around for a long time.

Next... bubble-bursting time.

Monroe Cole was not at the Rosebud fight. Two companies of the 4th Infantry were there: Avery Billings Cain's D Company and Gerhard Luke Luhn's F Company. They were, specifically, under the command of Major Alexander Chambers, but none of the 4th were listed on the May 20, 1876, roster. That means Crook picked them up some time after he returned to Fort Fetterman in March after the Powder River fiasco. Crook used three staging areas to prepare for the upcoming summer campaign: Fort D. A. Russell (near Cheyenne), Fort Laramie, and Fort Fetterman. Additional troops were even brought in from other departments and that is probably when he picked up the two companies of the 4th.

This does not mean, however, your ancestor was lying or forged his papers or was not with D Company, 4th Infantry. When Crook left Fetterman at the end of May, D Company had left two men back at Fort Steele in Wyoming. Since I do not have the names of those two privates, I would guess your ancestor was one of them. A lot changed after the Little Big Horn, however, and at least one other company of the 4th Infantry-- CPT William H. Powell's Company G-- had been attached and fought at Slim Buttes.

Best wishes,
Fred.

Fred thanks for the reply. Your information is what I have come up with also. Crook picked up D Company, 4th Infantry at Fetterman on May 30.  I have found 2 different list of the men from Company D 4th Regiment Infantry that were at the Rosebud and my great grandfathers name was absent on both list. I have also read where 2 privates were on loan to Fort Steele from Company D. That is the rabbit trail I am now chasing. 

Tubman13, thank you for your reply. I am sure he was not at LBH but I have to wonder if it could have been a different skirmish or even possibly my great grandfather could have been assigned to clean up a battle area. I am enjoying the research but have quickly realized its very easy to get many more questions than answers. I think I will move this over to the research area.