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Post by El Crab on Feb 7, 2006 22:39:41 GMT -6
And it is again my contention that, since they were marching on a village, Custer would have not objected to having his civilian family members close at hand. He might have preferred it.
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Post by Diane Merkel on Feb 8, 2006 18:29:25 GMT -6
OK, Crab, I've got to ask: What is Custache Growth: Day 2?
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Post by El Crab on Feb 8, 2006 18:40:36 GMT -6
OK, Crab, I've got to ask: What is Custache Growth: Day 2? ;D I abhor shaving, and I went about 2 weeks without shaving or even trimming my beard. It coincided with a hot streak of shooting at the 24 Hour Fitness, so the beard stayed. Well, yesterday, I finally decided to shave it off. But, when I got to the moustache, I decided to keep it. The girlfriend doesn't like it, but too bad for her. I had one before, that was growing rather nicely but I appeased her by shaving it. Anyway, the Custache is a Custer moustache. The walrus, whatever you'd call it. And that's my goal, is to grow something so big and bushy and ridiculous as the thing Custer had in 1876. This time, I will not be denied. And today is Day 2 of its true existence. So there ya go.
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Post by Diane Merkel on Feb 8, 2006 18:48:58 GMT -6
Too funny! Be not denied your Custache!
(Shouldn't it be two weeks plus two days?)
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Post by El Crab on Feb 8, 2006 19:24:41 GMT -6
Too funny! Be not denied your Custache! (Shouldn't it be two weeks plus two days?) No, because it began yesterday. The Custache Initiative. The days before were just coincidentally helpful. Plus, I really don't remember what day it began growing. I do know the plans were hatched for a particular purpose yesterday.
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Post by Diane Merkel on Feb 8, 2006 20:23:08 GMT -6
Ah . . . a little mystery! I hope you will share the "particular purpose" when you can.
Have you heard anything from New Jersey about your photo? Dead silence on this end.
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Post by El Crab on Feb 8, 2006 20:26:15 GMT -6
Ah . . . a little mystery! I hope you will share the "particular purpose" when you can. Have you heard anything from New Jersey about your photo? Dead silence on this end. Nope, haven't heard anything about it yet. The particular purpose is to have an outrageous moustache. The original intent, from which the moustache was originally started, was to not shave. Hence, yesterday the idea was hatched to keep the 'stache and grow it to its full potential.
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Post by fred on Feb 8, 2006 20:49:55 GMT -6
So Crab, what do you use to shave with? Hot milk & a cat's tongue?
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Post by El Crab on Feb 8, 2006 21:16:32 GMT -6
So Crab, what do you use to shave with? Hot milk & a cat's tongue? A trimmer. I rarely shave it all the way down. Usually I use conditioner to keep that stubble soft enough for the girlfriend to stand it. When I forget though...
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Post by blackwolf on Mar 14, 2006 22:25:29 GMT -6
I just discovered your discussion site and offer the following for your consideration: My wife's ancestor on her mother's side was one Maurice Cain. I had heard the rumor for a number of years that he participated in the Custer campaign and fought in the Bighorn Battle. Not long ago I was able to confirm that he did, indeed, participate as a member of Reno's command. His name is included in the book "They Rode With Custer". Strange thing though...I have seen his discharge - or rather courts martial - papers from the army. Seems that following the Custer massacre Mr. Cain was found to have enlisted under age and was subsequently dismissed from service. My brother-in-law has a large, framed color portrait of Mr. Cain all spit-and-polish in his cavalry blues and sabre and, despite the uniform, he does look like a teenager in it. He reportedly spent the remainder of his days in Montana and a successful business owner and is said to have founded a hospital in Glendive. I am curious as to whether or not it can be confirmed if Mr. Cain was, indeed, the youngest participant (on the Army's side) to participate in and survive the battle?
As an aside: My wife's Irish ancestors came to North America with the Hudson's Bay Packing Company and one or more of them married into the Nez Perce tribe of Old Joseph while they still resided in Oregon's Wallowa Valley. When General O.O. Howard later arrived with the ultimatum that the tribe was to be removed from that area and the subsequent flight toward Canada occurred, my wife had one or more relatives involved in both the fleeing and pursuing parties. Her family later homesteaded on the Colville Indian Reservation when it was opened to white settlers at the turn of the 20th century. It remains in the family as a working wheat and cattle ranch today.
Thanks for creating this site. I'm sure I'll learn much of value from it.
Skookum la metsin.
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Post by Diane Merkel on Mar 14, 2006 23:57:24 GMT -6
Welcome, blackwolf!
Do you have Cain's actual birthdate (or year)? One of the youngest Cavalrymen I'm aware of was William Ephraim Morris who was 17 at the time of the battle. I'm not totally satisfied about that one (see the thread on Morris on Page 5 of this board), but it seems to be accepted that he enlisted at the age of 16 while claiming to be 20.
Diane
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Post by stevewilk on Mar 15, 2006 0:13:01 GMT -6
Blackwolf; according to the book _They Died With Custer_, your ancestor was not the youngest soldier at LBH. That distinction apparently belonged to Pvt. William E. Morris of M Co. who was 14 yrs. 4 mos. of age. There were many more underaged troopers. More than a third of enlistment ages were under 21.
Interesting historical tidbit: Both Morris and your ancestor, Maurice Cain hailed from Massechusetts. Both enlisted in Boston in Sept. of 1875, Cain on the 16th and Morris six days later. Both were sworn in by Lt. Henry Lawton, surely the same 4th Cavalry officer who later chased Geronimo and who died of a sniper's bullet in the Phillipines in 1899.
Both Morris and Cain were discharged in 1877, Cain with a character of "excellent" while Morris was deemed "worthless". Morris later became a lawyer and judge in New York. (Seems the army got it right!)
But I wonder if they knew each other? Cain enlisted under the name "Morris" instead of "Maurice".
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Post by Diane Merkel on Mar 16, 2006 22:11:35 GMT -6
Steve,
I believe you are correct about Morris being 14. I originally wrote that but edited it to 17 based on something I read on that old thread.
The judge's stories about LBH are regarded as authentic, but I'm still not convinced the judge and the LBH participant are the same guy. It's been a while since I looked at the information his descendant sent me, but a few things didn't add up. I believe there was a problem with some of the family names. I really find it hard to believe a 14 year old could pass for 20 or whatever he claimed. Did recruiters just look the other way and sign them up? Could a total loser suddenly have enough ambition to become a lawyer and then a judge? (I know, I know, but I'm talking about 19th century losers and lawyers.)
Diane
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Post by crzhrs on Mar 17, 2006 9:57:22 GMT -6
Diane:
There were many young teens who fought for the South during the CW . . . and many under-age young men who fooled the military to enlist during WWII.
Steve: RE: Underage Troopers:
Any idea how many there may have been at the LBH? If there were many that may have accounted for some of the break-down at critical times when facing warriors coming at them.
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Post by blackwolf on Mar 18, 2006 10:49:14 GMT -6
Many thanks for the information. Subsequent to my first post I did learn that Mr. Cain was born in Barkersville, MA in 1858.
I offer a further correction concerning his post-military career: Mr. Cain migrated to North Dakota and carried the first mail from Bismarck to Miles City, MT and helped build stage stations between the two points. He later operated blacksmith shops in both Bismarck, ND and Pierre, SD. He established the first store and saloon in Glendive, MT. His final destination was a fruit farm in Colville, WA where he died on 13 Aug 1906.
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