Civilian QM Employees Part 1

[rch]

Taken from the regimental history of the 7th Cavalry. This information was compiled by Edward Luce from Lt H. J. Nowlan's "report of Persons and Articles employed and hired by the Expedition In The Field, stationed at the Mouth of Powder River, M. T. , during the month of June, 1876 . . . ."

I've changed the format to make it easier for me to type.
The numbers for each individual are as they appear in the report. The dates following the name are to dates of their contract or entry into service. The dollar amounts are the monthly "Rate of Hire or Compensation."

Gen. Supt. - $75.00
1. Abbot, Frederick S. B. - 4-28-76
Guides - $100.00
2. Custer, Boston - 3-3-76
3. Reynolds, Charles - 3-3-76
Guide - $50.00
4. Bloody Knike - 3-3-76 -
Interpreters - $75.00
5. Gerard, F. F. - 5-12-76
6. Dorman, Isaiah - 5-15-76 -
Master Mechanic - !00.00
7. Borowsky, Charles - 5-1-76
Blacksmiths - $60.00
8. Macy, George - 4-24-76
9. Hickey, Patrick - 5-16-76
Wheelwrights - $60.00
10. Treshman, George - 5-1-76
11. Hutchins, H. C. - 5-15-76
Saddler $60.00
12 Thomas, Thomas - 3-12-76
Chief Packer - $100.00
13. Wagoner, J. C. - 3-1-76
Packers - $50.00
14. Loeser, C. -3-26-76
15. Lawless, William - 4-1-76
16. Fretts, John - 4-17-76
17. Alexander, William - 4-17-76
18. McBratney, H - 4-17-76
19. Mann, Frank C. - 4-17-76
20. Flink, Moses - 5-16-76
21. Lainplough, John - 5 -2-76
22. Moore, E. L. - 5-13-76
Master of Transportation - $100.00 - In charge of train
23. Brown, Charles - 3-11-76
Asst. Wagonmasters - $45.00 - Each in charge of 25 teams
24. Meuson, John - 3-11-76
25. Hadley, Orange - 5-16-76
26. Welsch, Oscar - 5-16-76
27. Slack, S. H. - 5-16-76
28. McGee, James - 5-20-76
29. Campbell, Gordon - 5-16-76 - Discharged 6-10-76
30. French, Charles - 3-27-76

The next 132 men are all teamsters except the scout George Herendeen. The guides, interpreters and presumably all the packers were with the 7th Cavalry and not at the Powder Rivier Depot on 25 Jun 1876.

Note: The report noted that Custer, Reynolds, and Bloody Knife were killed 6-25-76 at the LBH, that Dormann was killed at the LBH with no date, and that Mann was killed 6-25-76.

It also noted that Custer, Reynolds, and Bloody Knife were Employed by Commanding Officer."

To be continued.

rch

[elisabeth]

Already this is fascinating. Look how late some of the teamsters and assistant wagonmasters were hired. Nowlan must have been at his wits' end trying to get a viable train organised in time. DeWolf says something to this effect -- that it's not just the weather causing the delay in starting, but the difficulty of getting the train together -- and this rather confirms it.

Interesting, too, to see that Boston's being paid right from March, when he doesn't lift a finger until mid-May. (If then.) Reynolds and Bloody Knife were both earning their keep throughout, but not BC, as far as we can tell from his letters ... Surprising that Gerard and Dorman were hired so late on.

This is great stuff, rch.

[Scout]

Really interesting rch. Do we know Boston's salary? If Reynolds was worth $50 a month. Then what was Boston's invaluable service worth? His services couldn't have been anywhere as valuable as Reynolds. Interesting to note that Bloody Knife was being paid $75 and Dorman $100? Dorman listed as "master mechanic" and not as guide?

[elisabeth]

It's not quite that bad ... The post and salary is listed above the names, not beneath, so Boston and Reynolds are both getting $100; Bloody Knife gets $50; and Gerard and Dorman are both hired as interpreters at $75.

[Scout]

OK, now I see. But Boston as important as Reynolds? We see the perks in being Custer's kid brother don't we?

[crzhrs]

It's not what you know but who you know.

I guess nepotism was just as rappent as it is now.

[rch]

I've added 2 notes to my original posting.

One had to do with the men killed at the LBH.

The other was the indication that Custer, Reynolds, and Bloody Knife were employed by the commanding officer.

Custer did not return from leave until 11Mar or resume commad of the regiment and Ft. Lincoln until 12 Mar. The commanding officer who hired them would have been Reno.

While no distinction is made, some of the employees may have been employed under formal contracts. The 3 Mar 76 date for the guides may be the date prior contracts were renewed.

Nowlan's report seems similar to the end of month returns that companies and HQ's had to file. It gives the men's status at the end of the month and notes changes that occured during the month, but probably it should not be looked at as the full employment history of each man.

For instance, Asst Wagonmaster McGee was hired on 5-20-76 after the column marched. Before that he might have been a teamster. If we had the reports for the end of Apr or May his prior employment (if any) might be noted.

For the period when the wagons and supplies were being gathered there was probably no need to hire any more asst wagonmasters than the 2 who were employrd in Mar. This is probably why 5 were not put on until later. The asst discharged on 11 Jun was probably not immediately replaced because the wagon were then sitting at the Powder River Depot.

I would not assume that Boston Custer did nothing to earn his pay, though it is obvious that he could not have had much more than two years in Dakota. He apparently had been employed in what Merington called the regiment's "forage department" as far back as 1871.

One position not mentioned in Nowlan's report is foragemaster. There should also be somewhere a list of enlisted men assigned to duty with the QM. This is especially true of EM specifically assigned as "Extra Duty;" that would mean additional pay for those men.

There should be a report of civilian employees of and enlisted men serving with the Commissary (or Subsistance) Department. That would probably include the names of the men who herded the beef on the hoof or at least the firm contracted for the purpose. Custer's nephew was supposed to have been employed as a herder.

rch

[elisabeth]

Richard Roberts (Annie Yates' brother) was working as a herder too, as was Lt. Carland's son. Somewhere I've got a copy of a newspaper piece by Roberts where he talks quite a bit about the herding work; I'll dig it out and see if he mentions any other names, such as the contractor.

Interestingly, in Reminiscences of General Custer: Custer's Last Battle, he says he was initially hired to be Custer's secretary (not what Custer says in Merington, p. 291, where he tells Libbie he's got Whitelaw Reid to appoint Roberts "correspondent with the Expedition") but that when Custer's removed from overall command the situation changes: "Of course, under the circumstances my official standing was partially changed as no one was allowed to accompany the expedition unless in employ of the United States directly, but through the intervention of General Custer the matter was arranged by my securing a position as a herder in the company with Lt. Carland's son and 'Autie' Reed, General Custer's nephew, and my dear friend and tent mate." Which makes one wonder about Kellogg's standing. Would he, too, have had to have some notional government job?

Odd, no foragemaster. With the QM travelling with the expedition, could that role conceivably have been included in Nowlan's duties? His appointment to the expedition was a rather last-minute thing, if I remember correctly. Could he have been there to wear two hats?

Intriguing, the notion of Boston being hired by Reno. His contract might have been back-dated, I suppose ... There's some hint that Custer was dabbling in Fort Lincoln matters by remote control, as Bourke says (On the Border with Crook, p. 283): "... with the exception of a telegram from General Custer, then at Fort Lincoln, dated February 27th, making inquiry as to the time fixed for the departure of the column under Reynolds ..." Not sure how to explain that, unless Custer was having his wires forwarded from Lincoln by, say, Tom. He does say (in Merington, p. 290) that he's got a problem with paying for his telegrams. Maybe there was some arcane advantage in sending them in the persona of CO of Fort Lincoln even when he was on leave ... In which case he might equally be able to hire employees at long distance, too. Somehow I just can't see Reno deciding of his own accord that Boston was guide material, much less that he was on a par with Reynolds.

Nichols says Boston had been employed as forage master from June 5th 1875, at $75 a month; was discharged from that post on March 2nd 1876 "and employed by the 7th Cavalry quartermaster, on order of the regimental commander, as a citizen guide for the Sioux campaign at $100.00 monthly compensation". If that's correct, it sounds as if the order may have come from Custer rather than Reno?

[elisabeth]

OK, found the Roberts piece. It's an interview with Earle R. Forrest published in a Washington, Pa., paper in 1932. No additional names apart from one: the chief herder was a man named Ayres.

Well, every little helps ...

[Melani]

Somehow, I find it hard to believe that Boston did much guiding. That appointment, at $100/month, must have really rankled a few people.