Benjamin Whitehouse

[elisabeth]

I promise it's true about Yankton, Billy! Garlington's Chronological Sketch of Co. I (which I can't post for the usual tiresome copyright reasons, but it's in the 1973 edition of Barron Brown's Comanche, for anyone who's got that) says they were at Lebanon, Kentucky, until March 2nd 1873, and at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, by April 11th 1873. From there they (and Co. D) went straight to the Northern Boundary Survey escort duty, then wintered at Fort Totten. It's all very nicely spelt out in Roger Darling's Custer's 7th Cavalry Comes to Dakota, as well. So they definitely weren't there!

It's just about conceivable that he could have enlisted under a false name in '72 into one of the other ten companies, then transferred into Co. I at some point after the Black Hills expedition -- perhaps when Co. I came to Fort Lincoln (May 4th 1875, says Garlington) -- and then been found out and discharged. But so many people went under aliases that I'd be surprised to learn it was a discharge-worthy offence; there'd have been no troopers left! However, there don't seem to be any likely candidates in the list of dischargees above; and the only deserters from Co. I were in July '74, which is too early. Problematic.

Funny about the plovers. It sounds as if he expects Libbie to remember that -- and it's a detail I'm sure she doesn't mention in the books. Is it possible that he was at Yankton (and maybe on the Yellowstone/Black Hills expeditions too) but in some sort of civilian capacity? As a packer or herder or whatever, perhaps? Still, if he's using that sort of inside knowledge to tell whoppers convincingly, you'd think he'd know better than to pick Co. I as his alleged 7th Cavalry home. Grrrrrrrr. This man is a real puzzle!

[markland]

elisabeth said:

Right, the book. It is indeed "our" Benjamin: a compilation of his poetry, with a biographical introduction by two of his grandchildren, George E. Whitehouse, Ph.D., J.D., and Meredith Whitehouse Lorenzen.

Their respect for their grandfather is admirable, but a little more scepticism wouldn't have been amiss. There's a smack of "tall tales" about some of his adventures (e.g. in the CW, was due to be shot at dawn for disobedience and foraging, but miraculously reprieved to fight off an attack by Mosby's Raiders; when in the post-war infantry, was tied to a stake and tortured for two days by Geronimo's Apaches, but rescued just in time; that sort of thing) and his claims to have served in the 7th Cavalry are riddled with improbabilities.

The story in brief is: he was born in South Berwick, Maine, in 1848 … ran away to join the army as a drummer-boy in 1862 … later promoted to bugler … took part in various battles … wounded three times … was with Sherman on his march to the sea … mustered out in 1865. Two years later, enlisted in the regular infantry … service in Arizona etc … discharged 1870. Two years after that, 1872, enlisted in 7th Cavalry … was in the famous Yankton blizzard … when the 7th went to Fort Lincoln, he became Custer's Chief Trumpeter and orderly … was on the Yellowstone and Black Hills expeditions … was with TWC at the capture of Rain-in-the-Face … his term of service expired just days before the LBH expedition set off … he was going to re-enlist, but took a leave to visit his sister in Ohio first, which is how he was saved from meeting the fate of his comrades at LBH … after that, turned to homesteading … active in GAR and other patriotic organisations, leading parades and addressing meetings etc … finally became a showman, telling stories of his military adventures … after a slight stroke at the age of 84, went into the Old Soldiers' Home in Hot Springs, S.D., where he occupied himself with writing poems and memoirs … died in 1936.

We've already addressed one difficulty with this: that in his letter to Mrs Custer, he claims to have been in Co. I -- which was not in the Yankton blizzard, and not on either the Yellowstone or Black Hills expedition. Billy has now done some great work among the records, especially on the Chief Trumpeter claim, and has found plenty more discrepancies …

So while there's evidence to back up his CW and regular infantry service, the 7th Cavalry element of his story is beginning to look like fiction!

Two additional things re: Whitehouse which I had not posted before (or at least a cursory scan did not pick them up.)

First, if he had enlisted in the 7th in 1872, he would have had to enlist for a five-year term of service which means that if he was in the 7th and was discharged prior to LBH, his discharge would have had to be for some other reason than expiration of service.

Second, the reference to Geronimo smacks of opportunism by Whitehouse as Geronimo, while undoubtedly a known warrior, doesn't come into public view until 1877 when arrested by John Clum. During the time-frame that Whitehouse was in Arizona, the Chiricahua leader was indisputably Cochise and after Cochise went to the reservation, Victorio. Also, as a personal observation, if someone somehow survived two days of torture by the Apache, my thought is that that person would be mentally and physically wrecked for life.

Billy

[elisabeth]

To be fair to the old faker, the "Geronimo" stuff comes from his grandchildrens' intro to the book -- and even they mention Cochise first. But it's easy to imagine that once he started hitting the public-speaking circuit, he might have substituted Geronimo for Cochise, just as a bow to his audience's expectations ... Re the chances of being in anything like one piece, physically or mentally, after such an experience: I'm sure you're absolutely right. He was discharged for disability, of course -- but if that's what caused it, he made a remarkable recovery! My guess would be that he was disabled by something totally unromantic, like an ingrowing toenail or whatever, and parlayed it later into this tale of derring-do.

The 1872 date is curious. If he'd really had anythng to do with the cavalry, he'd have known about the five-year term; if he hadn't, you'd think he'd choose 1873 for his story, on the basis of infantry practice. The grandchildren are pretty shaky on dates, however -- and on facts generally -- so I'm not sure that's conclusive. More so is his total absence from the rolls. If he'd enlisted under an alias, that surely would have given him yet another dramatic story to tell, so I do very much doubt him.

By the way -- reading back over this thread, I think you're right about his "Chief Bugler" claim. That has to refer to his earlier, infantry, service. If he was claiming that role in the 7th Cavalry, he'd be calling himself "Chief Trumpeter". (Assuming he knew that.) And re the plovers: I'd read it at first as referring to the Yankton days -- but it could be read as referring to Fort Lincoln. He's saying he hasn't yet been back to Yankton. Which leads to the thought that maybe he was a civilian in Bismarck at the time? E.g. driving wagons to the post, herding cattle, or whatever? That way, he might know about any plover-breeding programme. Custer and his minions would have been very stern about people riding over their nests. (They're ground-nesting birds.) So maybe that's where he picked up whatever information he had ...

[cwhitehouse]

Hi, I'm related to BF Whitehouse. He was a Bugler. His things and papers were donated by the family to a university museum in South Dakota, I believe.

Here's a link with some of his info. He's my great-great grandfather.

nsudigital.org/bfwhitehouse

[Diane Merkel]

Thank you for the link.

Diane