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Post by fred on Oct 21, 2011 18:13:10 GMT -6
Maybe some of this will help; the text in yellow is directly quoted from the source.
Walter Camp/LT Geo. S. Young-- E/7I-- Camp wrote Young a letter and in it he asked it the hilltop had been leveled or changed. “Several officers of the 7th Cavalry who were there when the dead were buried tell me that the extreme end of the ridge, where the body of Gen. Custer lay, was considerably higher than any other part of the ridge, being, in fact, a little round knob or peak not more than 20 feet wide on top, but not exactly level on top; that Capt. Tom Custer’s body lay at the highest point, the General’s body the third from it and a little lower down; that three dead horses lay across this so-called little peak or rise.” Camp letter to Young, 5Oct1911; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 122-123. [Young never responded.]
James Brust/Brian Pohanka/Sandy Barnard-- "It has been said that the top of Custer Hill was higher and more narrow at the time of the battle, and that grading over the years… has lowered the hill significantly…. Captain Sanderson, who supervised the construction of the monument in 1879, made no mention of grading the hilltop in his report. When Lieutenant Roe's detail erected the granite monument in 1881, they did dig a hole eight feet on a side... then excavated the mass grave an additional 10 feet in each direction.... Roe likewise made no reference to grading the hilltop. It is not unlikely that he did so to some extent, but given the detailed descriptions in his report, if significant grading had been part of his activities, he probably would have mentioned it." University of Oklahoma Press, 2005; Where Custer Fell, 150.
James Brust/Brian Pohanka/Sandy Barnard-- Continuing... "Lieutenant George S. Young, who was in charge of the reburial of the Fetterman/Fort Phil Kearny soldiers in 1888, told Walter Camp, 'I buried these bodies near where the Custer monument now stands and I am sure no leveling was necessary and none was done by me.' Young's testimony is of particular importance, for... he was part of the Terry-Gibbon column and was on Custer Hill immediately after the battle.... Young thought that no marked grading had occurred atop Custer Hill... 'As I recalled it, the ridge was amply wide for the purpose without doing any great amount of work....' Finally, Captain Owen Sweet… told Walter Camp that no grading or change in the ground on Custer Hill had taken place between those years." University of Oklahoma Press, 2005; Where Custer Fell, 150.
James Brust/Brian Pohanka/Sandy Barnard-- Continuing… "Viewed from the angle at which Barthelmess took his photo, the contour of the Custer Hill knoll has changed little since the mid-1890s. The earlier comparison photos likewise do not show major changes in the shape of the hilltop…. [There] is strong evidence that the top of Custer Hill is not much wider now than it was at the time of the battle.... Although grading had to be done to create the parking area and the roadbed east of the monument and south along Battle Ridge, study of early photographs does not support the notion of major reshaping of the top of Custer Hill." University of Oklahoma Press, 2005; Where Custer Fell, 150.
Richard G. Hardorff-- In 1876, "Custer Ridge was then a hogback, its length interrupted by several hillocks, its narrow summit not even wide enough to accommodate a wagon. The northwestern end… terminated in a knoll. Rising 6 feet above the adjacent ridge, the slanted top of this elevation was some 30 feet in diameter. On the very top of this little knoll... Custer and 9 of his men perished." Hokahey!, 71.
Two Eagles/Richard G. Hardorff-- Cu Brulé-- A question was posed to Two Eagles about why no soldiers were killed on the top of the hill:] “They were killed on top of the ridge. (Two Eagles explains that the top of the ridge was very level, and at the finish, and for some little time before, he was just a trifle north of west from [Last Stand Hill].)” Weston interview, 1908; Lakota Recollections, 148-149. [In a footnote—page 149, # 7—Hardorff wrote, “The summit of Custer Hill was found to be a nearly level site in 1876, some six feet higher than the adjacent ridge. The laying of the monument’s foundation, the digging of burial trenches, and the installation of a fence in the 1880s resulted in the leveling of the elevation, which was measured to be some 30 feet in diameter.” Hardorff goes on to say that 10 bodies were buried there, initially: GAC, TWC, Cooke, Smith, Voss, Vickory, and privates Parker and Driscoll, plus two unidentified men.]
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- The end of Custer Ridge—where the monument stands—ended in a blunt peak. “It was neither level nor sharply peaked like a hogback. South of this ridge ran to a sharp peak, like a hogback.” Camp notes, 13Oct1912; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 187.
Payne, J. S., CPT-- 5C-- Payne thought the Calhoun Hill-Battle Ridge-Last Stand Hill area was poor for defense and that a force of 200 troops against 1,500 Indians would not stand much of a chance. “I should say their case was a hopeless one.” RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 273.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- The bodies in the Custer area were scattered; no line. RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 495.
Benteen, F., CPT-- The only “stand” was where Custer was and the only area where there appeared to have been a battle line was with Calhoun’s command. Benteen buried those men. RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 417-418.
Sheridan, M. V., LTC-- (L)-- Custer and his officers were found on “a rough point or narrow ridge not wide enough on top to drive a wagon on. It was not a position where successful resistance could be made. Across that ridge were 5 or 6 horses apparently in line, and looked as though they had been killed for the purposes of resistance….” RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 549.
Adams, J., PVT-- H-- "I went with Benteen over to Custer battlefield on pm of June 27. Down near the river and before we came to any dead men we found three or four dead horses. Custer lay within a circle of dead horses on a flat place at the end of the ridge. Tom Custer lay back of him and not near the horses." Camp, 14Oct1910 interview; Custer in '76, 121-122.
Young Hawk-- Ree scout-- Young Hawk mentioned “the circle breastwork made of dead horses on top of the hill.” 1912 interviews; The Arikara Narrative, 108.
Roe, C. F., LT-- F/2C-- Roe said the Custer ridge was level, originally, not rising to a peak. Camp interview, 8Dec1910; Custer in '76, 250. “Veterans who assisted in burying the dead there on June 28, 1876, say that the top of the ridge at that time was much narrower, and that only a small level place then existed” [252-253, FN 3].
Roe, C. F., LT-- F/2C-- No grading had been done by 1878. Camp interview, 8Dec1910; Custer in '76, 250.
Young Hawk-- Ree scout-- Young Hawk referred to the hill where Custer fell as a flat-topped hill. 1912 interviews; The Arikara Narrative, 108.
Terry, A. H., BG-- “The monument is located on the point of the hill, six feet from where the remains of General Custer were found.” Official report of the re-burials and the placing of the monument, 9Oct1881; Report of the Secretary of War, No. 1, Part 2, Vol. 1, pages 97-98, The Custer Myth, 372.
Kanipe, D., SGT-- C-- “Asked Knipe if ridge where monument now is was so level and wide… Says no, say was narrower and Custer laid on very peak of it.” Camp interview, 16-17Jun1908; Custer in '76, 95, FN 15.
DeRudio, C., LT-- “Custer lay on top of a conical knoll.” Camp interview, 2Feb1910; Custer in '76, 87.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- GAC, TWC, and Cooke lay at the highest point of the ridge. Only a few dead on top of ridge. Undated Camp interview; Custer in '76, 58.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- They found the bodies of GAC, TWC, Cooke, several enlisted men and several horses, all on the knoll. Leavenworth Times, 18Aug1881; The Custer Myth, 220.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- Edgerly came to Custer’s body 100 or 200 yards away on a high point. About 15 feet from the general was his brother, Tom’s body. A short distance from Tom was LT Reilly, then LT Cooke. There were bodies all around, in every direction, in irregular positions. RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 454.
Windolph, C. A., PVT-- H-- “Custer was lying a trifle to the southeast of the top of the knoll—where the monument is today. I stood six feet away holding Captain Benteen’s horse while he identified the General. His body had not been touched, save for a single bullet hole in the left temple near the ear, and a hole on his left breast. He looked almost as if he had been peacefully sleeping. His brother Tom lay a few feet away. He was terribly mutilated.” Windolph's memoirs, 1946; I Fought With Custer, 110.
Glenn, G., PVT-- H-- Custer lay just below the end of the ridge. Camp intervew, 22Jan1914; Custer in '76, 136.
Ryan, J., 1SG-- M-- Custer’s body was found on a gravel knoll and Ryan gives a different description of his wounds. It appears he gets the entry and exit wounds mixed up. Memoirs, 1880s, 1904-1906; Ten Years With Custer, 303.
Porter, H. R.-- “We found Custer’s body stark naked and clean as a baby’s. He was shot in the head and breast…. I cut a lock of hair from the head of each officer and gave it to their families on our return home.” Undated article from the St. Louis Glode Democrat; Custer Battle Casualties, II, 27.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- Fred Gerard had preceded the troops to the killing field. “He found the naked bodies of two soldiers, one across the other and Custer’s naked body in a sitting posture between and leaning against them, his upper right arm along and on the topmost body, his right forearm and hand supporting his head in an inclining posture like one resting or asleep. There was no sign for the justification of the theory, insinuation or assertion that he committed suicide.” Article revision, 1921; 1920s-1930s; The Custer Myth, 376.
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- “I was a member of the party that buried General Custer.... I do not suppose Custer was in exactly the position where he fell when we found him, for he had been stripped naked, not even a stocking on. The last stand was made on what we call a ‘hogback hill.’ It appeared to me that the General had been placed by the warriors in a comfortable position, his head higher than his feet, lying on his back, arms by his side, features calm, without any distortion. One bullet wound on the body and one through the temples were visible. The wound on the body seemed to enter on the left side, a little behind and below the left breast, the bullet traveling between the back and breastbone, and coming out on the right side near the lower ribs. This wound was apparently made by an Indian on horseback, while the General was on foot. The other wound was squarely through the temples, and from the absence of powder marks, left no doubt in my mind that it was inflicted by an Indian on foot, and on the same level as the General." Pacific Monthly, 1908; Custer Battle Casualties, II, 26 - 27.
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- "There was not anyone in the burial party who thought the General shot himself. Nearly all other officers and soldiers were scalped; also the bodies were slashed with knives.” Pacific Monthly, 1908; Custer Battle Casualties, II, 27.
Kanipe, D., SGT-- C-- GAC lay across a couple men; TWC was near him. Kanipe also said LT Calhoun was nearby, but this is completely false. Greensboro, NC, Daily Record, 27Apr1924; The Custer Myth, 250.
Goldin, T., PVT-- G-- Goldin saw Custer’s body on June 27. He thought a smaller caliber ball than a .45 made the wounds. “There were no powder marks about the wounds at all…” Albert Johnson-Goldin correspondence, 6Nov1929; Benteen-Goldin Letters, 26.
Gerard, F.-- Said Custer’s body was on the side of the hill, shot through the head behind the temple. Camp interviews, 22Jan and 3Apr1909; Custer in '76, 237.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- Custer had been shot in the left temple and the left breast. “There were no powder marks or signs of mutilation.” Article revision, 1921; 1920s-1930s; The Custer Myth, 376.
Ryan, J., 1SG-- M-- Custer was not scalped. Memoirs, 1880s, 1904-1906; Ten Years With Custer, 303.
Windolph, C. A., PVT-- H-- GAC was the only body not mutilated. Letter to Camp, 10May1909; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 79.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- Custer’s body was naked, but not mutilated. He had cut his hair short before he started on the march. Leavenworth Times, 18Aug1881; The Custer Myth, 221.
Kanipe, D., SGT-- C-- There were hardly any horses around where Custer lay. He was lying across 2 or 3 soldiers, his back barely touching the ground. Custer had been stripped of his clothes. There was no “fortification out of their horses.” Letter to Camp, 20Jul1908; On the LBH With Walter Camp, 8.
Kanipe, D., SGT-- C-- Custer was shot in the left breast, near his heart, a single shot. Letter to Camp, 20Jul1908; On the LBH With Walter Camp, 8.
Wallace, G. D., LT-- Around Custer, “[f]our or five of them [the men] were piled up in a heap beside a horse and the body of General Custer was lying rather across one of the men…. They had struggled but I do not think for any great length of time. They had apparently tried to lead the horses in a circle on the point of the ridge and had killed them there and apparently made an effort for a final stand.” RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 68.
Gerard, F.-- Tom Custer was found on a level space at the highest point of a ridge, less than 20 feet from brother George. The back of his head was smashed and an arrow shot into the top of his skull. Camp interviews, 22Jan and 3Apr1909; Custer in '76, 237.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- “Tom Custer lay on his face up on top of the ridge with arrows shot in his back and head and head all smashed in.” Few bodies between this ridge and Deep Ravine. Camp correspondence, early 1900s; Custer in '76, 77.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- Tom Custer was found lying face down, “all the scalp was removed… The skull was smashed in and a number of arrows had been shot into the back of the head and in the body… We rolled the body over; the features where they had touched the ground were pressed out of shape and were somewhat decomposed.” They saw the tattoo on his arm, making the identification positive. Article revision, 1921; 1920s-1930s; The Custer Myth, 377.
Ryan, J., 1SG M A body thought to be Tom Custer’s was found near the general. It was horribly mutilated. “The head was smashed as flat as the palm of one’s hand. When we found him, he was lying on his face and hands, split down through the center of his body.” Memoirs, 1880s, 1904-1906; Ten Years With Custer, 304.
Ryan, J., 1SG-- M-- Ryan identified Tom Custer by his “T.W.C.” tattoo. The bodies were already turning black. Memoirs, 1880s, 1904-1906; Ten Years With Custer, 304.
Ryan, J., 1SG-- M-- Ryan was the man who identified the body of Tom Custer and he helped in the burials of GAC, TWC, lieutenants Cooke, Calhoun, and probably Sturgis, along with some 45 enlisted men. He picked up the cartridge shells under Custer’s body and cut off a lock of his hair. Ryan sent the lock of hair to Mrs. Custer. Letter to Camp, 29Nov1908; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 15-16.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- TWC lay nearest the peak of this round hill. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 247-248.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- He lay on his face; his head and face all hacked up with a hatchet. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 248.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- His abdomen had been cut open and his bowels were out. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 248.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- The only mutilated officers Edgerly saw were TWC and Cooke. All the bodies were stripped of their uniforms and the majority were stark naked. Many, however, still had their underwear and socks. Leavenworth Times, 18Aug1881; The Custer Myth, 220.
Foley, J., PVT-- K-- He found Francis T. Hughes (L) around Custer. Undated Camp interview; Custer in '76, 147.
Lynch, D., PVT-- F-- Fourteen men from Company F lay around Custer. Camp interviews, Oct1908 and 8Feb1909; Custer in '76, 139.
Wallace, G. D., LT-- There were 20 or 30 men near, but not right around Custer. RCOI, 1879; RCOI, 68.
Roy, S., CPL-- A-- Roy wasn’t near the area to bury Custer, but “… what I could see from a distance I would estimate that there [lay] in close vicinity of Gen. Custer’s corpse from ten to twelve bodies, and in range some 30 to 100 feet away must have been 30 or 40 more….” Letter to Camp, 4Mar1909; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 42.
McVeigh, D., TMP-- A-- CTMP Voss lay between LT Cooke and PVT McCarthy (L). Voss was less than 12 feet from Cooke. Camp interviews; Camp on Custer, 92.
DeVoto, A., PVT-- B-- "When we buried Custer’s men we found his chief bugler’s [Voss] body about a mile away from Custer’s battlefield, all alone and stark naked. His body was in a kneeling position and his back was stuck full of arrows." DeVoto narrative; Hardorff, Indian Views of the Custer Fight, 203 - 209. [DeVoto had Voss confused with TMP Dose.]
Siefert, A., PVT-- K-- CTMP Voss was found near Custer. Camp interviews; Camp on Custer, 73.
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- Vickory lay right near Custer, his face up, and CTP Voss lay, face down, across Vickory’s head. Camp notes, 13Oct1912; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 186.
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- “Some of the bodies were lying on top of other bodies; one case in particular, the body of the Chief Trumpeter [Voss] was lying over the face of a very dear friend of mine, named Jack Vickory. All the bodies were naked…” Pacific Monthly, July 1908; Custer Battle Casualties, II, 81.
O'Neill, T., PVT-- G-- “… except that of Vickory, which had one white sock on with his name on it. I rolled the body of the trumpeter off Vickory and began to cover up Vickory’s body. I made a considerable mound over him, and in doing so, I made quite an excavation in the ground. Captain Wallace… was in charge of my company at the time, said, ‘O’Neill, that will be a good place to bury the General.’ So, with the assistance of another soldier, we squared the hole, and lifted the General’s body a few yards away and placed it in the grave. Captain Wallace wrote the General’s name on a piece of paper, put it in an empty shell, and placed it at his head.” Pacific Monthly, July 1908; Custer Battle Casualties, II, 80 - 81.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- Lower down—at the base of the knoll—were LT Reily, CPT Yates, and “a great many enlisted men and horses.” Leavenworth Times, 18Aug1881; The Custer Myth, 220.
DeRudio, C., LT-- LT Reily’s body was shot full of arrows and lay near Custer. Camp interview, 2Feb1910; Custer in '76, 87.
Edgerly, W. S., LT-- Boston Custer and Autie Reed were found about 100 yards from GAC. Leavenworth Times, 18Aug1881; The Custer Myth, 220.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- Buried Boston Custer “who lay down on side hill some distance below the General.” Camp correspondence, early 1900s; Custer in '76, 77.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- Dr. Lord lay about 20 feet southeast of Custer on side of the hill. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 248.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- “I know [Godfrey’s emphasis] that Dr. Lord’s body was not identified. His pocket case was found, but nothing else to show for him.” Letter to Camp, 3May1909; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 69.
Sheridan, M. V., LTC-- (L)-- The graves of the officers with Custer were surrounded by the remains of about 60 men. Official report, 20Jul1877; The Custer Myth, 374.
McDougall, T., CPT-- McDougall said there were only a few bodies between the deep gully and where Custer lay. He was sure there were less than 12 and might not have been more than 6. Letter to Camp, 26Feb1909; Custer in '76, 72.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- Only 9-10 men between Custer and the gully. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 248.
Godfrey, E. S., LT-- “… [T]he bodies of Sturgis, Porter and Lord were not identified [Godfrey’s emphasis]. Nothing was found of Harrington.” Letter to Camp, 3May1909; On The LBH With Walter Camp, 69.
Thompson, R., LT-- K/6I-- Mark Kellogg’s body was found about 3/4 mile from Custer, down near the river on a hillside 100 yards from the river. Camp interview, 14Feb1911; Custer in '76, 248.
Big Beaver-- Northern Cheyenne-- The last markers down [SSL] are for these men who made the final rush. Custer Battlefield, 1928; Hardorff, Cheyenne Memories, 150.
Mathey, E., LT-- Mathey said Kellogg’s body “lay near a ravine and between Custer and the river.” It had been overlooked. Camp interview, 19Oct1910; Custer in '76, 79.
Best wishes, Fred.
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