The fights on the little horn : unveiling the mysteries of Custer's Last Stand

Winner of the 2014 John Carroll Award, presented annually by The Little Big Horn Associates, as their Literary Award for the best book/monograph during the preceding year. Winner 2014 G. Joseph Sills Jr. Book Award This remarkable book synthesizes a lifetime of in-depth research into one of America's most storied disasters, the defeat of Custer's 7th Cavalry at the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, as well as the complete annihilation of that part of the cavalry led by Custer himself. The author, Gordon Harper, spent countless hours on the battlefield itself as well as researching every iota of evidence of the fight from both sides, white and Indian. He was thus able to recreate every step of the battle as authoritatively as anyone could, dispelling myths and falsehoods along the way. Harper himself passed away in 2009, leaving behind nearly two million words of original research and writing. In this book his work has been condensed for the general public to observe his key findings and the crux of his narrative on the exact course of the battle. One of his first observations is that the fight took place along the Little Horn River--its junction with the Big Horn was several miles away so that the term for the battle, "Little Big Horn" has always been a misnomer. He precisely traces the mysterious activities of Benteen's battalion on that fateful day, and why it could never come to Custer's reinforcement. He describes Reno's desperate fight in unprecedented depth, as well as how that unnerved officer benefited from the unexpected heroism of many of his men. Indian accounts, ever-present throughout this book, come to the fore especially during Custer's part of the fight, because no white soldier survived it. However, analysis of the forensic evidence--tracking cartridges, bullets, etc., discovered on the battlefield--plus the locations of bodies assist in drawing an accurate scenario of how the final scene unfolded. It may indeed be clearer now than it was to the doomed 7th Cavalrymen at the time, who through the dust and smoke and Indians seeming to rise by hundreds from the ground, only gradually realized the extent of the disaster. Of additional interest is the narrative of the battlefield after the fight, when successive burial teams had to be dispatched for the gruesome task, because prior ones invariably did a poor job. Though author Gordon Harper is no longer with us, his daughter Tori Harper, along with author/historians Gordon Richard and Monte Akers, have done yeoman's work in preserving his valuable research for the public. Winner of the John Carroll Award and the G. Joseph Sills Jr. Book Award. A deeply researched work on the infamous 1876 battle, filled with new discoveries. This remarkable book synthesizes a lifetime of in-depth research into one of America's most storied disasters, the defeat of Custer's 7th Cavalry at the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne, as well as the complete annihilation of that part of the cavalry led by Custer himself. The author, Gordon Harper, spent countless hours on the battlefield itself, as well as researching every iota of evidence of the fight from both sides, white and Indian. He was thus able to recreate every step of the battle as authoritatively as anyone could, dispelling myths and falsehoods along the way. When he passed away in 2009, he left nearly two million words of original research and writing, and in this book, his work has been condensed for the general public to observe his key findings and the crux of his narrative on the exact course of the battle. One of his first observations is that the fight took place along the Little Horn River—its junction with the Big Horn was several miles away—so the term for the battle, “Little Big Horn” has always been a misnomer. He precisely traces the mysterious activities of Benteen's battalion on that fateful day, and why it couldn't come to Custer's reinforcement. He describes Reno's desperate fight in unprecedented depth, as well as how that unnerved officer benefited from the unexpected heroism of many of his men. Indian accounts, ever-present throughout this book, come to the fore especially during Custer's part of the fight, because no white soldier survived it. However, analysis of the forensic evidence—like tracking cartridges and bullets discovered on the battlefield, plus the locations of bodies—assist in drawing an accurate scenario of how the final scene unfolded. It may indeed be clearer now than it was to the doomed 7th Cavalrymen at the time, who, through the dust and smoke and Indians seeming to rise by hundreds from the ground, only gradually realized the extent of the disaster. Of additional interest is the narrative of the battlefield after the fight, when successive burial teams had to be dispatched for the gruesome task because prior ones invariably did a poor job. Though the author is no longer with us, his daughter Tori Harper, along with historians Gordon Richard and Monte Akers, have done yeoman's work in preserving his valuable research for the public. “Having read and studied several previous books on the Custer Battle, I was hoping that something new would emerge and I was not disappointed... certainly a book that one cannot put down.” —Norman Franks, author of Ton-Up Lancs and Under the Guns of the Red Baron "The author, Gordon Harper, spent countless hours on the battlefield itself as well as researching every iota of evidence of the fight from both sides, white and Indian. He was thus able to recreate every step of the battle as authoritatively as anyone could, dispelling myths and falsehoods along the way. Harper himself passed away in 2006, leaving behind nearly two million words of original research and writing. In this book his work has been condensed for the general public to observe his key findings and the crux of his narrative on the exact course of the battle. One of his first observations is that the fight took place along the Little Horn River-its junction with the Big Horn was several miles away so that the term for the battle, "Little Big Horn" has always been a misnomer. He precisely traces the mysterious activities of Benteen's battalion on that fateful day, and why it could never come to Custer's reinforcement. He describes Reno's desperate fight in unprecedented depth, as well as how that unnerved officer benefited from the unexpected heroism of many of his men. Indian accounts, ever-present throughout this book, come to the fore especially during Custer's part of the fight, because no white soldier survived it. However, analysis of the forensic evidence-tracking cartridges, bullets, etc., discovered on the battlefield-plus the locations of bodies assist in drawing an accurate scenario of how the final scene unfolded. It may indeed be clearer now than it was to the doomed 7th Cavalrymen at the time, who through the dust and smoke and Indians seeming to rise by hundreds from the ground, only gradually realised the extent of the disaster. Of additional interest is the narrative of the battlefield after the fight, when successive burial teams had to be dispatched for the gruesome task, because prior ones invariably did a poor job. Though author Gordon Harper is no longer with us, his daughter Tori Harper, along with author/historian Monte Akers, have done yeoman's work in preserving his valuable research for the public"-- Book jacket Coverpage 1 Titlepage 4 Copyright 5 Contents 7 Foreword 9 Prologue 15 1 The Approach to the Little Horn: Benteen’s March 20 2 The Approach to the Little Horn: Reno’s and Custer’s March 50 3 The Approach to the Little Horn: Custer’s March to Medicine Tail Coulee 69 4 The Approach to the Little Horn: The Pack Train and Messengers 95 5 The Opening Shots: Reno’s Fight in the Valley 116 6 Across the Little Horn and Up a Hill: Reno’s Retreat from the Timber 166 7 Strange Interlude: Chaos on Reno Hill and the Weir Advance 177 8 Under Siege on Reno Hill 276 9 Introduction to Custer’s Fight 300 10 Death of the Valiant by Gordon Richard 309 ANALYSES 404 1 A Question of Disobedience 405 2 How the Indian Bands Came Together at the Little Horn 431 3 The Number of Warriors Facing the 7th Cavalry 449 4 Two Controversies: Recruits at the Little Horn and the Indian-Fighting Record of the 7th Cavalry 464 5 The Location of Bodies and the Initial Burials of the 7th Cavalry’s Dead 488 6 Burials, Markers and Survivors 535 7 Reconstructing the Death Sites on Custer’s Field using Marker Locations 567 8 The Enlisted Men’s Petition 607 Epilogue 620 Maps 622 Bibliography 630 Index 658 EBC,Converted The sheer breadth of Gordon Harper s research is amazing; I ve read every major account of George Custer s last battle and the various imbecilities leading up to it (and a good many of the primary sources on which accounts are based), and I was stunned to find that The Fights on the Little Horn is, in its slightly ramshackle way, the best of them all. Care is taken throughout to keep the broader narrative moving forward, but the array of detailed excurses is positively joyful to the historically inquisitive...The Custer disaster is one of those odd little irreducible kernels of American history that exercise perennial fascination. Anybody who feels the pull of that fascination should make sure not to miss this deep-digging book. (Publisher) Indian accounts, ever-present throughout this book, come to the fore especially during Custer s part of the fight, because no white soldier survived it. However, analysis of the forensic evidence - tracking cartridges, bullets, etc., discovered on the battlefield - plus the locations of bodies assist in drawing an accurate scenario of how the final scene unfolded. It may indeed be clearer now than it was to the doomed 7th Cavalrymen at the time, who through the dust and smoke and Indians seeming to rise by hundreds from the ground, only gradually realized the extent of the disaster One of his first observations is that the fight took place along the Little Horn River - its junction with the Big Horn was several miles away so that the term for the battle, "Little Big Horn" has always been a misnomer. He precisely traces the mysterious activities of Benteen s battalion on that fateful day, and why it could never come to Custer s reinforcement. He describes Reno s desperate fight in unprecedented depth, as well as how that unnerved officer benefited from the unexpected heroism of many of his men Of additional interest is the narrative of the battlefield after the fight, when successive burial teams had to be dispatched for the gruesome task, because prior ones invariably did a poor job. Though author Gordon Harper is no longer with us, his daughter Tori Harper, along with author/historians Gordon Richard and Monte Akers, have done yeoman s work in preserving his valuable research for the public This remarkable book synthesizes a lifetime of in-depth research into one of America s most storied disasters, the defeat of Custer s 7th Cavalry at the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, as well as the complete annihilation of that part of the cavalry led by Custer himself