Custer at Little Bighorn: A Deep Political Hypothesis

[Sandy Sherbrook]

I've read that Custer had presidential aspirations

Anyone else have anything to add on this?

[Charles Drago]

Experts remain divided on this, although not evenly.

It seems that the notion first appears as a claim by one of Custer's Arikara scouts who said that his commander told him that, in effect, a victory at Little Bighorn would make make him (Custer) "the Great Father." (If memory serves, a fuller version of this alleged incident may be found in The Arikara Narrative of Custer's Campaign and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.)

Historian Robert Utley, one of the most respected of Custer scholars, weighs in with his view (and, as it happens, that of the majority of his contemporary colleagues, which I share) in his seminal Cavalier in Buckskin:

"That Custer fantasized such an absurdity cannot be disproved, of course, but that presidential aspirations governed his tactical decisions demands more weighty evidence than supplied by the Arikara scout."

Not unlike John Fitzgerald Kennedy, George Armstrong Custer was the target of posthumous character assassination -- the many charges that the U.S. defeat at Little Bighorn was the consequence of Custer being "greedy" and "foolhardy" and "inept" and "racist" and/or "egomaniacal". I can argue that most, if not all, of those flaws were exhibited, to varying degrees, by Custer at points in his professional life. But I'm just as certain that none of them, individually or in combination, should be appreciated as the root cause of his final defeat.

However, it very well may be that wholly concocted or absurdly exaggerated reports of Custer's political ambitions were used by conspirators pre- and post-battle to secure the services of very powerful Washington figures whose interests would have been adversely impacted by the actions of a President Custer.

[Keith Millea]

Just found this interesting piece:


Buffalo Calf Road Woman

Buffalo Calf Road Woman, or Brave Woman (b. c. 1850s? -d. 1878), was a Northern Cheyenne woman who saved her wounded warrior brother Chief Comes in Sight, in the Battle of Rosebud (1876) (as it was called by the United States.) Her rescue helped rally the Cheyenne warriors to win the battle. She fought next to her husband in the Battle of the Little Bighorn that same year...... In 2005 Northern Cheyenne storytellers broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle, and they credited Buffalo Calf Road Woman striking the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died.

History

During the Battle of the Rosebud, the Cheyenne and Sioux, allied under the leadership of Crazy Horse, had been retreating, and they left the wounded Chief Comes in Sight on the battlefield. Suddenly Buffalo Calf Road Woman rode out onto the battlefield at full speed and grabbed up her brother, carrying him to safety. Her courageous rescue caused the Cheyenne to rally, and they defeated General George Crook and his forces. In honor of Buffalo Calf Road Woman, the Cheyenne called the Battle of Rosebud "The Fight Where the Girl Saved Her Brother".

Buffalo Calf Road Woman is documented as also having fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. There she fought alongside her husband Black Coyote. In June 2005, the Northern Cheyenne broke their more than 100 years of silence about the battle. In a public recounting of Cheyenne oral history of the battle, tribal storytellers said that Buffalo Calf Road Woman had struck the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer was said to have bad medicine, so the women took revenge.

Buffalo Calf Road Woman died of malaria in 1878.

Source: Wikipedia

[Charles Drago]

Just a little factoid that I found..


Buffalo Calf Road Woman

Buffalo Calf Road Woman, or Brave Woman (b. c. 1850s? -d. 1878), was a Northern Cheyenne woman who saved her wounded warrior brother Chief Comes in Sight, in the Battle of Rosebud (1876) (as it was called by the United States.) Her rescue helped rally the Cheyenne warriors to win the battle. She fought next to her husband in the Battle of the Little Bighorn that same year...... In 2005 Northern Cheyenne storytellers broke more than 100 years of silence about the battle, and they credited Buffalo Calf Road Woman striking the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died.

History

During the Battle of the Rosebud, the Cheyenne and Sioux, allied under the leadership of Crazy Horse, had been retreating, and they left the wounded Chief Comes in Sight on the battlefield. Suddenly Buffalo Calf Road Woman rode out onto the battlefield at full speed and grabbed up her brother, carrying him to safety. Her courageous rescue caused the Cheyenne to rally, and they defeated General George Crook and his forces. In honor of Buffalo Calf Road Woman, the Cheyenne called the Battle of Rosebud "The Fight Where the Girl Saved Her Brother".

Buffalo Calf Road Woman is documented as also having fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn. There she fought alongside her husband Black Coyote. In June 2005, the Northern Cheyenne broke their more than 100 years of silence about the battle. In a public recounting of Cheyenne oral history of the battle, tribal storytellers said that Buffalo Calf Road Woman had struck the blow that knocked Custer off his horse before he died in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Custer was said to have bad medicine, so the women took revenge.

Buffalo Calf Road Woman died of malaria in 1878.

Source: Wikipedia

Keith,

There is enduring controversy regarding where and when Custer was mortally wounded.

Relatively early in the final sequence of the battle, a commander dressed in a buckskin jacket led a troop down Medicine Tail Coulee to a ford that would have provided tactically advantageous access across the LBH and into the camp at approximately its midpoint. A small group of what is said to be Cheyennes were on the western bank and fired into the cavalry column, gravely wounding its leader.

The column abruptly retreated -- perhaps with the stricken man in buckskin in tow.

Was it Custer who was shot at the ford?

Other officers were wearing buckskin that day, and there is no consensus to date regarding the identity of the ford victim.

As for the story of Buffalo Calf Road Woman, to me it reeks of revisionism/political correctness. It is a very attractive tale on very many levels, but for now I'll consider it to be as apocryphal as a couple of dozen other to-juicy-to-be-true stories relating to seminal events -- real and imagined -- taking place during what for me remains the most intriguing North American military engagement of the 19th century.

[Keith Millea]

Thanks Charles,

I appreciate your response.I've made the mistake of calling the article a factoid.I'll change that.

I've not studied the Battle of Little Big Horn but I can relate to the fact that different tales emerge from larger scale incidents.This was true with my Blackhorse brothers also.On our forum I could describe an incident and would learn that I was only witnessing a small part of what the whole situation was.I think this is where the confusion sets in.Different people see the same battle from different points of view,literally.

I like this thread a lot.......

[Charles Drago]

Thanks Charles,

I appreciate your response.I've made the mistake of calling the article a factoid.I'll change that.

I've not studied the Battle of Little Big Horn but I can relate to the fact that different tales emerge from larger scale incidents.This was true with my Blackhorse brothers also.On our forum I could describe an incident and would learn that I was only witnessing a small part of what the whole situation was.I think this is where the confusion sets in.Different people see the same battle from different points of view,literally.

I like this thread a lot.......

Thanks, Keith. The applications to LBH inquiries of investigative techniques and analyses developed for the study of deep politics are rewarding on many levels. By all means let's continue the conversation.