"Custer and his men were last seen by their comrades galloping across a ridge before they disappeared into the seductive green hills. Not until two days later did the surviving members of the regiment find them: more than two hundred dead bodies, many of them hacked to pieces and bristling with arrows, putrefying in the summer sun."
Custer and his men died on June 25, 1876, and this book tells the story well. If anyone has an iota of curiosity about Custer and/or Sitting Bull, or about the treatment of Native Americans in this period of history, or even about men who march into battle, then this is a book to be read and enjoyed. The men become real and distinct individuals, with their personalities, their accomplishments and their frailties. The topography, the weather, the horses and mules, the night camps, the rivers, Libbie Custer, the huge Indian village on the west bank of the Little Bighorn....and the stunning outcome. Of course, ultimately the Indians (specifically in this story, the Lakota and Cheyenne) lose, starting with the massacre at Wounded Knee.
There are nearly 100 pages of notes at the end of the book. While there have been hundreds of books written about this battle, Philbrick "relied primarily on Native accounts" for the final battle, and he explains why in these notes. Also in "1983, fire swept across the battlefield, providing a team of archaeologists and volunteers with the chance to comb the site with metal detectors and analyze what they found." Philbrick himself, who lives on Nantucket, visited the battlefield three times.
I found very interesting the part Reno had in this tale: his ill-fated charge on the morning of the day of June 25, 1876. (Custer's whereabouts and intentions were unknown to Reno at the time who was south of Custer, but the rolling hills prevented a long view.) Reno actually crossed the Little Bighorn, was easily routed and fled back across the river. He survived but his life did not go well as he was blamed by many for what happened to Custer, and he continued to drink heavily.
There is the remarkable story of Peter Thompson who also survived, was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery and subsequently lived and ranched in Montana.
I read of Custer's Civil War exploits. Philbrick says that "Custer was something more than the harebrained thrill junkie of modern legend. Over the course of the war, he proved to be one of the best cavalry officers, if not the best, in the Union army."
Sitting Bull's story is also told, although not as much is known about his life. "With the collapse of the buffalo herd came the collapse of the Lakota." Sitting Bull could not sustain their way of life. He sought asylum in Canada but in 1881 he "surrendered to American authorities" and for a decade or so, he was a curiosity, a celebrity, but he was often humiliated, discouraged and sad. He asked at one point, "Can I be any lower than I am? Once I was a man, but now I am a pitiful wretch..." In 1890, he was killed by a Lakota policeman, Bull Head, from the Standing Rock agency.
Custer was a complex man. Philbrick skillfully teases out the threads of his life and presents a thoroughly compelling and honest portrait of this hero (or villian) depending on one's point of view. Philbrick seems to wish only to tell this famous story as close to the facts as he possibly can.
Again, I found the book fascinating....not at all boring.
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