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As to Gettysburg, an excellent read is “Retreat from Gettysburg”

Lee actually did an excellent job of moving his forces from that battlefield back to Virginia. There was a lot of Cavalry action including Custer attacking and harassing the supply trains and forces heading south. Despite the pressure, Lee was able to get the majority of the supplies his forces collected back to Virginia.

Yeah but the South was pretty much doomed right then and there. The main reason he was in the North was to take from the fat of the land for his Army and to take a northern Capitol. Virginia was lean and pretty picked clean and by returning he was leading his men and horses right back into starvation

Today I bought Custer and the Little Bighorn by Jim Donovan.

Great book! Well written with lots of pictures…

Indian time estimation at the Little Bighorn relating to Reno’s initial attack just came across this and found it interesting.....

From Pretty White Buffalo Woman AKA Mrs. Spotted Horn Bull, had to be before 1890, the footnotes have it that Spotted Horn Bull was killed along with Sitting Bull at the time of that attempted arrest

https://www.astonisher.com/archives/museum/mrs_spotted_horn_bull_little_big_horn.html#water


”The shadow of the sun had not moved the width of a teepee pole’s length from the beginning to the end of the first fight.”

I sometimes have had my students observe the speed at which a shadow moves, the motion of which they were previously clueless.

I would imagine Mrs Spotted Horn Bull had multiple opportunities to observe the movement of the sun relative to how wide teepee poles were. I’m wondering if it were a common expression relating to a short period of time.

Other than Himself ..Custer lost 2 Brothers , Uncle and a Nephew at the Little Bighorn ..
Something I didn’t know till Recently..

Wild West magazine is the only magazine I still purchase regularly. The current issue (June 2022) has an article on Custer’s horses. Seen here held by Custer’s Orderly Pvt. John Burkman, (who survived the fight on Reno’s Hill). Dandy on the left and Vic on the right.



Note the wolfhounds in the pic. Dandy was wounded but survived alongside Pvt. Burkman.

Vic was a blooded thoroughbred who’s widely esteemed dam the article states had been owned by Henry Clay. Custer was riding Vic at the battle, fate of the horse unknown.

Dandy (a mixed blood) is identified as Custer’s favorite warhorse since he had acquired him from an army consignment eight years earlier. Apparently Custer had ridden Dandy overnight and earlier that day, switching to the famously swift Vic going in.

Dandy was later given to Custer’s father and somewhat celebrated as a survivor of the fight.

I've had a copy of Philbrick's The Last Stand on the bookshelf for a while.

Finished this morning.

Good read.

Came accross this, I have been away from the campfire a few days. I am always fascinated by Custer and the LBH. Visited LBH once. I really want to go back there sometime and see it again.

Custer had no uncle at the LBH…

I’m just finishing rereading Philbick on my Nook as well.
As I said, between the Alamo and LBH, the two of them easily make up over a quarter of my library!
They have transcripts of each day’s testimony from The Reno Court Of Inquiry available on there, so I’ll probably get into that later on.
I know it was a whitewash of any survivor responsibility, but I figure that it also contains a lot of information about the campaign and battle itself, so it should be worthwhile.
7mm

There were 5 members of the Custer family killed that day.
George Armstrong himself, younger brothers Tom and Boston, a nephew, “Autie” Reed, and Captain James Calhoun, who was married to George’s younger sister Maggie.
I’d have hated to be in Ft Lincoln that morning when the news was broken to Elizabeth and Maggie. In addition to the two, there were 29 other soldier’s wives who were now widows.
I believe I read somewhere that “Vic” was actually a mare. I believe In “Son Of The Morning Star” that Burkman, who was responsible for Custer’s horses,
stated so. I’d have to go back and find it.
7mm