Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Captain Thomas Weir, 7th Cavalry

The Indians had a reputation as being terrible shots with rifles unless at close range. So I've heard.

There's an excerpt from a W. M. Camp letter stating one of the two soldiers survived. Was this proven to be inaccurate?

The same can be said of our modern day population of:
1) hunters
2) LEO'S
3) military
As always, there are exceptions, and those who train around it.
A little adrenaline goes a long way. A lot of ammo doesn't always, which is why all of the above carry so much.

Also, the area known as Sharpshooter Ridge at LBH was not named after anyone in the 7th Cav.

The same can be said of our modern day population of:
1) hunters
2) LEO'S
3) military
As always, there are exceptions, and those who train around it.
A little adrenaline goes a long way. A lot of ammo doesn't always, which is why all of the above carry so much.

Also, the area known as Sharpshooter Ridge at LBH was not named after anyone in the 7th Cav.

Did Custer have Gattling guns?

Peter Thompson would have a hard time to have been who was referred to as a soldier back near the Lone Teepee to survive some Indian encounter there. Peter Thompson and another soldier were down on the Little Bighorn River in view of Custer for a period of time and witnessed Custer above himself and not yet engaged with the Indians. Later Peter Thompson was involved with the transferring of water from the Little Bighorn River to the dehydrated soldiers atop the hill at the Reno/Benteen defensive site.

Peter Thompson was awarded a Medal Of Honor for his bravery in that action at “water carriers ravine”


This is where Water Carriers Ravine came to the Little Bighorn River, which is located south of the Reno/Benteen defensive site..

Did Custer have Gattling guns?

I’ve read he left them behind because they were to heavy or something like that.

I didn't watch all the videos. But several years ago I saw a one hour program on tv, where there had been a fire at the Little Bighorn, and the ground was all cleared. A team of archaeologists went in with metal detectors. They didn't find many cartridge casings at Last Stand Hill, and so they declared that right there, Custer's men didn't put up much of a fight.

What the Phds overlooked, was one hundred years of souvenir hunting. When Terry's troops came in 3 days after the battle, and they saw the hill where Custer and Tom had been killed, you know some of those soldiers picked up cartridge casings for souvenirs.


There was another forum that I was on, a guy said that his dad and uncle went to Last Stand Hill, maybe in the twenties, and picked up a 5-gallon bucket of cartridge casings from Last Stand Hill and elsewhere on the battlefield.

These latter-day arechaeologists ignored a hundred years of souvenir hunting, therefore their conclusions are incorrect.

I’ve read he left them behind because they were to heavy or something like that.

Indians were experts in archery but most couldn't shoot a rifle or pistol straight, I'm sure there were some good marksmen but those were few and far in between.

Peter Thompson would have a hard time to have been who was referred to as a soldier back near the Lone Teepee to survive some Indian encounter there. Peter Thompson and another soldier were down on the Little Bighorn River in view of Custer for a period of time and witnessed Custer above himself and not yet engaged with the Indians. Later Peter Thompson was involved with the transferring of water from the Little Bighorn River to the dehydrated soldiers atop the hill at the Reno/Benteen defensive site.

Peter Thompson was awarded a Medal Of Honor for his bravery in that action at “water carriers ravine”


This is where Water Carriers Ravine came to the Little Bighorn River, which is located south of the Reno/Benteen defensive site..

Fremont Kipp's correspondence with W. M. Camp seemed to reach the same conclusion (excerpt of a transcript):

yesterday I met a Patrick Brady
who joined the Regiment at Peas Bottom
Coming up on a Boat with 150 recrutes
Capt Hale being in Charge of recrutes
Brady remembers Thompson and Watson
well, and say he always heard they were
with the pack Train and never heard
of any story of their being Seperated from
the Same or from Reno after Pack

train Camp up to Reno Hill. Brady states
that after the fight at diffirent places
there was Eleven men left living and
he thinks if Thompson story were
true he would have heared of it. I am
not sure if Brady said he joined us
at Peas Bottom or at mouth of the
Rosebud that being Some weeks after
the fight Brady Statement is hearsay
but Mechling and I think he is right.
Mechling and I viseted W J Baily and
there is no doubt in our mind he
was just as he says Enlisted as a
Indian Scout the same as other
Indians were and was with Reno
in the Bottom. When I repeated Thompson
Statment to him about his Thompson being
some 300 yards from Custer when he was
killed and then trying to get in the village
getting within 75 yds of nearest Teepes and
to center of River when they were
Discovered and driven back. Mr Baily
became very mad saying Thompson
was a G—D— liar that with all that

hord of mounted Indians it would
not be possible for him and Watson
to get away Mr Baily becoming so mad
that Mrs Baily had to quiet the old
man down
Mechling and I beleive Thompson and
Watson were with Pack Train and that
he is lying when C Troop was going
toward the Battle there must have
been some officer Nom-Com-officer
in the rear to prevent men from
falling out as Thompson says they did
a whole set of fours falling out near
the lone Teepe and two men taking
the back trail is unbelivable
I think he wants to be Considered
the last man that seen Custer alive.