Wounded soldiers evacuated

When we are taught about historic events most times we learn the "headlines" about the event and pass over related and interesting facts. One such example involves events of June 25, 1876, and the following few days.

The U.S. Army invaded the Black Hills in 1875 after gold was discovered in the Indian Territory. The attempt to force the Indians out of the Black Hills that were given to the Indians by treaty would start a war.

On June 28, Curley, an Indian scout with Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry column arrived at the anchorage of the river boat "Far West" on the Little Big Horn River. The "Far West" was a civilian boat under the command of Captain Grant Marsh and had been leased to the U.S. Army. The boat was being used as a command post for a planned attack on a village of Sioux and Cheyenne near the river. The message brought by Curley was that he was the last surviving scout from an Indian attack on Custer's unit of over 215 troopers.

Custer's Indian scouts had reported they found a huge Indian camp, but Custer did not believe there were that many Indians in the area. Custer divided his troopers into four columns, and all were subsequently attacked by an estimated 3,000 Indians. Custer and his men were wiped out while the other units suffered heavy casualties. It is estimated that in the Little Big Horn Indian camp Custer's scouts had found there were over 10,000 Indians.

The day after Curley's report, Capt. Grant Marsh received a dispatch saying Gen. Alfred Terry and his relief column had found the slain Custer and his troopers as well as wounded survivors of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Marsh was advised that Terry would be returning with the wounded and Marsh should be ready to sail immediately. Terry was slowed by the 54 wounded and arrived at the boat June 30. Marsh telegraphed Gen. Terry's report east, and it had soon spread throughout the nation.

The Army responded to the attack with increased pressure and attacks on the various tribes that had left the reservations. The Indian Wars would continue until 1886 although some renegades would continue fighting up until the 1920s.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.