On This Day in History: Custer's Last Stand

George Armstrong Custer

Sitting Bull

On this day in history, in 1876, General George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry were defeated, at the Battle of Little Bighorn, by Sitting Bull and a united encampment of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho. After refusing President Grant's offer to purchase the land, all Lakota and Arapaho were ordered to move to designated reservations by the end of January 1876, despite the winter conditions, or be considered "hostile." The Native American force, led by Sitting Bull, had gathered in the Little Bighorn Valley to discuss what to do about the whites when Custer's force arrived.​

Among Custer's 600 men killed was his second in command, Captain Myles W. Keogh, who was shot off his horse, Comanche. Days after the battle, troops sent to try and figure out what happened, found Comanche, injured in a ravine. They brought him back to Fort Abraham Lincoln where Dr. Charles A. Stein, the Veterinary Surgeon of the 7th Cavalry, pulled 13 bullets from the horse. He was assisted by acting Assistant Quartermaster, Lebanon native, Lt. James, M. Burns. 

Comanche survived his injuries and went on to live another 15 years, living the good life as an official mascot of the 7th.

Lieutenant Burns at 51

There's a lot more to tell about Lt. Burns (like how he was a Medal of Honor recipient) but that's for another time. Burns is also the main character in author Carol Tonneson's newest book, The Westerner: A Postcard to the Girl He Left Behind, out later this summer!

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