Last Survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn

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I read years ago that the last survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn is buried in the Presidio (SF). Without a name, I can't locate any information specific to this fact other than, indeed, there were survivors of Custer's last stand. If it's true, what was this person's name, when did he die, when was he buried there, and how did he end up in SF? Any information will help in my quest..thinking shades of "Little Big Man". Thank you.

-- will (willstaiger@yahoo.com), January 19, 2004

Answers

Oooh, you got a lot of work ahead of you:

This site says it was a Sgt. Windolph:

http://www.history- us.com/I_Fought_With_Custer_The_Story_of_Sergeant_Windolph_Last_Surviv or_of_the_Battle_of_the_Little_Big_Horn_0803297203.html

And this one says, itwas an Indian named Curley:

http://www.picturehistory.com/find/p/13537/mcms.html

And this one claims it was the horse Comanche:

http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_places/little_big _horn_custers_last_stand/little_big_horn_custers_last_stand.html

And this site has lots of articles about the controversies concerning the battle and the survivors and the narratives:

http://www.usd.edu/library/jstor/subject2.cfm?subject=Little% 20Bighorn%2C%20Battle%20of%20the%2C%20Mont.%2C%201876%0D

Note that last one is a limited access site, but has options for getting into it. Click on "full text" of any discussion and you'll find directions.

-- Rosa (rosadebon@yahoo.com), January 21, 2004.


Thanks...that's about a far as my search went. I don't think the horse fits my criteria and Sergeant Charles Windolph was buried in Black Hills National Cemetery Section A, Grave 239 (98 years old!). The Indian named Curley sound interesting but seems to be a dead end. I believe I read about this story in Herb Caen around 1976, so it must be true....perhaps there were other survivors....the catchword is last survivor. Thank you for your effort.

-- will (willstaiger@yahoo.com), January 21, 2004.

Your confusion probably arises from the overlooked fact that lots of U.S. soldiers survived the Battle of Little Big Horn because they were attached to units that were not with Custer's men at "Last Stand Hill." The largest of these was a column commanded by Major Marcus Reno.

-- P.S. Perris (psperris@slip.net), January 22, 2004.

Curly not Curley...and it's not Curly because he's buried in Custer National Cemetery: Curly, d. May 22, 1923, Custer Scout, Army, U.S. Indian Scout, For additional information see Men With Custer, bur. May 23, 1923, Sec. A #1446

Your confusion probably arises from the overlooked fact that lots of U.S. soldiers survived the Battle of Little Big Horn because they were attached to units that were not with Custer's men at "Last Stand Hill." The largest of these was a column commanded by Major Marcus Reno.

-- P.S. Perris

yes, I agree, but I'm still under the impression that San Francisco has the odd distinction of providing the last resting place for the last survivor of The Indian War of 1876-1877 (Heck, Sergeant Windolph died in 1950!)

-- will (willstaiger@yahoo.com), January 22, 2004.


My Grandfather by marriage, Oscar W. Lindhom, was farrier in one of the last U.S. Army Mounted Cavalry Troops: Machine Gun Troop of the 4th Cavalry, at Fort Meade, South Dakota from February 1936 to the spring of 1940. He told me that the horses were giving the status of soldier. That is why the horse, Comanche, is listed as a survivor of the battle. Technically, the horse was one of the surviving soldiers.

PS: Oscar still shoes horses and can carry an anvil. He is not a man to argue with either. We just celebrated his 87th birthday (April, 2004).

-- Michele White (Aubassoon@aol.com), June 15, 2004.



as far as i know the name was karl windolf, later known as sgt. carl windolph

-- dr. bernhard nafz (b.nafz@t-online.de), July 01, 2004.

I served in the 4/7 Cavalry in Korea in the 1970's and again in the 1980's, so I know a little about the unit history. There are elements of truth in all the above stories. The horse Comanche was the only survior from the hill that Custer and the rest died on. The Army recognized Comanche as the "only living representative of the bloody tragedy of the Little Big Horn, Montana, June 25, 1876". It may be possible that an Indian scout named Curly survived, but since at that time the massacre sparked vigorous anti-Indian sentiment in the US ("The only good Indian is a dead one"), it may be why the government did not recognize a Native American as a survivor of the conflict. Comanche was the regimental mascot for the 7th Cavalry and greatly revered until his death in 1891. He was saddled, bridled and led by a uniformed trooper for display at all regimental parades and formations but was never again ridden. The empty saddle symbolized the 268 Cavalry Troopers who had fallen at the battle of the Little Big Horn. When he died in 1891, he was stuffed and mounted and displayed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. His body is currently on display at the Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. In the 1960's singer Johnny Horton wrote a song about Comanche called "Comanche (The Brave Horse)". The Army reformed the unit, but half is stationed in Korea, the other half in Germany, to preclude the possibility of the unit ever being wiped out again.

-- Sgt. Horace Carder (garryowentrooper@sbcglobal.net), February 19, 2005.

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