The Big 1-5-0!

Summer 2026 is a big one. Especially if you're a Little Big Horn student/enthusiast. In addition to our country's 250th anniversary, it's the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. There are plenty of events to keep a person busy in the Billings/Sheridan area, particularly around the June 25/26 anniversary dates.

Both the Little Big Horn Associates (LBHA) and the Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum Association (CBHMA) have events planned near the anniversary dates. You can find membership and conference information on their respective websites. If you have an interest in this period of our history, I encourage you to explore both organizations. Please also check out these groups as well - Custer Association of Great Britain (their Crow's Nest publication alone is worth the cost of membership), Friends of the Little Big Horn, and the Order of Indian Wars (also covers battles and skirmishes not on the Great Plains).

The anniversary period is a great time to visit the battlefield, but it takes a bit more planning as there are more visitors, traffic, and over all congestion. Many of these places don't experience large visitor numbers so when they are bombarded, there may be some struggles. Please be patient. Especially 2026. With the battlefield visitor center under construction (hopefully but unlikely to be complete before the anniversary), there will be new rules and regulations governing your visit. Again...patience and pre-planning will be key.

I have three favorite things about visiting the battlefield around the anniversary timeframe:

1. My buddies. I am fortunate enough to have a group of buddies who share my interests and we make regular trips to historical battlefields, forts, graves, museums, and other sights that pique our fancy. We also enjoy having more than a few drinks and are always on the lookout for the perfect bison steak. I have experienced more with my buddies than I ever would have on my own. The nightly after action review discussions at the hotel are just as valuable and educational as the visits themselves. I have learned a lot from those knuckleheads.
2. As I mentioned earlier, there will be more people running around during the anniversary period than at any other time. This can be both great and troublesome. More people means more crowding, traffic, etc. But it also means there are more people who are interested in this period in history running around the area. It's a wonderful time to reconnect with old friends and also to make new ones. Most of us are doing our studying solo. It's fun to talk to and meet people with like-minded interests.
3. Number three is books. MORE BOOKS. This is also the perfect time to shore up your history library. Many authors are also in the area, so it gives you a good chance to get your new book inscribed and signed. Or just to ask a quick question about a book you particularly enjoyed. Every author I've ever approached to sign a book has been very friendly and accommodating. Just use common sense and good manners.

If you're on Facebook, there are a number of groups that cater to this period in history. I would suggest checking these groups out. Please keep in mind, that there are many opinions that are thrown around in these groups, and the discussions can get heated. There are moderators but it helps to police yourself. If you do decide to post, just know that you may be asked for clarification or the sources you used. This will help solidify your post and also promote discussion. Don't take everything too personally and have fun. There is a wealth of information in these groups and it's searchable. Using the (sometimes hard to find) tools on Facebook will help you locate the information that interests you. Some of these groups are public and others are private. Either way, they are free to join whether you are a member of the organization or not.

Little Big Horn Associates Facebook group.

CBHMA Facebook group.

Order of Indian Wars Facebook group.

Bozeman Trail and Powder River Wars Facebook group.

Both the LBHA and the CBHMA are having conferences near the battlefield this year. They offer tours, bookrooms, symposiums, and lots of other activities to keep you busy. Check out their websites and Facebook groups for more information.

A portion of one of the bookrooms at the 2024 LBHA Gettysburg conference.

The bookroom at the 2009 LBHA Billings conference.

The one and only Robert M. Utley, signing my copy of
Custer and Me; 2005 LBHA Rapid City conference.

The cover of the LBHA newsletter, September 2005. That lower
right-hand photo is us at the hotel bar, 2005 LBHA conference.
L to R: Frank Bodden, Michael "Max" Reeve, Greg Michno, Michael Olson,
Father Vince Heier, Perry Baker (RIP), and yours truly, Scott Nelson.

If you are out and about in Montana or Wyoming this summer, and happen to see me stumbling around, please come up and say hello. I love meeting fellow history enthusiasts. None of us bite.

Comanche: Tougher than a $2.00 Steak

Comanche was a mixed-breed horse famous for being a survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This battle, fought during the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877, is often remembered as Custer's Last Stand, where the entire detachment of 7th Cavalry Soldiers, led by Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, were killed on June 25, 1876.

Comanche was bought by the U.S. Army in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1868. He was a 15 hands (60 inches, 152 cm) gelding, described as bay or bay dun, whose ancestry and date of birth were uncertain. Captain Myles Keogh of the 7th Cavalry purchased Comanche as his personal mount, to be ridden only in battle. Comanche carried Keogh during the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Captain Keogh was killed in the battle, but Comanche was found wandering the area afterward, while soldiers were preparing to bury the dead.

US soldiers found Comanche badly wounded and slowly nursed him back to health at Fort Lincoln. After his recovery, Comanche was retired. In April 1878, Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis issued a General Order stating that Comanche, "being the only living representative of the bloody tragedy of the Little Big Horn," should be treated with special care and never ridden or put to any work. The order also specified that on all ceremonial occasions, he should be saddled, bridled, draped in mourning, and led by a mounted trooper.

The horse was later brought to Fort Meade near present-day Sturgis, South Dakota, and kept "like a prince" until 1887. 

As an honor, Comanche was made "Second Commanding Officer" of the 7th Cavalry and became a pet at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he even indulged in a fondness for beer.

Comanche died of colic on November 7, 1891, believed to be 29 years old.

Comanche was given a military funeral with full military honors at Fort Riley, Kansas. His remains were preserved through taxidermy and are currently on display at the University of Kansas's Natural History Museum.

Although Comanche is often described as the sole survivor of Custer's detachment, other horses also survived. However, the legend endures, as Comanche was the only one recovered by the US Army and given a place of honor. 

Comanche's story has been featured in books, TV shows, and movies, such as Disney's TONKA (1958). 

The following appeared in the August 11, 1887 edition of The Miller Press, Miller, South Dakota.

The Miller Press; August 11, 1887 - page 4

This snippet was found in the Sturgis Advertiser of July 19, 1887.

Sturgis Advertiser; July 19, 1887 - page 1

And here is the famous Grabill photo, mentioned in the above clipping.

A article outlining the history of Comanche, from the University of Kansas.

"Sgt. Windolph Rode Comanche" - Sturgis Tribune - February 2, 1950 (includes photo of Windolph)

Moving Stuff Around

 First of all... Happy Thanksgiving!

Second, this website has, for the most part, been working great. So great in fact, that I decided to mess with it. This post is meant more as a heads-up than any real update. If you find a broken link, missing image, or just a spelling error, please drop me an email and let me know. My email is shown in the column at the right. You could also leave a comment on the page with the error and I'll get an email notification. Either way, please let me know. 

Thank you. Now go have another piece of pie.

Gratitude and Gravy

Thanksgiving celebrations always seem to involve a crazy amount of food consumption. Not a lot has changed since the 19th century. In the time of the Super Size meals, we eat more than our ancestors. But the menus from Thanksgivings past suggest they looked the other way during the holiday as well.

Thanksgiving in the United States has been observed on differing dates. From the time of the Founding Fathers until Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday in 1863, the date of observance varied from state to state. Lincoln set national Thanksgiving by proclamation for the final Thursday in November in celebration of the bounties that had continued to fall on the Union and for the military successes in the war, also calling on the American people, "with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience ... fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation...." Because of the ongoing Civil War, a nationwide Thanksgiving celebration was not realized until Reconstruction in the 1870s.*

In 1879, Thanksgiving landed on November 27th. The following appeared the next day in the Friday (November 28, 1879) edition of The Bismarck Tribune. It outlined the menus at a couple of the hotels in Bismarck - The Merchants Hotel and the Sheridan House.

Lots of the same staples as today: turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and various pies. But also thrown in are choices that you wouldn't find on today's holiday table: hog's head cheese, tongue, heart, and fatty goose livers.

If I could go back in time, I think I would be a picky eater but wouldn't have too much trouble finding something I could work with.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

* Wikipedia

Big Winners at the Catholic Fair

During the winter of 1888, a fundraiser was held by the Ladies of the Catholic Church in Sturgis. They raised close to $400, which would be equivalent to about $13,994 today (in terms of general purchasing power).* Certainly not too shabby for a church fundraiser in a small town, a mile north of nowhere.

U.S. Seventh Cavalry aficionados will recognize the names Weihe and Hoehn among the prize winners. Hoehn was on detached service from June 15, 1876 at Yellowstone Depot, Montana Territory. Therefore, he didn’t perish at Little Bighorn like his Company L comrades. 

Henry Charles Weihe is an altogether different story. Weihe (aka Charles White) was a sergeant in Company M. During the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he was wounded in the right arm. His horse was killed when the retreat from the valley fight began. He was left in the timber and later rejoined Reno and the rest of the troops on the hilltop. He was transported to Fort Lincoln aboard the steamer Far West.  Daniel Newell stated, “Sergeant White, though badly wounded in the elbow, stayed on his feet and did everything he could to relieve the sufferers. He had a glassful of jelly in his bags and each wounded man got a small spoonful of that.”

I always liked Newell's anecdote about Weihe/White. What a generous and thoughtful gesture. I'm happy he won a fancy lap robe at the drawing.

* measuringworth.com

Max Hoehn Page

Daniel Newell Page

Henry Charles Weihe/Charles White Page

Forgotten Barber, Unforgettable Battle

Forgotten Barber, Unforgettable Battle: A South Dakota Veteran’s Lifelong Quest to Understand Little Bighorn

An article was published in the November 9, 1936 issue of the Rapid City Journal, detailing the research of Mr. Agner Mosier into the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

In the quiet halls of the South Dakota State Soldiers’ Home in Hot Springs, an aging veteran found purpose in the pages of history. Agner Mosier, a former barber from Rapid City and a U.S. Cavalryman with the famed Seventh Regiment from 1880 to 1885, spent his later years piecing together one of America’s most mythologized conflicts: the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Mosier didn’t just study the battle—he walked the land, retraced the movements, and spoke with fellow cavalrymen who had lived through that fateful June day in 1876. His deep dive into the terrain where Custer made his last stand wasn’t for glory or fame. Instead, it was a soldier’s search for understanding—of tactics, survival, and perhaps of the men who fought and fell.

Through his fieldwork and his interviews—particularly with Capt. Frank M. Gibson and Major Marcus A. Reno’s associates—Mosier built a compelling narrative. He dispelled common myths, questioned official accounts, and brought renewed attention to stories that might otherwise have been forgotten. One such figure was Daniel Newell, a survivor of the battle whose firsthand account, published in Sunshine Magazine in the 1930s, deeply influenced Mosier’s understanding.

What sets Mosier apart is how his research leaned into human experience rather than heroic legend. He examined where Reno made his stand, how Indian scouts anticipated Custer’s movements, and why the Gatling guns were left behind. Mosier understood that the battle was less about romanticized bravery and more about preparation, decision-making, and an underestimation of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho forces.

His conclusion? The U.S. command’s failure wasn’t simply a matter of being outnumbered. It was strategic error, poor coordination, and a tragic underestimation of the resistance they would face.

The article also paints a vivid picture of Mosier’s humility. Despite being a veteran himself, he doesn't seek the spotlight. Instead, he positions himself as a student of history, learning from those who were there. His work reminds us that history isn't just the domain of scholars in ivory towers—it’s often preserved by ordinary people with extraordinary curiosity.

As we revisit stories like Mosier’s, we’re reminded that the past is not a static collection of dates and names. It is alive in memory, in retelling, and in the quiet diligence of a retired barber with a soldier’s eye and a historian’s heart.

I apologize for the article preview below. If you click on the image, and then right click to save, it will download a copy to your computer which can then be enlarged and read easily.

Rapid City Journal; November 9, 1936

Daniel Newell Page

Charles Windolph Page

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1926 - 50th Anniversary of Little Big Horn Battle Video Footage

The 50th anniversary of the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1926, was one of the largest. There were still battle veterans from both sides who were alive and attended the event. Troopers who attended the celebration included Daniel Newell, John Burri, Peter Thompson, and Charles Windolph. The anniversary was also attended by Edward S. Godfrey, the former first lieutenant who was in charge of Company K at the battle.

YouTube has lots of historical content, including the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The below footage is only 1:07 but is well worth a watch or two. Godfrey appears in the video and that fact alone makes it a must watch. Godfrey is in all the Little Big Horn books and accounts. Yet, here he is walking and moving around in a video. It just goes to prove that in the grand scheme of things, the Old West wasn't all that long ago. 

As I type this, I'm also organizing, planning, and packing to head out to Montana in a couple days for the 149th anniversary of the battle. If you happen to see me running around, don't be shy, say hello. I enjoy connecting with other crazy people who share an interest in Great Plains history.

Daniel Newell at the 50th Anniversary of the Little Big Horn Battle

Re-Enact Famous Custer Struggle

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