Charles Windolph was the last surviving trooper that actually participated in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He was born on December 9, 1851 and lived into the mid-20th century, passing away on March 11, 1950.
Windolph was very proud of the time he spent in the 7th U.S. Cavalry. He was awarded a Medal of Honor and later a Purple Heart for his actions there. He was a member of Company H and was a "Benteen man" through and through. He related variations of the following story several times during his post-cavalry days:
The Indian rifle fire had resumed and happened to be particularly fierce at the time. Benteen told the prone Private to stand up. Young Windolph hesitated, since two of his H Company comrades, Julien Jones and Thomas Meador, had only recently been killed beside him. He asked his Captain if it was really necessary that he stand. “On your feet,” ordered Benteen. Windolph obeyed. “Look at all those Indians," Benteen said. "If you ever get out of here alive, you will be able to write and tell the Old Folks in Germany how many Indians we had to fight today." -- A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn, The Last Great Battle of the American West; Little, Brown and Company, New York, NY, 2008; by James Donovan
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to leave your comments. No sign-in required.