John Lattman Obituary - Madison Daily Leader

John Lattman was born in Switzerland in 1848. He enlisted in the U.S. 7th Cavalry in Philadelphia, on October 14, 1873. He was discharged five years later, on October 14, 1878, at Fort Lincoln, Dakota, upon expiration of service, as a private of excellent character. 

He was a member of Company G and was therefore assigned to Major Reno's battalion at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. During the dash from the timber to the bluffs, he was left behind in the timber. He was possibly in a group that included scout George Herendeen. They eventually made it to the bluffs and the relative safety of the rest of the companies. Being with the experienced Herendeen may have helped save Lattman's life.

After his discharge from the army, he homesteaded on 160 acres of land northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, where he raised cattle, and became a well-respected rancher. He died on October 7, 1913, at the age of sixty-five. He is buried at Elk Vale Cemetery, located northeast of Rapid City.

Elk Vale Cemetery. Northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota.

Lattman grave at Elk Vale Cemetery.

Lattman obituary from the Madison
Daily Leader, Madison, SD. October 21, 1913.

JOHN LATTMAN PAGE

Lattman Tidbits

John Lattman was born in Switzerland and came to the United States where he enlisted in the 7th U.S. Cavalry on October 14, 1873, in Philadelphia.

He was a member of Company G and was therefore in the valley fight with the Major Reno. In the haste to leave the valley and get to the nearby bluffs, several troopers were left behind. Lattman was one of those left in the timber after the rest of the troops made their way to the hilltops across the river. He later made it to the hilltop, possibly as a member of Herendeen's group. 

He was discharged on October 14, 1878, at Fort Lincoln, Dakota, upon expiration of service, as a private of excellent character. He eventually homesteaded on 160 acres of land northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota, where he raised cattle. 

He died on October 7, 1913, and was buried northeast of Rapid City in Elk Vale Cemetery.

While perusing old newspapers on microfiche, I came across a couple of mentions of Lattman. These are hardly earth shattering finds but just a glimpse into the past and one of Custer's troopers.

The first is from the April 11, 1913 edition of the Black Hills Weekly Journal. Lattman, who was living on his farm northeast of Rapid City at the time, found himself stuck and stranded during a prairie blizzard. As someone who has lived in the Dakotas all my life, I can certainly attest to these spring snow storms. They drop a lot of snow and can easily fool people into thinking that conditions aren't as bad as they really are.

The second clipping is a bit more ominous. This is from the September 30, 1913 edition of the Rapid City Journal.

Two sentences. Three short lines of print. A week later Lattman would be dead. 

Lattman's grave at Elk Vale Cemetery.

The entrance to Elk Vale Cemetery northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota.

JOHN LATTMAN PAGE

Down in the Valley

Many of the troopers represented on this website participated in the valley fight portion of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. 

Elijah Strode was serving as orderly to Lt. Charles Varnum. On the retreat to the bluffs, Strode was shot in the thigh and had to be assisted by Varnum and another trooper in remounting a horse. He made it to the top and survived the battle.

Samuel McCormick gave his horse to Lt. McIntosh in the rush to leave the timber and make it to the bluffs. Other versions report that McIntosh commandeered McCormick's horse. However it happened, McCormick found himself without a horse and made it to the top of the bluffs on foot. He survived the battle and died in 1908.

John Lattman was one of several men left in the timber during the retreat. He would eventually join the rest of his comrades on the hilltop, possibly as part of Herendeen's group, and survive the battle. He died near Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1913.

Daniel Newell witnessed his bunkie being shot down during the retreat to the bluffs. Newell was wounded in the left leg at the beginning of the retreat from the valley during the Little Bighorn fight on June 25, 1876.  He was taken to Fort Lincoln aboard the steamer Far West.  His story of the Battle of the Little Bighorn was published in The Sunshine Magazine on September 30, 1930.  

These are just a few of the stories of the troopers and their experiences in the valley fight along the Little Big Horn River in June 1876. My friend, Frederic Wagner, has a new book out about the valley fight portion of the Little Big Horn battle. He gave a Zoom presentation to promote the book.

Order Fred's book direct from the publisher, McFarland or on Amazon. Watch Fred's presentation below.

Finding Lattman

John Lattman was a private in Company G, 7th U.S. Cavalry. He was born in Switzerland in 1848. He enlisted on October 14, 1873 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  He listed his previous occupation as laborer.  He was discharged on October 14, 1878, at Fort Lincoln, Dakota, upon expiration of service, as a private of excellent character.

At the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he was left in the timber during the retreat from the valley.  He made it to the hilltop later.  He was possibly a member of Herendeen’s group.

Little Big Horn historian Walter Mason Camp interviewed Lattman:

“I then hid in lowly sagebrush and got my carbine and pistol ready for defense. All at once, I heard Indians trying to get my horse where I had left him. I laid there until dark and then started toward Custer. Again, when half way up the bluff, all of a sudden I heard Indian bells and looked and saw two Indians riding along, and began to wonder where they came from, and lay down to think it over and made up my mind they had been watching the command, and I started and walked that way. I walked along quite a distance and got into a ravine and looked up and saw a pony. Soon I saw a man whom I took for a soldier, and he challenged me and told me where camp was. I had been out nearly all night and it was nearly daylight when I joined the command on the hill. In burying the dead, the smell was so bad we had to be relieved every 5 minutes.”

Following his discharge he homesteaded on 160 acres of land 12 miles NE of Rapid City, SD, where he raised cattle.  He remained a bachelor and died in Rapid City on October 7, 1913. He is buried in Elk Vale Cemetery located northeast of Rapid City.

FINDING LATTMAN VIDEO

John Lattman Page