Farewell Fred

I lost a close friend over Thanksgiving weekend. Frederic C. Wagner III passed away on Sunday, November 27, 2022, at 10:19pm EST. 

Of course his friends never called him Frederic. He was just plain old Fred. He was one of the smartest guys I ever met. He had an uncanny ability to uncover, catalog, and interpret vast amounts of data, He was also one of the kindest and open people I have ever had the pleasure of calling friend.

Fred, Garryowen, MT - 2013

I have also never met anyone as passionate about the Battle of the Little Big Horn as Fred. He wanted to know every small detail about the battle and its participants. And somehow he could remember all that information and be able to recall it. He had collected massive amounts of computer data on everything from vegetation on the battlefield to the walking speed of horses.

When I first met him (Summer 2007), he was lugging around these large three-ring binders and topographic maps. He was working on a timeline for the battle. He had painstakingly entered bits of information into a large spreadsheet and was able to put everything into context and show when certain events happened during the battle. He was always refining those timelines and was eventually able to share them in a book, STRATEGY OF DEFEAT AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN: A MILITARY AND TIMING ANALYSIS OF THE BATTLE. This book shook things up in the study of the battle and has become a time tested standard. Fred also helped write the screenplay for a movie (Strategy of Defeat:The Movie) that was based on the book.

Fred's Books (descriptions from Amazon):

Participants in the Battle of the Little Big Horn: A Biographical Dictionary of Sioux, Cheyenne and United States Military Personnel: The Battle of the Little Big Horn was the decisive engagement of the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877. In its second edition this biographical dictionary of all known participants--the 7th Cavalry, civilians and Indians--provides a brief description of the battle, as well as information on the various tribes, their customs and methods of fighting. Seven appendices cover the units soldiers were assigned to, uniforms and equipment of the cavalry, controversial listings of scouts and the number of Indians in the encampments, the location of camps on the way to the Big Horn and more. Updated biographies are provided for many European soldiers, along with an additional 5,060 names of Indians who were or could have been in the battle.

The Strategy of Defeat at the Little Big Horn: A Military and Timing Analysis of the Battle: The battle that unfolded at the Little Big Horn River on June 25, 1876, marked a watershed in the history of the Plains Indians. While a stunning victory for the Sioux and Cheyenne peoples, it initiated a new and vigorous effort by the U.S. government to rid the west of marauding tribes and to realize the ideal of "Manifest Destiny." While thousands of books and articles have covered different aspects of the battle, few if any have analyzed the tactics and chronology to arrive at a satisfactory explanation of what befell George Armstrong Custer and the 209 men who died alongside him. This volume seeks to explain the circumstances culminating in the near-destruction of the 7th Cavalry Regiment by a close examination of timing, setting every event to a specific moment based on accounts of the battle's participants.

Marcus Reno in the Valley of the Little Big Horn: Limited Means, Excessive Aims: Major Marcus Reno's actions at the Battle of Little Big Horn have been both criticized and lauded, often without in-depth analysis. This book takes a fresh look the battle and events leading up to it, offering answers to unanswered questions. The author examines the meanings of "orders" given in Custer's command and how they were treated, the tactics and fighting in the valley, Reno's alcoholism, and his last stand on the hilltop named for him.

The Great Sioux Campaign of 1876, Day-by-Day: Drawing on more than 22 years' research, this book presents an exhaustive chronology of the Great Sioux Campaign in three parts: the U.S. Seventh Cavalry's communications, decisions and movements October 15, 1875-June 21, 1876, are traced day-by-day; the three-day prelude to the Battle of Little Bighorn hour-by-hour; and the battle itself minute-by-minute. The separate actions of the several military commands and the Indians involved are narrated in coherent sequence. Archival intelligence summaries offer the reader fresh perspective on the events leading to the decisive Indian victory known as Custer's Last Stand.

Back in April 2021 Fred did a presentation for his "valley book" that was uploaded to YouTube. Here is a link to that presentation...

Fred Wagner Valley Presentation

We call our little group of friends Montana Mayhem and you can check out our trip diaries and photo albums by clicking the link below...

Montana Mayhem Trip Diaries and Photo Albums

Farewell Fred. Garryowen my friend.

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.