Complying with a request from Congress, President Grant sent what information was known about the Battle of the Little Big Horn to Congress.
Last edition:
Showing posts with label U.S. Grant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. Grant. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2026
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Saturday, July 8, 1876. The Hamburg Massacre.
An event in which two white farmers, on July 4, had tried to pass through African American drilling militia resulted in a court hearing on a complaint brought by the farmers on this day in Hamburg, South Carolina, a mostly black town.. There was a demand for disbandment of the militia, even though the charge was obstruction of a public road.
Bands of armed white men descended on the town, quite a few of which were members of local rifle clubs. The militia mustered and took up positions in a stone warehouse. A battle erupted. The white besiegers deployed a cannon. Ultimately the town was taken over them and ultimately six black men and one white farmer were killed, with four of the black militiamen executed.
The entire event would be used by white politicians, in spite of the lopsided black deaths, as a campaign issue in the fall in the state, which had a majority black population.
The War Department issued a report on Little Big Horn to President Grant.
To the PRESIDENT:
To enable you to answer the inclosed resolution of the Senate of July 7, I have the honor to submit the following brief statement of facts as exhibited by the records of this Department:
The Sioux or Dakota Nation of Indians, embracing various tribes, as the Yanktons, Yanctonnais, Brules, Ogallalas, Minneconjous, Sans Arcs, Two Kettles, &c., have long been know as the most brave and warlike savages of this continent. They have for centuries been pushed westward by the advancing tide of civilization, till in 1868 an arrangement or treaty was made with them by a special commission named by Congress, whereby for certain payments and stipulations they agreed to surrender their claim to all that vast region which lies west of the Missouri River and north of the Platte, to live at peace with their neighbors, and to restrict themselves to a territory bounded east by the Missouri River, south by Nebraska, west by the 104th meridian, and north by the forty-sixth parallel, a territory as large as the State of Missouri. The terms of this treaty have been liberally performed on the part of the United States, and have also been complied with by the great mass of Sioux Indians. Some of these Indians, however, have never recognized the binding force of this treaty, but have always treated it contempt, have continued to rove at pleasure, attacking scattered settlements in Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and Dakota, stealing horses and cattle, and murdering peaceful inhabitants and travelers.
On the 9th of November, 1875, United States Indian Inspector E. C. Watkins made an elaborate report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, in which he uses this language:
"I have the honor to address you in relation to the attitude of certain wild and hostile bands of Sioux Indians in Dakota and Montana that came under my observation during my recent tour through their country, and what I think should be the policy of the Government toward them. I refer to Sitting Bull's band and other bands of the Sioux Nation under chiefs or "head-men" of less note, but no less untamable and hostile. These Indians occupy the center, so to speak, and roam over Western Dakota, and Eastern Montana, including the rich valleys of the Yellowstone and Powder Rivers, and make war on the Arickarees, Mandans, Gros Ventres, Assinaboines, Blackfeet, Piegans, Crows, and other friendly tribes on the circumference.
From their central position they strike to the East, North, and West, steal horses, and plunder from all the surrounding tribes, as well as frontier settlers and luckless white hunters or emigrants who are not in sufficient force to resist them."
After describing at great length their character and supposed numbers, given at a few hundred, he says:
"The true policy, in my judgment, is to send troops against them in the winter, the sooner the better, and whip them into subjection. They richly merit punishment for their incessant warfare, and their numerous murders of white settlers and their families, or white men wherever found unarmed."
The force estimated as necessary to whip them was one thousand men. This communication was submitted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hon. Edward P. Smith, to the honorable Secretary of the Interior, Z. Chandler, who in turn submitted it to the then Secretary of War, General Belknap, for his "consideration and action."
In subsequent communication of the Secretary of the Interior, of December 3, 1875, to the Secretary of War, occurs this language:
"I have the honor to inform you that I have this day directed the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to notify said Indians (Sitting Bull and others outside their reservation) that they must remove to the reservation before the 31st day of January, 1876; that if they neglect or refuse so to remove, that they will be reported to the War Department as hostile Indians, and that a military force will be sent to compel them to obey the orders of the Indian Office."
On the 1st day of February the Secretary of the Interior further notified the Secretary of War:
"The time given him (Sitting Bull) in which to return to an agency having expired, and the advice received at the Indian Office being to the effect that Sitting Bull still refuses to comply with the directions of the Commissioner, the said Indians are hereby turned over to the War Department for such action on the part of the Army as you may deem proper under the circumstances."
During all the stages of this correspondence, the General of the Army and his subordinate commanders were duly notified, and were making preparations for striking a blow at these hostile savages, an enterprise of almost insurmountable difficulty in a country where, in winter, the thermometer often falls to forty degrees below zero, and where it is impossible to procure food for man or beast. An expedition was fitted out under the personal command of Brig. Gen. George Crook, an officer of great merit and experience, which, in March last , marched from Forts Fetterman and Laramie to the Powder River and Yellowstone Valleys, struck and destroyed the village of Crazy Horse, one of those hostile bands referred to by Indian Inspector Watkins, but the weather was found so bitter cold, and other difficulties so great arose, that General Crook returned to Fort Laramie in a measure unsuccessful so far as the main purpose was concerned. These Indians occupy parts of the Departments of Dakota and Platte, commanded by Generals Terry and Crook, respectively, but the whole is immediately commanded by Lieutenant-General Sheridan, who has given the matter his special attention. Preparations were then made on a larger scale, and three columns were put in motion as early in May as possible, from Fort Abe Lincoln, on the Missouri River, under General Terry; from Fort Ellis, in Montana, under General Gibbon; and from Fort Fetterman under General Crook. These columns were as strong as could be maintained in that inhospitable region, or could be spared from other pressing necessities, and their operations are not yet concluded, nor is a more detailed report deemed necessary to explain the subject-matter of this inquiry.
The present military operations are not against the Sioux Nation at all, but against certain hostile parts of it which defy the Government, and are undertaken at the special request of that bureau of the Government charged with their supervision, and wholly to make the civilization of the remainder possible. No part of these operations are on or near the Sioux reservation. The accidental discovery of gold on the western border of the Sioux reservation, and the intrusion of our people thereon, have not caused this war, and have only complicated it by the uncertainty of numbers to be encountered. The young warriors love war, and frequently escape their agents to go on the hunt, or warpath, their only idea of the object of life. The object of these military expeditions was in the interest of the peaceful parts of the Sioux Nation, supposed to embrace at least nine- tenths of the whole, and not one of these peaceful or treaty Indians have been molested by the military authorities.
The recent reports touching the disaster which befell a part of the Seventh Regular Cavalry, led by General Custer in person are believed to be true. For some reason as yet unexplained, General Custer, who commanded the Seventh Cavalry, and had been detached by his commander, General Terry, at the mouth of Rosebud, to made a wide detour up the Rosebud, a tributary of the Yellowstone, across to the Little Big Horn and down to the mouth of the Yellowstone River. The wounded were carried back to the mouth of the Big Horn, in the Yellowstone River, which is navigable, and where there were two steamboats, one of which was sent down the river to Fort Abe Lincoln with the wounded, and to communicate these sad facts.
General Terry is therefore at the mouth of the Big Horn, refitting, and will promptly receive re-enforcement and supplies, and will resume his operations immediately.
Meantime, General Crook had also advanced from Fort Fetterman, and on the 17th of June, eight days before General Custer's attack, had encountered this same force of warriors on the head of the Rosebud, with whom he fought several hours, driving the Indians from the field, losing nine men in killed; one officer and twenty men wounded. General Crook reports his camp as on Tongue River, Wyoming. Re-enforcement and supplies are also enroute to him, and every possible means have been adopted to accomplish a concert of action between these two forces, which are necessarily separated, and are only able to communicate by immense distances around their rear.
The task committed to the military authorities is one of unusual difficulty, has been anticipated for years, and must be met and accomplished. It can no longer be delayed, and everything will be done by the Department to insure success, which is necessary to give even an assurance of comparative safety to the important but scattered interests which have grown up in that remote and almost inaccessible portion of our national domain.
It is again earnestly recommends that the appropriation asked for repeatedly by General Sheridan, of $200,000, be made, to build two posts on the Yellowstone, at or near the mouths of the Big Horn and Tongue Rivers.
Inclosed herewith please find copies of General Terry's report, just received by telegraph since the preparation of this letter.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. D. CAMERON, Secretary of War.
Gen. Terry issued a supplemental report.
Philadelphia, July 8, 1876
General W. T. Sherman, U.S.A.
War Department, Washington, D. C.:
Chicago, Ill., July 8.
General P. H. Sheridan,
Continental Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa.:
At the mouth of the Rosebud I informed General Custer that I should take the supply-steamer Far West up the Yellowstone to ferry General Gibbon's column over the river; that I should personally accompany that column, and that it would, in all probability, reach the mouth of the Little Big Horn on the 26th instant. The steamer reached General Gibbon's troops, near the mouth of the Big Horn, early in the morning of the 24th, and at 4 o'clock in the afternoon all his men and animals were across the Yellowstone. At 5 o'clock the column, consisting of five companies of the Seventh Infantry, four companies of the Second Cavalry, and a battery of Gattling guns, marched out to and crossed Tullock's Creek. Starting soon after 5 o'clock in the morning of the 25th, the infantry made a march of twenty-two miles over the most difficult country which I have ever seen. In order that scouts might be sent into the valley of the Little Big Horn, the cavalry, with the battery, were then pushed on thirteen or fourteen miles farther, reaching camp at midnight. The scouts were sent out. At half past four, on the morning of the 26th, they discovered three Indians, who were at first supposed to be Sioux, but when overtaken they proved to be Crows who had been with General Custer. They brought the first intelligence of the battle. Their story was not credited. It was supposed that some fighting, perhaps severe fighting, had taken place, but it was not believed that disaster could have overtaken so large a force as twelve companies of cavalry. The infantry, which had broken camp very early, soon came up, and the whole column entered and moved up the valley of the Little Big Horn. During the afternoon efforts were made to send scouts through to what was supposed to be General Custer's position, and to obtain information of the condition of affairs; but those who were sent out were driven back by parties of Indians, who, in increasing numbers, were seen hovering in General Gibbon's front. At twenty minutes before 9 o'clock in the evening the infantry had marched between twenty- nine and thirty miles. The men were very weary, daylight was failing; the column was therefore halted for the night at a point about eleven miles in a straight line above the mouth of the stream. In the morning the march was resumed, and after marching nine miles Major Reno's intrenched position was reached. The withdrawal of the Indians from around Major Reno's command and from the valley was undoubtedly caused by the appearance of General Gibbon's troops. Major Reno and Captain Benteen, both of who are officers of great experience, accustomed to see large masses of mounted men, estimate the number of Indians engaged at not less than 2,500; other officers think the number greater than this. The village in the valley was about three miles in length and about a mile in width; besides the lodges proper, a great number of temporary brushwood shelter was found in it, indicating that many men besides its proper inhabitants had gathered together there. Major Reno is very confident that there was a number of white men fighting with the Indians. It is believed that the loss of the Indians was larger. I have as yet received no official reports in regard to the battle, but what is stated herein is gathered from the officers who were on the ground there, and from those who have been over it since.
ALFRED H. TERRY, Brigadier-General.
R. C. DRUM, Assistant Adjutant-General.
Last edition:
Friday, July 7, 1876. Congress asks what's going on.
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Friday, July 7, 1876. Congress asks what's going on.
Congress made an inquiry:
The Rocky Mountain News told the tale.
Note the Budweiser advertisement.
Last edition:
Thursday, July 6, 1876. Custer's defeat hits the New York Times.
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Tuesday, July 4, 1876. The Centennial.
The Centennial Fair in Philadelphia.
July 4, 1876 was of course the Centennial of American independence and accordingly was widely celebrated throughout the US. The country was also a mere eleven years out of the Civil War, which nearly split the country into two, and was dealing with the ongoing consequences of that.
President Grant, of course a general of the recent war, issued a proclamation calling the nation to prayer:
Proclamation 229—Recommending Religious Services on July 4, 1876
June 26, 1876
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The centennial anniversary of the day on which the people of the United States declared their right to a separate and equal station among the powers of the earth seems to demand an exceptional observance.
The founders of the Government, at its birth and in its feebleness, invoked the blessings and the protection of a Divine Providence, and the thirteen colonies and three millions of people have expanded into a nation of strength and numbers commanding the position which then was asserted and for which fervent prayers were then offered.
It seems fitting that on the occurrence of the hundredth anniversary of our existence as a nation a grateful acknowledgment should be made to Almighty God for the protection and the bounties which He has vouchsafed to our beloved country.
I therefore invite the good people of the United States, on the approaching 4th day of July, in addition to the usual observances with which they are accustomed to greet the return of the day, further, in such manner and at such time as in their respective localities and religious associations may be most convenient, to mark its recurrence by some public religious and devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings which have been bestowed upon us as a nation during the century of our existence, and humbly to invoke a continuance of His favor and of His protection.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 26th day of June, A. D. 1876, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundredth.
U. S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
Secretary of State.
Members of the National Woman Suffrage Association crashed the Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to present the “Declaration of the Rights of Women.” It stated:
While the nation is buoyant with patriotism, and all hearts are attuned to praise, it is with sorrow we come to strike the one discordant note, on this one-hundredth anniversary of our country's birth. When subjects of kings, emperors, and czars, from the old world join in our national jubilee, shall the women of the republic refuse to lay their hands with benedictions on the nation's head? Surveying America's exposition, surpassing in magnificence those of London, Paris, and Vienna, shall we not rejoice at the success of the youngest rival among the nations of the earth? May not our hearts, in unison with all, swell with pride at our great achievements as a people: our free speech, free press, free schools, free church, and the rapid progress we have made in material wealth, trade, commerce and the inventive arts? And we do rejoice in the success, thus far, of our experiment of self-government. Our faith is firm and unwavering in the broad principles of human rights proclaimed in 1776, not only as abstract truths, but as the corner stones of a republic. Yet we cannot forget, even in this glad hour, that while all men of every race, and clime, and condition, have been invested with the full rights of citizenship under our hospitable flag, all women still suffer the degradation of disfranchisement.
The history of our country the past hundred years has been a series of assumptions and usurpations of power over woman, in direct opposition to the principles of just government, acknowledged by the United States as its foundation, which are:
First – The natural rights of each individual.
Second – The equality of these rights.
Third – That rights not delegated are retained by the individual.
Fourth – That no person can exercise the rights of others without delegated authority.
Fifth – That the non-use of rights does not destroy them.
And for the violation of these fundamental principles of our government, we arraign our rulers on this Fourth day of July, 1876, - and these are our articles of impeachment:
Bills of attainder have been passed by the introduction of the word "male" into all the State constitutions, denying to women the right of suffrage, and thereby making sex a crime – an exercise of power clearly forbidden in article I, sections 9, 10, of the United States constitution.
The writ of habeas corpus, the only protection against lettres de cachet and all forms of unjust imprisonment, which the constitution declares "shall not be suspended, except when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety demands it." is held inoperative in every State of the Union, in case of a married woman against her husband – the marital rights of the husband being in all cases primary, and the rights of the wife secondary.
The right of trial by a jury of one's peers was so jealously guarded that States refused to ratify the original constitution until it was guaranteed by the sixth amendment. And yet the women of this nation have never been allowed a jury of their peers – being tried in all cases by men, native and foreign, educated and ignorant, virtuous and vicious. Young girls have been arraigned in our courts for the crime of infanticide; tried, convicted, hanged – victims, perchance, of judge, jurors, advocates – while no woman's voice could be heard in their defense. And not only are women denied a jury of their peers, but in some cases, jury trial altogether. During the war, a woman was tried and hanged by military law, in defiance of the fifth amendment, which specifically declares: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases . . . . of persons in actual service in time of war." During the last presidential campaign, a woman, arrested for voting, was denied the protection of a jury, tried, convicted, and sentenced to a fine and costs of prosecution, by the absolute power of a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Taxation without representation, the immediate cause of the rebellion of the colonies against Great Britain, is one of the grievous wrongs the women of this country have suffered during the century. Deploring war, with all the demoralization that follows in its train, we have been taxed to support standing armies, with their waste of life and wealth. Believing in temperance, we have been taxed to support the vice, crime and pauperism of the liquor traffic. While we suffer its wrongs and abuses infinitely more than man, we have no power to protect our sons against this giant evil. During the temperance crusade, mothers were arrested, fined, imprisoned, for even praying and singing in the streets, while men blockade the sidewalks with impunity, even on Sunday, with their military parades and political processions. Believing in honesty, we are taxed to support a dangerous army of civilians, buying and selling the offices of government and sacrificing the best interests of the people. And, moreover, we are taxed to support the very legislators and judges who make laws, and render decisions adverse to woman. And for refusing to pay such unjust taxation, the houses, lands, bonds and stock of women have been seized and sold within the present year, thus proving Lord Coke's assertion, that "The very act of taxing a man's property without his consent is, in effect, disfranchising him of every civil right."
Unequal codes for men and women. Held by law a perpetual minor, deemed incapable of self-protection, even in the industries of the world, woman is denied equality of rights. The fact of sex, not the quantity or quality of work, in most cases, decides the pay and position; and because of this injustice thousands of fatherless girls are compelled to choose between a life of shame and starvation. Laws catering to man's vices have created two codes of morals in which penalties are graded according to the political status of the offender. Under such laws, women are fined and imprisoned if found alone in the streets, or in public places of resort, at certain hours. Under the pretense of regulating public morals, police officers seizing the occupants of disreputable houses, march the women in platoons to prison, while the men, partners in their guilt, go free. While making a show of virtue in forbidding the importation of Chinese women on the Pacific coast for immoral purposes, our rulers, in many States, and even under the shadow of the national capitol, are now proposing to legalize the sale of American womanhood for the same vile purposes.
Special legislation for woman has placed us in a most anomalous position. Women invested with the rights of citizens in one section – voters, jurors, office-holders – crossing an imaginary line, are subjects in the next. In some States, a married woman may hold property and transact business in her own name; in others, her earnings belong to her husband. In some States, a woman may testify against her husband, sue and be sued in the courts; in others, she has no redress in case of damage to person, property, or character. In case of divorce on account of adultery in the husband, the innocent wife is held to possess no right to children or property, unless by special decree of the court. But in no State of the Union has the wife the right to her own person, or to any part of the joint earnings of the co-partnership during the life of her husband. In some States women may enter the law schools and practice in the courts; in others they are forbidden. In some universities girls enjoy equal educational advantages with boys, while many of the proudest institutions in the land deny them admittance, though the sons of China, Japan and Africa are welcomed there. But the privileges already granted in the several States are by no means secure. The right of suffrage once exercised by women in certain States and territories has been denied by subsequent legislation. A bill is now pending in congress to disfranchise the women of Utah, thus interfering to deprive United States citizens of the same rights which the Supreme Court has declared the national government powerless to protect anywhere. Laws passed after years of untiring effort, guaranteeing married women certain rights of property, and mothers the custody of their children, have been repealed in States where we supposed all was safe. Thus have our most sacred rights been made the football of legislative caprice, proving that a power which grants as a privilege what by nature is a right, may withhold the same as a penalty when deeming it necessary for its own perpetuation.
Representation of woman has had no place in the nation's thought. Since the incorporation of the thirteen original States, twenty-four have been admitted to the Union, not one of which has recognized woman's right of self-government. On this birthday of our national liberties, July Fourth, 1876, Colorado, like all her elder sisters, comes into the Union with the invidious word "male" in her constitution.
Universal manhood suffrage, by establishing an aristocracy of sex, imposes upon the women of this nation a more absolute and cruel depotism [sic] than monarchy; in that, woman finds a political master in her father, husband, brother, son. The aristocracies of the old world are based upon birth, wealth, refinement, education, nobility, brave deeds of chivalry; in this nation, on sex alone; exalting brute force above moral power, vice above virtue, ignorance above education, and the son above the mother who bore him.
The judiciary above the nation has proved itself but the echo of the party in power, by upholding and enforcing laws that are opposed to the spirit and letter of the constitution. When the slave power was dominant, the Supreme Court decided that a black man was not a citizen, because he had not the right to vote; and when the constitution was so amended as to make all persons citizens, the same high tribunal decided that a woman, though a citizen, had not the right to vote. Such vacillating interpretations of constitutional law unsettle our faith in judicial authority, and undermine the liberties of the whole people.
These articles of impeachment against our rulers we now submit to the impartial judgment of the people. To all these wrongs and oppressions woman has not submitted in silence and resignation. From the beginning of the century, when Abigail Adams, the wife of one president and mother of another, said, "We will not hold ourselves bound to obey laws in which we have no voice or representation," until now, woman's discontent has been steadily increasing, culminating nearly thirty years ago in a simultaneous movement among the women of the nation, demanding the right of suffrage. In making our just demands, a higher motive than the pride of sex inspires us; we feel that national safety and stability depend on the complete recognition of the broad principles of our government. Woman's degraded, helpless position is the weak point in our institutions to-day; a disturbing force everywhere, severing family ties, filling our asylums with the deaf, the dumb, the blind; our prisons with criminals, our cities with drunkenness and prostitution; our homes with disease and death. It was the boast of the founders of the republic, that the rights for which they contended were the rights of human nature. If these rights are ignored in the case of one-half the people, the nation is surely preparing for its downfall. Governments try themselves. The recognition of a governing and a governed class is incompatible with the first principles of freedom. Woman has not been a heedless spectator of the events of this century, nor a dull listener to the grand arguments for the equal rights of humanity. From the earliest history of our country woman has shown equal devotion with man to the cause of freedom, and has stood firmly by his side in its defense. Together, they have made this country what it is. Woman's wealth, thought and labor have cemented the stones of every monument man has raised to liberty.
And now, at the close of a hundred years, as the hour-hand of the great clock that marks the centuries points to 1876, we declare our faith in the principles of self-government; our full equality with man in natural rights; that woman was made first for her own happiness, with the absolute right to herself - to all the opportunities and advantages life affords for her complete development; and we deny that dogma of the centuries, incorporated in the codes of all nations – that woman was made for man – her best interests, in all cases, to be sacrificed to his will. We ask of our rulers, at this hour, no special favors, no special privileges, no special legislation. We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.
The presentation of the declaration was a serious event, marking a rising movement that had taken strength from the Abolitionist movement, which they had largely supported.
The location of the demonstration is interesting in our current context. Expositions were hugef deals at the time and would remain so up until after World War One, when they started to fade. World's Fairs, a similar event, still continue to exist, but you hear very little about them, the last big one I recall hearing about being Toronto's Expo 67. The current illegitimate occupant of the White House attempted to revive the centennial fair tradition with a "Great American State Fair" running from June 25 through July 10, 2026, but the public does not appear to be very interested in it.
It's somewhat confusing on what day this article first appeared, and I've already noted it. It was likely penned on July 2, and published in the Helena newspaper on July 4:
A TERRIBLE FIGHT
Gen. Custer and his Nephew
KILLED
The Seventh Cavalry cut to pieces
The Whole Number Killed 315
From our Special Correspondent
Mr. W. H. Norton
Stillwater, M. T.,
July 2nd, 1876.
Muggins Taylor, scout for Gen. Gibbons, got here last night, direct from Little Horn River with telegraphic despatches. General Custer found the Indian camp of about two thousand lodges on the Little Horn, and immediately attacked the camp. Custer took five companies and charged the thickest portion of the camp.
Nothing is Known of the Operation of this detachment, only as they trace it by the dead. Major Reno commanded the other seven companies and attacked the lower portion of the camp. The Indians poured in a murderous fire from all directions. Besides the greater portion fought on horseback. Custer, his two brothers, a nephew and a brother-in-law were
All Killed and not one of his detachment escaped, 207 men were buried in one place and the killed are estimated at 300 with only 31 wounded. The Indians surrounded Reno's command and held them one day in the hills
Cut Off from Water until Gibbons's command came in sight, when they broke camp in the night and left.
The Seventh Fought Like Tigers and were overcome by mere brute force. The Indian loss cannot be estimated, as they bore off and cached most of their killed. The remnant of the Seventh Cavalry and Gibbon's command are returning to the mouth of the Little Horn, where the steamboat lies. The Indians got all the arms of the killed soldiers. There were seventeen commissioned officers killed.
The Whole Custer Family died at the head of their column. The exact loss is not known as both Adjutants and the Sergeant Major were killed. The Indian camp was from three to four miles along and was twenty miles up the Little Horn from its mouth. The Indians actually pulled men off their horses in some instances. I give this as Taylor told me, as he was over the field after the battle.
The above is confirmed by other letters which say Custer met a fearful disaster.
The initial article was fairly accurate.
Last edition:
Sunday, July 2, 1876. Terry reaches the Yellowstone, Crook reaches Cloud Peak, News hits the Press
Friday, June 26, 2026
Monday, June 26, 1876 Day two of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Reno fights to hold his positions and against thirst, Gibbon marches south, Crook camps on Goose Creek..
The Battle of the Little Big Horn continued on with Reno and Benteen's command dug in on high ground. The day was marked by sniping fire and thirst. Obtaining water was becoming critical with some troops volunteering for very dangerous trips down to the Little Big Horn.
Between the two days of the battle, June 25 and June 26, twenty-four men serving under Benteen performed acts of heroism that would result in their receiving the Medal of Honor. Most of that was associated with retrieving water.
Every single one was an enlisted man.
They were:
Otto Voit Pvt. Co. H Bravery in Action
Benj. C. Criswell Sgt. Co. B Brought up ammunition
Henry Holden Pvt. Co. D Brought up ammunition
Thomas Murray Sgt. Co. B Brought up pack train
Richard P. Hanley Sgt. Co. C Recaptured pack mule
Chas. Cunningham Pvt. Co. B Continued firing after being wounded
Henry W. B. Mechlin Bks.* Co. H Sharpshooter for water party
Charles Windolph Pvt. Co. H Sharpshooter for water party
George Geiger Sgt. Co. H Sharpshooter for water party
James Pym Pvt. Co. B Brought water under fire
Neil Bancroft Pvt. Co. A Brought water to wounded
Abram B. Brant Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Thomas J. Callan Pvt. Co. B Brought water to wounded
Frederick Deetline Bks.* Co. C Brought water to wounded
Theodore W. Goldin Pvt. Co. G Brought water to wounded
David W. Harris Pvt. Co. A Brought water to wounded
William M. Harris Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Rufus D. Hutchinson Sgt. Co. B Brought water to wounded
Stanislas Roy Sgt. Co. A Brought water to wounded
George D. Scott Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Thomas W. Stivers Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Peter Thompson Pvt. Co. C Brought water to wounded
Frank Tolan Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Charles H. Welch Pvt. Co. D Brought water to wounded
Midday Lakota scouts sighted Terry/Gibbon's command to the north and reported it back to the village, which then began to break camp, that process continuing on into the evening. As we noted, Terry was now with Gibbon who had marched east from Ft. Ellis down the Yellowstone at the beginning of the campaign while Terry and Custer had marched west from Ft. Abraham Lincoln.
Breaking camp was inevitable in any event as the camp was so large the locality could not sustain it for long. As bands broke camp, they broke into individual bands and headed south.
Crook was encamped at Little Goose Creek in what is now Sheridan, Wyoming, having pulled off a fair distance to recuperate from the Battle of the Rosebud and to await reinforcements. A monument in Sheridan Wyoming is located at that spot, but I've not personally seen it.
President Grant issues a proclamation on the Centennial of American independence.
June 26, 1876: Proclamation Celebrating the Hundredth Anniversary of Independence
A Proclamation
The centennial anniversary of the day on which the people of the United States declared their right to a separate and equal station among the powers of the earth seems to demand an exceptional observance.
The founders of the Government, at its birth and in its feebleness, invoked the blessings and the protection of a Divine Providence, and the thirteen colonies and three millions of people have expanded into a nation of strength and numbers commanding the position which then was asserted and for which fervent prayers were then offered.
It seems fitting that on the occurrence of the hundredth anniversary of our existence as a nation a grateful acknowledgment should be made to Almighty God for the protection and the bounties which He has vouchsafed to our beloved country.
I therefore invite the good people of the United States, on the approaching 4th day of July, in addition to the usual observances with which they are accustomed to greet the return of the day, further, in such manner and at such time as in their respective localities and religious associations may be most convenient, to mark its recurrence by some public religious and devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings which have been bestowed upon us as a nation during the century of our existence, and humbly to invoke a continuance of His favor and of His protection.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 26th day of June, A. D. 1876, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundredth.
U. S. GRANT.
By the President:
HAMILTON FISH,
Secretary of State.
Last edition:
Sunday, June 25, 1876. The Battle of the the Little Bighorn.
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Friday, June 23, 1876. Camp on the Rosebud.
The 7th Cavalry's camp on this day in 1876: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mtalplacido/53876295032/in/photostream/
President Grant created a reservation in California, the largest in that state.
Executive Order—Creating the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation
June 23, 1876
EXECUTIVE MANSION, June 23, 1876.
It is hereby ordered that the south and west boundaries and that portion of the north boundary west of Trinity River surveyed, in 1875, by C. T. Bissel, and the courses and distances of the east boundary, and that portion of the north boundary east of Trinity River reported but not surveyed by him, viz: “Beginning at the southeast corner of the reservation at a post set in mound of rocks, marked ‘H. V. R., No. 3'; thence south 17½ degrees west, 905.15 chains, to southeast corner or reservation; thence south 72½ degrees west, 480 chains, to the mouth of Trinity River,” be, and hereby are, declared to be the exterior boundaries of Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, and the land embraced therein, an area of 89,572.43 acres, be, and hereby is, withdrawn from public sale, and set apart for Indian purposes, as one of the Indian reservations authorized to be set apart, in California, by act of Congress approved April 8, 1864. (13 Stats., p. 39.)
U. S. GRANT
Last edition:
Thursday, June 22, 1876. 7th Cavalry leaves the Yellowstone.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Wednesday, June 14, 1876. The Grand Old Party convenes.
The 1876 Republican National Convention convened in Cincinnati, Ohio. Candidates for the office of President, in light of President Grant's decision not to run for a third term, were: Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, Former Speaker James G. Blaine of Maine, Treasury Secretary Benjamin Bristow of Kentucky, Senator Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, Governor John F. Hartranft of Pennsylvania and Postmaster General Marshall Jewell of Connecticut.
Grant remained a highly popular figure, both nationally and internationally, but his administration had been scandal plagued, Democrats had gained in the mid term election, and the country was tragically wearing out on Reconstruction. The latter was not the fault of Grant, as had Andrew Johnson supported it immediately after the Civil War it would have stood to be more effective.
Last edition:
Friday, June 9, 1876. Battle of Prairie Dog Creek.
Friday, May 15, 2026
Monday, May 15, 1876. President Grant established the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation
President Grant established the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation near Palm Springs, California.
Last edition:
Wednesday, May 10, 1876. Opening of the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine.
Monday, April 27, 2026
Thursday, April 27, 1876. Shrinking White Mountain.
April 27, 1876
Executive Mansion
It is hereby ordered that all that portion of the White Mountain Indian Reservation in Arizona Territory lying west of the following- described line, viz: Commencing at the northwest corner of the present reserve, a point at the southern edge of the Black Mesas, due north of Sombrero or Plumoso Butte; thence due south to said Sombrero or Plumoso Butte; thence southeastwardly to Chromo Peak; thence in a southerly direction to the mouth of the San Pedro River; thence due south to the southern boundary of the reservation, be, and the same hereby is, restored to the public domain.
U. S. Grant
Last edition:
Saturday. April 22, 1876. The first National League baseball game.
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Wednesday, March 8, 1876. Establishing the Crow Reservation.
March 8, 1876
Executive Mansion
By an Executive order dated October 20, 1875, the following-described tract of country, situated in Montana Territory, was withdrawn from public sale and set apart for the use of the Crow tribe of Indians in said Territory to be added to their reservation, viz: “Commencing at a point in the mid-channel of the Yellowstone River, where the one hundred and seventh degree of west longitude crosses the said river; thence up said mid-channel of the Yellowstone to the mouth of Big Timber Creek; thence up said creek 20 miles, if the said creek can be followed that distance; it not, then in the same direction continued from the source thereof to a point 20 miles from the mouth of said creek; thence eastwardly along a line parallel to the Yellowstone—no point of which shall be less than 20 miles from the river—to the one hundred and seventh degree west longitude; thence south to the place of beginning.” The said Executive order of October 20, 1875, above noted, is hereby revoked, and the tract of land therein described is again restored to the public domain.
U. S. Grant
Note how the White House was called the "Executive Mansion".
Last edition:
Tuesday, March 7, 1876. Bell patents the telephone.
Monday, March 2, 2026
Thursday, March 2, 1876. Belknap resigns.
Secretary of War William Belknap resigned just before he was about to be impeached for corruption.
Belknap was a prewar politician and lawyer who had served as a Union General during and after the Civil War.
Last edition:
Wednesday, March 1, 1876. The Big Horn Expedition commences.
Labels: 1870s, 1876, Army, Big Horn Expedition, Frontier Wyoming, George Cook, Great Sioux War, The Frontier West
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Friday, January 28, 1876. Executive Order—Restoring Malheur Indian Reservation to Public Domain.
I haven't followed prior Presidents on Executive Orders, but Grant seemed to issue a lot of them on the topic of Reservations.
Executive Order—Restoring Malheur Indian Reservation to Public Domain
January 28, 1876
Executive Mansion, January 28, 1876.
It is hereby ordered that the tract of country in Oregon lying within the following-described boundaries, viz: Beginning at a point on the right bank of the Malheur River where the range line between ranges 38 and 39 east of the Willamette meridian intersects the same; thence north on said range line to a point due east of the summit of Castle Rock; thence due west to the summit of Castle Rock; thence in a northwesterly direction to Strawberry Butte; thence to Soda Spring, on the Canyon City and Camp Harney road; thence down Silvies Creek to Malheur Lake; thence due east to the right bank of the South Fork of Malheur River; thence down said right bank of the South Fork to the Malheur River; thence down the right bank of the Malheur River to the place of beginning, except such lands within these limits as have passed or may pass to The Dalles Military Road on the north, and the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Military Road on the south, be, and the same is hereby, withdrawn from sale and set apart for the use and occupancy of the Piute and Snake Indians, to be Known as the Malheur Indian Reservation; and that portion of country set apart by Executive order of May 15, 1875, not embraced in the limits of the above-described tract of country, is hereby restored to the public domain.
U. S. Grant.
Last edition:
Wednesday, January 26, 1876. Ft. Pease attacked.
Labels: 1870s, 1876, Frontier Montana, Indian Wars, Montana, Sioux, Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)