Did It Happen: Custer's Cheyenne Family
Despite popular legends to the contrary, when Col. George Armstrong Custer's body was found after the Battle of the Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass in June 1876, he wasn't scalped or mutilated. However, the corpses of many of the men nearby, including George's brother Thomas, were mutilated. Although some White commentators at the time believed the lack of mutilation might have been the Natives way of showing respect to a brave enemy anyone who had rode and fought with Custer knew this idea held no water whatsoever. No Native respected George Custer. He had the blood of the Washita Massacre of 1868 on his hands. There would have been plenty of Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors on the battlefield who would have taken the chance to show their disdain for him. Other specular insists that it was because Custer wasn't in military dress, or that he'd cut his famous long, curly yellow hair prior to battle. Still, someone could've recognized him and pointed him out.
Could there have been another reason?
After the battle, Elizabeth "Libby" Custer took her husbands legacy into her own hands. And there it remained until her death in the early 20th century. During that time, anyone who dared speak ill of George Custer faced a lawsuit from Libby and general disapproval from Custer's fans. If Custer had any secrets, and most men on the frontier did, they went to the grave with him. It wouldn't be until after Libby's death that a different story would start to surface, one that actually did Custer no credit whatsoever. In the months prior to the Battle of the Washita, in what is now Oklahoma, Custer had struck up a relationship with a young Cheyenne woman, Mo-Nah-See-Tah, the daughter of Chief Little Rock. By November, 1868, she was heavily pregnant, something that would've been as much a disgrace in her society as in Custer's.
On the morning of November 28, 1868, Custer's 7th Cavalry rode down on the village containing both Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children. As the men rushed to put up a defense, some of the non-combatants fled. Others huddled in their lodges. Black Kettle, his wife, and Little Rock were all killed. The 7th Cavalry troopers rounded up 53 Cheyenne women and children among the lodges. One of them was Mo-Nah-See-Tah. Two months later, in January, 1868, she would give birth to a son, who would later be called Yellow Bird. He was easily recognizable as mixed-race because of the streaks of bright blonde hair, a Custer family trait. Shortly thereafter, Mo-Nah-See-Tah became pregnant by Custer again and may have born another child. Neither her family or Custer's ever acknowledged the children.
Years later, an Oglala warrior who had fought at Little Bighorn spoke with a reporter about his memories. According to White Cow Bull, in the years after the Washita, when the Cheyenne and Lakotas would camp together, as they often did, a little blonde boy could be seen playing with the other children. White Cow Bull wanted to court Mo-Nah-See-Tah but her previous relationship with Custer made it impossible for her to have any prospects of a proper courtship and marriage according to Cheyenne custom. White Cow Bull befriended her, but that was as far as it could go.
Some have claimed the Custer was sterile due to an STD he contracted during his years at West Point. He and Libby never had children, a fact that pained them both. However, people who knew Custer, and knew his reputation when Libby wasn't around, believed the idea that he'd fathered a child by a Native girl. Both Captain Frederick Benteen, who had other personal issues with George and Libby both, and Chief of Scouts Ben Clark, and Cheyenne oral traditions all accepted the fact that Mo-Nah-See-Tah had been with Custer and had a child by him. However, even if it wasn't George, another possibility exists that Thomas Custer, who resembled his brother, and may have been the father.
Could there have been another reason?
After the battle, Elizabeth "Libby" Custer took her husbands legacy into her own hands. And there it remained until her death in the early 20th century. During that time, anyone who dared speak ill of George Custer faced a lawsuit from Libby and general disapproval from Custer's fans. If Custer had any secrets, and most men on the frontier did, they went to the grave with him. It wouldn't be until after Libby's death that a different story would start to surface, one that actually did Custer no credit whatsoever. In the months prior to the Battle of the Washita, in what is now Oklahoma, Custer had struck up a relationship with a young Cheyenne woman, Mo-Nah-See-Tah, the daughter of Chief Little Rock. By November, 1868, she was heavily pregnant, something that would've been as much a disgrace in her society as in Custer's.
On the morning of November 28, 1868, Custer's 7th Cavalry rode down on the village containing both Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children. As the men rushed to put up a defense, some of the non-combatants fled. Others huddled in their lodges. Black Kettle, his wife, and Little Rock were all killed. The 7th Cavalry troopers rounded up 53 Cheyenne women and children among the lodges. One of them was Mo-Nah-See-Tah. Two months later, in January, 1868, she would give birth to a son, who would later be called Yellow Bird. He was easily recognizable as mixed-race because of the streaks of bright blonde hair, a Custer family trait. Shortly thereafter, Mo-Nah-See-Tah became pregnant by Custer again and may have born another child. Neither her family or Custer's ever acknowledged the children.
Years later, an Oglala warrior who had fought at Little Bighorn spoke with a reporter about his memories. According to White Cow Bull, in the years after the Washita, when the Cheyenne and Lakotas would camp together, as they often did, a little blonde boy could be seen playing with the other children. White Cow Bull wanted to court Mo-Nah-See-Tah but her previous relationship with Custer made it impossible for her to have any prospects of a proper courtship and marriage according to Cheyenne custom. White Cow Bull befriended her, but that was as far as it could go.
Some have claimed the Custer was sterile due to an STD he contracted during his years at West Point. He and Libby never had children, a fact that pained them both. However, people who knew Custer, and knew his reputation when Libby wasn't around, believed the idea that he'd fathered a child by a Native girl. Both Captain Frederick Benteen, who had other personal issues with George and Libby both, and Chief of Scouts Ben Clark, and Cheyenne oral traditions all accepted the fact that Mo-Nah-See-Tah had been with Custer and had a child by him. However, even if it wasn't George, another possibility exists that Thomas Custer, who resembled his brother, and may have been the father.
So, I didn't pickup the answer as to why he wasn't scalped or mutilated?
ReplyDelete